i’ve already looked this up on son but the most recent thread about it was a long time ago…
also posted on neo240sx.ca
now i have found out that there really isn’t such thing as ‘manual transmission fluid’ for the ka, and that we are supposed to use gear oil… i thought that there wouldn’t be a better time to replace the fluid in my tranny than now, but i got into a fight with myself… if i buy some non-synthetic 80w-90 gear oil with some lucas stabilizer, will my tranny be ok? i read some horror stories on son about GL-5 oils not doing well with stock 240 trannies… but the guy at car quest told me that what used to be GL-3 turned into GL-4, which is now GL-5… wtf. i picked up some quaker state 80w-90 gear oil with the lucas and apparently this is ok for the tranny… its GL-5…
i would feel much better knowing someone else has done this or knows more about it than i do…
thanks in advance!
Um, I have no idea why you heard you can’t use tranny fluid. IIRC a lot of poeple use the redline or something fluid in their tranny, it’s supposed to be the best. Someone who knows what they’re talking about should post shortly
for some reason, though, canadian tire, part source, car quest and the nissan dealership don’t carry any manual transmission fluid. thats why i thought it didn’t exist… i’m not gonna be spending lots of money on this stuff cause its for a tranny thats going into a car i’m selling… as long as its as good as stock then i’ll be happy… like i said, i picked up some gear oil and oil stabilizer. thats what everybody has recommended
Gear Oil is manual transmission fluid by the way. Unlike auto, manuals dont have a special fluid. I would agree with Redline make sure you use a synthetic at least. Also if you want to have your syncros mesh a bit smoother put about 300ml of automatic tranny fluid into it. I go like this with mine.
2.1L of Synth Gear Oil
300ml auto fluid
KA’s take about 2.4L of fluid easy way to remember is engine displacement is also tranny fluid capacity on our cars lol.
i like to keep it simple… i buy 5 litres of Castrol Syntec 75w90 and i throw 3L in the tranny and 2L in the diff… done.
and, on a side note… the ONLY motor oil i use is Castrol Syntec 0w30, but it has to be ‘Made in Germany’ (says so on the bottle). trust me, it’s the only “true” synthetic!
this is the thread i originally got my hesitations from… some guy said not to use synthetics but never explained why… mr200 posted a good explanaiton of what makes synthetic oil different than non synthetic, but for some odd reason i still don’t want to risk anything by putting synthetic in (if there even IS a risk)…
the main question is this: i bought non synthetic quaker state 80W-90 gear oil (GL-5) and lucas stabilizer… 2L of oil and 0.4L of stabilizer will go into the tranny… will it be ok?
add: i know and understand the point that oil additives can most defintiely be marketing gimmicks but i don’t see how they would harm anything if they were meant to be mixed with oil, so i’m pretty sure i’ll put in the lucas with the oil…
ok so the end result is that some people have used synthetic/non synthetic GL5 and it has ruined some trannies and done nothing to others… i’m just gonna buy redline MT90
thats what i pointed out in my first post… sorry if i call gear oil tranny fluid… i know its not the same but i’m obviously refering to gear oil…
but like spd-dmn said, GL5 corrodes brass… although you’d have to be using it for quite a while before it starts to affect shifting… but still i’m not gonna take a chance
in the end, if i could find a GL4 non synthetic gear oil, i’d buy it. i could wait another week or 2 but i have to get this engine in asap… and i don’t want to worry about the tranny once its in…
