sick4runner

SO a few months ago i put some mobil synthetic 90 in my tranny, then later i read on here that the stuff is too good, and doesnt let the synchro's do their job. my shifting has gone to $h!t and was wondering if there is an additive, like, tranny honey or any other that will help out the synchro's with out me needing to do a full on drain/refill.

And i noticed that my shifter got sloppy which leads me to beleive that my bushing has deteriorated. sooo... can i just pour in the additive when i take off the shifter to check the bushing?

thanks ahead

('90, manual, 22re)

Mossback74

When you say "Some" do you mean complete fluid transfer, or just a drain and refill?

sick4runner

yeah my bad, i meant that i drained and refilled the tranny with mobil, i have heard that it is too slick and doesnt let the gears mesh properly. is there anything to add that will make the oil less slick or a little thicker?

sick4runner

anyone?

Dan_90SR5

I have two options, the latter of which I'd have to call my dad to ask him the name of the product. But this first should be the answer.

As I have told some on here, I have a Celica ('93) with a Toyota S-53 transaxle in it. These transmissions are notorious for having synchronizer failure. However, the Celica community has found the answer. You will have to do a full drain and this is not going to be cheap, but it will answer your problems better than anything else. You need to drain and refill your transmission with "GM Synchromesh". You can get this at your local GM dealership for about $13 per quart. Trust me, it's well worth it. Or I think it's Pennzoil that makes a "Synchromesh"(It will say it on the bottle). It goes for about the same. There are rumors that some GM dealerships say that this fluid does not exsist, but I can get you the part number if needed.

Now as far as an additive, there is a product that will cause the oil to "stick", for lack of a better word, to the gears. Again, this product I have to call my dad about. The local race engine builder and my dad both sware by it. I have personally never used this product.

My personal suggestion is the "Synchromesh".

jimbo74

hmmm... never heard of this stuff... anyone else got opinions on it? $13 a qt is steep, but its only $3 more a qt that mobil1 synthetic....... got any links to the supra site for that stuff?

Reldnew

The VW guys over on the vortex are heavily into the GM Syncromesh gear oil.
The Honda performance guys dig it too...

Nic

I fixed my shifting problem today. Replaced the shifter bushing and seat.Transmission now shifts like a dream:

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/manual-transmission-not-shifting-so-easy-read-27259/

sick4runner

that additive you were talking about sounds pretty good dan, if you could find out the name of the stuff that would be great. I dont really want to drain and refill cuz the mobil is prettynew, and i dont have the resources to do that right now. and the part number for the bushing would helpful as well Nic.

thanks for the responses!

Dan_90SR5

Alright, I'll call my dad in the morning and let you know. It's not an actual additive though, you are suppose to use it as like 25% of your oil or something like that. So you're going to have to drain about a half a quart or so of the Mobil1. Whatever you feel comes to the right ratio. I'm not sure about the bushing part number because I didn't post about that, but I'm sure someone will chime in on that soon.

Nic

This is the write-up that shows what you need to do. It also has an exploded view of the shifter. I just printed that and took it to Toyota to make it simpler. Sometimes I get a butthead to wait on me and the easier I can make it the better. They will know what you need though. This is a common item apparently. You would think Toyota would make these particular parts a bit more durable. Must be their gimmick, because it's one of the easiest fixes for such an annoying (and what I thought was serious) problem. They probably get to charge uninformed people good money for this all the time. As I said in my other post, my friend paid $200.00 to have it fixed because he thought his transmission was going bad. It couldn't have taken the dealer much more than 30 minutes to fix it.

http://www.off-road.com/toyota/tech/shifter/index.html

Here are the part numbers for my truck. I would think it would be the same for yours, but you may want to specify your model/year to make sure.

Shifter lever seat: 33505-35020 Cost $10.15
Shift lever bushing: 33548-31010 Cost $4.29

1997 Tacoma 4X4 2.7L Xtra cab manual

jimbo74

just thinking... is that additive lucas oil stabilizer?

Dan_90SR5

Actually, I called my dad this morning and that is what it is....Lucas. Like I said, the local shop that build race engines and my dad both sware by the stuff. I have personally never used it, but I know my dad uses it on everything.....all of his shop equiptment, neumatic tools, etc.

You can try it and see what happens. My choice would be the "Synchromesh", but I can understand the reason that you'd want to find a solution that would cost less. I think if you try the Lucas Oil and maybe replace those bushings, that might answer your problems.

jimbo74

im going to use some lucas and fill the rest with the synchromesh then....... the bushing no doubt needs changing and also i need to replace my throwout bearing.... then i bet i will not have anymore shifting issues.....

sick4runner

thanks alot guys, i now have aplan of action that should hopefully clear all this up! add some lucas, change the seat and bushing, and pray that it works. any idea where to pick up the lucas oil stabilizer at?

jimbo74

i get the lucas at allied auto parts, car quest, kragens -- also i think napa and pepbpys also carry it.... try the local auto parts stroes... most of them around here have it...... it carries a price tag of about $10 fro the quart, but that is comparable to the cost of synthetic gear oil

jimbo74

oh yeah, my 85 4x2 pickup has this problem too right? the article on replacement is for a 92 4runner....so does my 85 have that problem too? well easy fix?

sick4runner

Thanks a lot guys, i finally got under my runner and squirted in the lucas oil additive, sooooo much better, noticed right away. i still have trouble making it into first on the downshift, but every other gear is much smoother and quicker. it should keep me safe until I get a drain and fill this summer, should i go with red line MT-90, thats what i hear lots of people raving about.
thanks again

Bob_98SR5

sick,

great, glad to hear it. i know that the MT-90 did wonders for me. i also did the shift lever bushing but not the seat. i may do the seat and see if that fixes the last 5% of the felt shifting problems (not really a problem, but not perfect) i have.

bob

Toyo_Master

Easy fix. Just drain out the Mobil 1 and replace it with Red Line MT-90 GL4 at <$7.00 a quart for the 3 quarts and a little bit it's worth it. Don't use GL5, it's too slippery for the sychros.

Toyo Master