DIY: Changing Manual Transmission Fluid

[Tom1222]

Originally Posted by BLU BY U

i thought it was pretty funny too, however i had to use the cork from a champagne bottle to close the fill hole i drilled. ill have to wait until tomorrow to thread it and use a bolt to properly seal it.

When you do finally seal it make sure to save the cork for prosperity and then don't forget to install a Fumoto valve for quick changes

[BLU BY U]

ooooooo good idea. i like the way you think!

[dario]

Originally Posted by Tom1222

dario and Blu by U are getting +1 Rep each for making me laugh

LOL THANKS MAN!!!

[Fixer]

Funny how this thread came up first when I clicked New Posts. Funny because I changed my tranny fluid last night. Amsoil Synthetic Synchromesh fluid arrived yesterday and I picked up a shop syringe the day before. BCJ's DIY was helpful. Biggest pain was getting to the fill hole as there isn't much room. Was skeptical about results prior to the change. That totally changed when I drove to work this morning. Felt like I was in another car. No joke. And it was semi cool this morning too. Normally the dreaded 3rd gear grind would have been noticed. Not today. Very pleased with the results at this point!! Would definitely recommend to those suffering the 3rd gear blues. BTW, no extra drilling or corks required. Will consider that when I change the fluid in the rear differential however. :-)

[BATANG CITY JAIL]

^^ where the hell is my rep?? lol...

[dario]

thanks for the write up on this DIY. just did my fluid change on my SI and it was extremely easy. i choose to go with BG Syncromesh, so far i have not experienced any of the grinding from before and now my shifting is SMOOOTH!!!

thanks again + rep!

[Tom1222]

This is the second time I heard about this BG Syncromesh stuff.
Did you get BG Syncromesh or BG Syncromesh II? I believe the difference is that the regular BG SM is made of Dino Oil and the BG SM II is a full synthetic.

[dario]

yeah i went the syncromesh II, i love it no more grinding or popping out of
3rd gear. it was a little bit more expensive but i feel it was worth the price.

[Tom1222]

Originally Posted by dario

yeah i went the syncromesh II, i love it no more grinding or popping out of
3rd gear. it was a little bit more expensive but i feel it was worth the price.

How much was the BG stuff? and where did you get it? Is it mailorder only?

[e60.deluxe]

Originally Posted by dario

okay just throwing this out there but can you refill the tranny fluid from the dipstick port?

if you have an automatic, yes.

[dario]

Originally Posted by Tom1222

How much was the BG stuff? and where did you get it? Is it mailorder only?

i pd $15 a quart with a local performance shop known as Maximum Velocity. called a few other places looking for Amsoil but my friend told me about the BG stuff and thats what he's been using in his cars. he has used both and his preference is the BG stuff. you can try this link to see if any shops are in your area

http://www.bgfindashop.com/locator/index.php

if prices arent good let me know and i can get with my friend to have him ship out a few bottles to you. he's always good about doing deals like this, let me know and ill get more details on price with shipping.

[Tom1222]

Originally Posted by dario

i pd $15 a quart with a local performance shop known as Maximum Velocity. called a few other places looking for Amsoil but my friend told me about the BG stuff and thats what he's been using in his cars. he has used both and his preference is the BG stuff. you can try this link to see if any shops are in your area

http://www.bgfindashop.com/locator/index.php

if prices arent good let me know and i can get with my friend to have him ship out a few bottles to you. he's always good about doing deals like this, let me know and ill get more details on price with shipping.

Thanks! +1 Rep for being Helpful! There seems to be quite a few places that are BG Authorized Service Centers. I will call them and see if they have that stuff in stock.

Thanks again!

Darn, it tells me I have to spread more reps before I can give it to you again

[dario]

oh thats right you were my 1st LOL!!!!

its cool man thanks, let me know if there is anything else i can help with.

[digger1978]

BG makes super high quality products = higher costs. I can't speak to their Syncromesh product, but I used their fuel injection cleaners before. I was very satisfied with the end results of the car running smoother.

Saw a rep demo their fuel treatment products. At my buddies Honda dealer (motorcycle, not cars), they had a motorcycle with one year old fuel in it.
The bike ran, but popped and cracked any time you gave it gas. As you know the old fuel over time varnishes the inside of the carburetors. Hence, the bike ran like crap. They dumped out the old gas and only put in fresh gas. The rep dumped in about 2 capfuls of product and let the bike idle for about 10-15 minutes. They came back and reved it up once, it popped once, but the second time they cracked the throttle, all the backfires and pops were gone! I couldn't believe it. If I didn't see it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe it (especially at $22 a can).

[Yodums]

I just swapped out the factory manual transmission fluid with 1337 kilometers on the odometer (it was definitely a sign). I already did the job on my previous R18, so it was pretty straight forward and only took about 30 minutes. The difference between this job and the previous job was the amount of fluid that came flowing out of the fill hole this time. The car was leveled and it just exploded. Just to give you an idea of how much manual transmission fluid was originally in the car, take a look at the picture below. To be accurate, I isolated the 0.2 quarts of Amsoil I didn't use. Also, notice that the bottles of Amsoil are topped off and there's about 1/3 of MTF in the water bottle.



No more grinds into second and although third is still a bit crunchy, it was a lot better than what I was feeling before.

[Punting_midgets]

Great DIY. I would recommend that everyone does this, it makes a noticeable difference

[Yodums]

Another tip I might add is doing it when the car's cooled down. The bolts will be easier to get off and the metals around the area won't burn your hand if you come in contact with it, nor will the fluid feel terribly uncomfortable if it gets on you.

[dextor]

I don't know if anyone has posted this:

If you're not having major problems with your shifting on non-Si's, you should just wait until the proper maintenence interval to change the MTF. In my 07 LX, what I thought was MTF problem just turned out to be normal gear shifting mechanical stuff, and I found out after I put Amsoil in. I wish I had saved that $30.

[FujiApples]

the shifting notchiness is definately a mechanical problem, but having better lubricant in it helps a little bit. the notchiness i think may be either related to the shifter assembly or in the linkage somewhere.. probably not the actual gear or selecter.

anyway I have another question for you guys who did the MTF change. I did mine today a few hours ago . I used 10w-40 Motul Synthetic Gear Oil that the dealership sold me. they told me thats the best kind of stuff for the car and they said its the perfect weight.. i just wanted to confirm this since i think most of you are using 5w-30?

[ex5coupe]

from my experience the manual trans quantity is around 2 quarts, i noticed that if you fill the car on flat ground but then raise it up to put the plug in, some fluid will come out being on an angle. the reason for this is that the differential case is shaped like a V and if you visualize the V on an angle you can see how when you jack up your car and remove the plug you think its overfilled from the factory but i dont beleive that is the case.