ZF trans oil
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 979
Likes: 40
From: Colorado Springs CO
ZF trans oil
Hi guys, I'm new on here-I did a search on this but couldn't find what I'm looking for. Has anyone ever heard of running heavier weight oil in a ZF 5 speed manual to cure shifting issues? The truck shifts OK for short trips, but after driving for awhile & getting warm it'll grind when shifting. The factory spec is for regular Mercon ATF, but I thought some heavier oil might help. BTW the truck is a 96 F250 460 4x4.
Hotshot
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 10,008
Likes: 7
From: Austin, TX
Your problems are all the trans itself, not the fluid in that case. Does it grind on all upshifts? all downshifts? Only certain gears? The shift forks can cause shifting problems. Sounds like you either have fork problems or syncro problems. Think the clutch could be staying partially engaged once everything gets hot? Never heard of a temp related shifting issue on a manual trans.
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 979
Likes: 40
From: Colorado Springs CO
My daily drive is about 8 miles each way, and I don't have problems going that far. If I go on a longer trip & the trans gets good & hot, you can't upshift 2-3 or downshift 3-2 without it grinding (unless I shift REALLY slowly).
Hotshot
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 10,008
Likes: 7
From: Austin, TX
Shift forks most likely. The ZF in my diesel did that exact thing(except temp didn't make a difference) and shift forks took care of it. Thats about the only issue with the ZF if the shift fork material.. Well that and the input shaft size is too small. They snap behind our diesels with just minor mods. LOL
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Aug 2010
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From: Colorado Springs CO
Well, I filled it up with Mobil 1 synthetic over the weekend. It seems to shift better, but I haven't had the chance to take on a longer drive to see if the grinding problem reoccurs. One thing I noticed is that the old fluid really smelled bad-it was just like an old burned up auto tranny.
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 979
Likes: 40
From: Colorado Springs CO
Well, I took it on a longer drive yesterday, and I still have the same shifting issues-when hot, it grinds upshifting into 3rd. If anyone has any ideas about why this only happens after driving 25-30 miles I'd love to hear them.
Senior User
Joined: Jul 2010
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Id agree with strokin.. if your having heat issues I'd suspect the clutch is on the way out and not fully disengaging. The clutch fingers will weaken over time and loss there rigidity with heat. How many miles on the clutch?
Postmaster
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 2,703
Likes: 7
From: Des Moines, Iowa
x2 on bobby's post... I would find a local guy that works on trannys on the side and pay him to put new syncros in for you... probably do the shift forks at the same time... Might cost you $300-$500 for all the work to be done but It will shift like new!
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 979
Likes: 40
From: Colorado Springs CO
A Ford technician told me this procedure for checking the condition of the synchros-
Drive truck about25-30 mph and slip shifter into neutral. Without pushing clutch in move gear shifter towards each foward gear gate 1-5 one at a time for 3 sec each. if the syncro is not worn out you should hear a whirring noise and feel some resistance this will burnish in syncro. if the syncro for that gear is worn out it will grind gear to gear.
I tried this test and got no grinding. That, plus the fact that it only happens when hot, and the truck only has 90K miles, leads me to question whether the synchros are really bad.
Drive truck about25-30 mph and slip shifter into neutral. Without pushing clutch in move gear shifter towards each foward gear gate 1-5 one at a time for 3 sec each. if the syncro is not worn out you should hear a whirring noise and feel some resistance this will burnish in syncro. if the syncro for that gear is worn out it will grind gear to gear.
I tried this test and got no grinding. That, plus the fact that it only happens when hot, and the truck only has 90K miles, leads me to question whether the synchros are really bad.
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