If your not real careful shifting it will grind going into 3rd. It never did that before I changed it and the more I think about it kinda looked like engine oil when I changed it. What I took out wasn't pink that's for sure

 

After I changed the fluid it will grind going into 3rd if your not careful. What I drained out kinda looked like motor oil and never had a problem with grinding before the change. The reason I changed it was I checked it and it was a little low. I didn't know what was in it when I bought her so just changed it out. :

 

Like has been said ... run NOTHING but ATF in the ZF! Anything else will ruin it.

Personally, I like Mobil1 ATF

-Enjoy
fh : )_~

 

Not sure if advertiser or...

Either way, that stuff looks a lot thicker than recommended... 70W?
It would probably /work/, but might make things more sluggish shifting, especially cold.

Synthetic ATF is what ours is designed for, and it seems to work nicely.

 

no. i`ve been using this brand for over 30 years and it actually is not to thick and it does improve shifting quality. we`ve had customers come back and tell us how its never shifted that good from the factory. BG targets fluids and fuel improvements and that`s their only field that they are in with lab testing and real time road testing.

 

In how many transmissions that require ATF, and specifically SYNTHETIC ATF, have you used this fluid?

 

ALL of them. 100s

 

Can you name specific makes/types of manual transmissions that require ATF, in which you've used this fluid?

 

I did a TON of research on this a while back and read some pretty convincing posts from users that tried 50wt synthetic ATF for big rigs. They said the extra viscosity got rid of the gear roll over noise yet it still had smooth shifting properties in cold weather. They named the Amsoil brand.

So when Romel77 was visiting me from Europe we did a ZF swap in his truck and we hit up a big rig service shop for some oil. I don't know the brand but it was $80 for one gallon dispensed into our own container. Well it still had a little roll over noise. When I drove the truck to the shipping port in LA, the gear roll over noise was pretty bad when I stopped in Indio and the temp was 113*F outside. Romel77 now tells me the gear roll over is pretty obnoxious. He says it is not shifting smoothly and he is very unhappy with that lubricant.

I don't know what to think. On the one hand I would think more viscosity would help with the roll over noise, on the other I wonder if his hard shifts are caused by the extra thickness of the 50wt. Sadly I also bought a gallon of the expensive big rig stuff. When I install mine I will probably go ahead and use it since I have it, but I will add some Lucas oil stabilizer. If I'm not happy with that I will drain it and try something else. I'm a little leery of the stuff in the above link. 75wt-85wt is pretty thick. No offense to the user posting the link since I assume you are just trying to help, but saying you have put it in 100's of transmissions and it works great does not convince me in the same way as someone who has actually poured this stuff into their own daily driver ZF-5 behind a diesel and tested it out for several months and reported back with respect to gear roll over noise performance, cold shifts and general feel compared to OEM fluid.

 

its actually not. it seems like it is but when you pour it, its pretty thin. I put it in over 100 trans and transfer cases and never had a shifting issue.

 

I'm thinking there's some rating issues going on.
I just did a little bit of research on that oil:
Scion FR-S Forum | Subaru BRZ Forum | Toyota 86 GT 86 Forum | AS1 Forum - FT86CLUB - View Single Post - 2nd gear synchro FIX- MT owners read this thread
According to that post, the viscosity rating is "BG Syncroshift II ------------ (CST@100c 8.19) [as tested by blackstone]"

According to this page: Motor Oil Viscosity Grades Explained in Layman's Terms
That puts it right in the 20 weight range. Dexron 3 seems to be somewhere in the 10-20 weight range when hot.

When cold, I don't know.

 

I didn't know this until I started looking into fluids for my zf, but apparently viscosity numbers vary according to application. For example, check the spec sheet for Redline MTF here:

Red Line Synthetic Oil - Gear Oil for Manual Transmissions - MTL 75W80 GL-4 Gear Oil

I'm planning on putting this in on Friday. I've been running Royal Purple synchromax in the truck for a few years because I've used it on other vehicles in the past with great results, but lately my shifting is getting notchy and noisy, especially into 3rd. Hoping this will make syncros happy.

Mike

 

I remember reading a few posts of people complaining their ZF shifted badly with Royal Purple. Let us know if the new fluid improves things.

 

X2 on Redline MTL, been running it for 5 years in my ZF. Did the SMF conversion a year ago and I have almost zero roll-over noise. (Although I doubt the MTL will terribly affect the way sound travels into the cab vs other similar-viscosity fluids)

I do have the XLT extended cab, and I think there is more insulation/sound deadening for the XLTs.

Anyway she had some kind of gear oil when I got her, swapped that for fresh gear oil, hated it, joined the forums, and after much reading went with Redline MTL since its cost is close to synthetic ATF and has the friction modifiers specifically for synchros in manual trannys.

My ZF has always chattered going into 3rd unless you're careful, but besides that she drives great. Cold weather used to be unbearable shifting-wise with the gear oil.
Now it's no sweat, as has been for 5 years. Love this stuff!!

BTW Macrobb, did you say that other MTL was tested for viscosity at 100 degrees Celsius?? Isn't that a little high for real-world driving? Or maybe it's an industry standard?...
I guess it could just be a standard temp for testing, I just can't imagine my stick shift gets hot enough to boil water. Huh.

 

I use str8t 50w oil in my zf5 no longer have rollover noise works great it's been 6 years no issues.