When to change Manual Tranmission Fluid? - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

rollallor · 04-21-2009, 09:33 PM

Hi,

how often are you supposed to change the gear oil on 5 speed models? I heard they rarely need to be changed on manual transmissions. What is true? Should I leave everything unchanged and run it without flushing the gear oil? Would that cause problems with my tranny, leaks etc? What are the side effects if any? I dont want to rebuilt my tranny if thats the case.

What's the proper way...do a full flush, drain and refill or just leave the manual tranmission fluid alone since its only gear oil?

Any expert advise would help.

mcdawgg · 04-21-2009, 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rollallor

Hi,

how often are you supposed to change the gear oil on 5 speed models? I heard they rarely need to be changed on manual transmissions. What is true? Should I leave everything unchanged and run it without flushing the gear oil? Would that cause problems with my tranny, leaks etc? What are the side effects if any? I dont want to rebuilt my tranny if thats the case.

What's the proper way...do a full flush, drain and refill or just leave the manual tranmission fluid alone since its only gear oil?

Any expert advise would help.

With a manual, you don't flush it, just drain and fill since all the fluid comes out when you pull the drain plug. Automatics only get 1/3 of the fluid out when you pull the plug. I change it every 60k miles.

JasonA · 04-22-2009, 07:16 AM

Toyota doesn't specify a drain interval for the manual transmissions. After reading used oil reports from manual transmission fluid on the internet, I decided it was in my (and my car's) best interest to change it early. I also took the opportunity to change the fluid to Redline MT-90 (a must in my opinion). Shift quality and feel are improved. I changed mine at about 20k miles. I'll probably do it again at 50k miles. The old fluid looked pretty bad coming out.

rollallor · 04-22-2009, 08:45 AM

hi Jason,

how many miles does your car have now? are u experiencing any problems or is it better after chaning it.

I heard stories once they drain the manual tranmission fluid problems arise afterwards. Now im getting worried if I should just leave it alone and not experience any tranny problems especially rebuilting it.

Car has 160k kms. Never changed since brand new

mcdawgg · 04-22-2009, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rollallor

hi Jason,

how many miles does your car have now? are u experiencing any problems or is it better after chaning it.

I heard stories once they drain the manual tranmission fluid problems arise afterwards. Now im getting worried if I should just leave it alone and not experience any tranny problems especially rebuilting it.

Car has 160k kms. Never changed since brand new

I never had any problems before or after changing at 60k miles. You should be fine changing it and it won't cause any problems. It's just like changing the engine oil - it won't cause problems doing it.

rollallor · 04-23-2009, 01:40 AM

its been unchanged since it was bought brand new now it has 160k kms with original gear oil. Once I drain and fill it you think theres a chance of having tranny problems or even a rebuilt one. Any personal experience or have heard someone experiencing this nightmare?

thanks for all the comments

JasonA · 04-23-2009, 06:56 AM

Mine only has 23k miles on it now. Changing it out should cause you no problems. Every now and then, you run across a rumor that changing automatic transmission fluid after so many miles causes more problems than just leaving it in. I don't really have a comment on that rumor, but I will say that I've never heard that said about manual transmission fluid. Even after just 22k miles (when I changed it), mind shifts so much smoother with the new fluid. I used Redline MT-90, rather than conventional GL-4. THe MT-90 is a GL-4 certified fluid, but is fully synthetic, and offers smoother shifting, especially when cold. I'll keep it in until 50k miles, then probably drain it and refill again. It only takes 2 quarts. The MT-90 is $15/quart, but it's money well spent in my opinion.

mcdawgg · 04-23-2009, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rollallor

its been unchanged since it was bought brand new now it has 160k kms with original gear oil. Once I drain and fill it you think theres a chance of having tranny problems or even a rebuilt one. Any personal experience or have heard someone experiencing this nightmare?

thanks for all the comments

No, just change it, it will be fine. It is not like the automatics. The rumor is for automatics that if you do a transmission fluid FLUSH, that it could break loose some crud and it could get stuck in the small passageways in an automatic. A drain and fill for an automatic eliminates this potential problem. A flush on an automatic removes all the fluid from it, because just pulling the plug does not drain it all. If you pull the plug on a manual, it all drains, like the engine oil. So just do the drain your manual tranny, refill, and it will be AOK.

rollallor · 04-27-2009, 10:15 AM

thanks for all the advice!!!

Should I go to Toyota and grab their Gearoil would that make more sense than buying an aftermarket one?

JasonA · 04-27-2009, 02:03 PM

I would replace it with Redline MT-90. It's a high quality synthetic gear oil that has been demonstrated to improve shift feel. You'll likely never need to change it again either, since it's such a stout oil. I'm not really a "synthetic oil" kind of guy, but for a lubricant that is rarely changed, and for one that so noticeably improves the driving experience, it was a no-brainer for me.

rsirois · 04-27-2009, 02:08 PM

I changed mine out at 5k whne my car was new. I went with Mobil 1 gear oil. The synthetic oil makes for smoother shifts in winter when it's under 20F and your car is cold.

rollallor · 06-01-2009, 01:46 PM

i am debating between Redline mt90 or Amsoil 75w90 any suggestions? I need one that's good in Canadian winters. Our climate can get down to -30 degrees so I want something thats reliable.

I heard their both good. What kind of synthetic gear oil do you guys use? It has to be 75w90 GL-4 or GL-5.

Exage · 06-01-2009, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rollallor

i am debating between Redline mt90 or Amsoil 75w90 any suggestions? I need one that's good in Canadian winters. Our climate can get down to -30 degrees so I want something thats reliable.

I heard their both good. What kind of synthetic gear oil do you guys use? It has to be 75w90 GL-4 or GL-5.

Changed to Redline MT-90, 2 days ago. It's a 75W-90, GL-4, full synthetic gear oil. Very happy with it so far. Obviously other people have been running MT-90 longer than I have and I haven't seen any complaints with gear changes in major negative degree temperatures.

rollallor · 06-02-2009, 08:15 AM

nice...how much did you pay for 1 quart?

I want to hear some comments on guys that used Amsoil or other synthetic gearoil like Motylgear, or Mobil1 etc?

JasonA · 06-02-2009, 08:49 AM

I bought straight from Redline, and paid $15/qt shipped. $30 for two quarts. I've heard mixed reviews of other brands, like Royal Purple, and Mobil 1. Nobody had anything but 100% positive things to say about the Redline MT-90. 30 bucks and a week of waiting is well worth the near-guaranteed improvement in shifting feel.