What about the Manual transmission?

Hi. Ignorant question: I see the threads on changing the gear oil in the front and rear differentials, and the transfer case, but what about the transmission? I see a drain plug. 5-speed, manual, 1998, SR 5, extra cab, 4wd.

As always, thanks for the help!

 

Look into redline mt-90. Its gl4

$30 75w-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

75w-90.

Its expensive, but absolutely worth every penny. 5spd 2.7l was grinding going from 5th to 4th, and the redline completely eliminated it. Only downfall is that its 60 bucks a gallon..

 

$91 Red Line 50305, MT-90 75W-90 GL-4, Synthetic Gear Oil for Manual Transmission and Transaxles - 1 Gallon

https://www.amazon.com/Red-Line-503...coding=UTF8&psc=1&ref=yo_pop_d_yo_pop_d_pd_t1

Heres a link.. youll want to get a pump handle too because you cant get the bottle turned at the right angle to fill it back up. Also make sure you take off the fill plug before you drain the oil so that you can ensure you will be able to fill it back up. Sometimes folks have trouble getting the fill plug off

Heres the pump i used with my gallon jug.

$10 CUSTOM ACCESSORIES Pennzoil 36671 Pennzoil Fluid Transfer Pump - Gallon

https://www.amazon.com/Custom-Acces..._rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=VZQPM20907EFYXE7YXV2

 

Fill plug should be up above it one either the right or left hand side of the tranny. On my gen 2, the fill was on the driver's side near the top, and the drain was on the passenger side, near the bottom. I recommend using only a 6 sided socket when removing it so that you don't end up stripping the head of the plug upon removal

 

Not interested in getting into an oil debate, but Walmart sells Supertech Full Syn gl-4/5 75W-90 for about $6 a quart. I put it into my transmission and the shifting was improved.
A lot of the reasoning behind why the shifting feels a lot better than it did before is because the old oil was broken down after miles/age (duh).
Supertech is supposedly bottled alongside Mobil 1 according to Bob Is The Oil Guy speculators, or Warren Distribution, or some other reputable oil manufacturer.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Super-Tech-Full-syn-75w90-Gearoil-Qt/309470123

Don't overthink it. Any GL4/5 rated oil is fine, which is what your manual says you can use.

That being said, I have heard many people say that the manual tranny comes slightly overfilled from the factory by about 1/4 quart. This is why when you change the oil on level ground, that you are getting notchy shifting later. I always jack up the passenger side of the truck a little bit and add another 1/4 or so quart. I never have an issue with notchy shifting unless the tranny is super cold or the oil is very old. If it's notchy when cold, then you can just match-rev until it's warmed up.

 

Thanks, but wasn't asking about oil, but rather, I was asking if people change the Trans. oil, only saw diff's, and transfer case. I may be blind though. Might 'splain my speeding tickets...

Any how, I changed the tranny, transfer case, and rear diff. Really is quit now. No metal on magnets, but the oil definitely had "sparkle" and was dark. I used Mobile Devcon

$30 75w-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

75w-90, additive in rear axle.

Cheers!

 

IIRC, the Toyota recommendation is change it every 90K.

 

yes, you should change it just about as often as you change your diff oils.

 

Toyota recommends the rear diff oil be changed every 30K. Of course, if you have larger than stock tires and wheel hard, you may consider doing it more often as those things cause the diff gear oil to break down faster.

 

Whenever I get a "new to me" vehicle I ALWAYS change the transmission fluid. This is for a few reasons:

1. To see what was in there. Was it full, was it clean, was it contaminated ?
2. To reset the service interval. I know how long it has been in there because I put it in there.
3. To know WHAT is in there.

The Toyota manual gear boxes are Tough ! The Toyota 5 Speed W59 gearbox is a solid unit that will provide many miles and years of service. All it needs is clean fluid of the proper type and at the proper level.

If the transmission isn't leaking (and most Toyota manuals don't leak) I'll spend the money for Amsoil synthetic simply because after I put that in there, I don't have to fool with it again unless the gearbox is contaminated. If you routinely submerge the truck in water, you may want to go with something a bit cheaper in case you need to replace it often.

Amsoil synthetic GL4 is worry free and worth the extra cost, IMO.
I've run Amsoil in several vehicles and it has proven to be excellent.

The advice about removing the fill plug first to guarantee that you can get the fill plug out, is good advice.
The advice about getting a cheap pump is also good advice. It is very difficult to fill any transmission in the vehicle without a pump and tube.

 

I wonder if their ATF would fix the grinding in my F-250 manual? It's a ZF-5 transmission but uses ATF instead of gear oil. It grinds from 5th to 4th as well as 3rd to 2nd. Highly inconvenient when towing something big and heavy! Pretty sure the synchros are going bad in it though so I don't know if anything will help though other than a rebuild.

 

"Pretty sure the synchros are going bad in it though so I don't know if anything will help though other than a rebuild"

You answered your own question. Nothing in a bottle is going to fix worn synchronizers and gears.

 

4 banger Tacomas use a W59, 3.4s use the R150F.

That's why last change I decided to use 80w-90 with a dash of 85-140. So far so good, everything has been smooth both on and off the highway.