As ever, the noise level surrounding lubricants is huge (Why??)

GL-5 is designed for hypoid gears like in differentials, that are subject to extreme sliding pressure. The gear oils designed to meet that spec must use Extreme Pressure ("EP") additives; those usually consist of sulfur & phosphorus. The GL-4 oils don't contain EP additives, and so are not recommended for differentials.

There are two potential problems with using an oil with EP additives in our manual transmissions. yayfortrees, you seem to have fixed on only one of them: the brass corrosion issue, and are ignoring the second one, which after all is the problem that is potentially relevant to this thread: hard to shift. It's not BS. My transmission was extremely hard to shift into first, and when I switched to Red Line MT-90 that issue disappeared completely, and it now it usually shifts effortlessly into first. Night and day difference. I know I'm not the only one who has experienced that because I've read many other posts reporting the same thing.

Apparently not all GL-5s cause that problem. Just like not all GL-5s will corrode brass. But SOME of them will. So that's why so many of us recommend GL-4 gear oils for your manual transmission: they are a safe bet.

Another issue (just because there aren't enough cans of worms opened around this topic) is that if you investigate cold flow performance you'll find the Red Line MT-90 and Amsoil MTG GL-4 products flow much better and at much lower temperatures than any of the GL-5s, including the GL-5s from Red Line and Amsoil. MT-90 slightly edges MTG but they both are good for subfreezing, where the conventional oils and the GL-5s turn to molasses or worse. Of the GL-5s, the best cold performer (and it's no rock star) is Amsoil Severe Gear. It's a great oil, but thickens up a lot below 0 deg F. Oils that thick tend to squeeze out of the way (channeling) and stay out of the way.

Bottom line, if you really want to protect your transmission and don't want to risk hard shifting or corroded synchros (I haven't torn down my tranny yet, but I've read a couple accounts online reporting that our synchros are in fact brass), then I recommend Amsoil MTG or Red Line MT-90. In warmer areas, the StaLube 85W-90 GL-4 should also be fine.

 

Get redline. Got it.

 

Mazzola, I can't really tell much from those pictures. If possible, get some other pictures using the macro function on the camera. That will let you take close-up pictures of parts in question. There should be a service spec for the max. I.D. for the seat, but if it looks in round and not beat up or dinged, it's probably fine. Same goes for the bushing, if it's scored badly it should be replaced, or if it's worn beyond limit.

SB5, now I want to go out and buy new oil for the trans. I just put that in there a month ago, and it cost me over $20, plus now I have to buy new oil! I'm not made of money!

JK, I should have read up more on it before buying. The local napa only had GL-5, and said it would be fine. Since I usually can't wait and want it right now, that's what I bought. Thanks for the lookout.

How much should I expect to pay for 3 quarts of Amsoil or Redline?

 

Ha cell phone pics. And I'm gonna order the new ones anyway to make it smoother even if this isn't the problem. It's $10 anyway. I'll take better pics next tome I get it out. And next week I'm gonna clean it all up. That think was disgusting.

 

If the tranny is shifting fine with the GL-5 you have in there, it probably won't be too bad for the synchros.

If you want the synthetic, it is more, just like true synthetic motor oils. Both MT-90 & MTG are $12-13/qt. But you don't change it anywhere near as often as motor oil. You can look for a local dealer of Red Line here: http://www.redlineoil.com/dealers.aspx Otherwise, summitracing.com sells Red Line for good prices & reasonable shipping.

Amsoil MTG is available from them : http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/mtg.aspx . . . http://www.amsoil.com/catalog.aspx?GroupID=213

Or you can search for a local Amsoil dealer: http://www.amsoil.com/locator/dealerlocator.aspx

 

How many miles is synthetic trans. oil good for anyway? 40K to 50K miles?

 

IDK, I'll be interested to hear what others here have to say. I change mine when I do my timing belt, around 70k. Maybe I'm being lax. It doesn't look too bad when I drain it, but I've never had a UOA done on it. If you tow, probably it should be changed at something like 24-30k. Again, that's for synthetic - conventional probably around 1/2 - 2/3 as many miles.

 

Do I have a W56 transmisson?

If so should I order this red bushing?
http://www.marlincrawler.com/transmi...ver-ball-seats

 

Only you can determine that. Although the VIN plates sometimes lie, it will tell you what transmission you have. It is most likely a W56, seems the W series was the most popular transmission for the 4 cylinders.

Whether or not you should order the bushing, just depends on the condition the current one is in. Granted, the bushing from marlin is probably a better material, so if you want to, go for it. If the current bushing is in good condition, don't expect it to fix your difficult shifting problem.

 

Judging from those pics, that's not a w56,that's a g52. W56s shifters are bolted down by 6 bolts, that only has four, one on each corner. You have the same tranny as me so you should get the white one for the transmission and the blue one for the transefercase. You might also need the socket that sits on the tip of the shifter, mine was all worn out of shape.

 

Well its not BS that some GL-5s cause hard shifting. That's a fact I've experienced myself. I'm sure not all GL-5 do, maybe most don't. But some do. I can't explain why toyota would spec it, except that they goofed.

 

Hm. Then for the life of me I can't figure out why Mobil would say otherwise about their own product:

http://www.mobil.com/USA-English/Mot...hronizers.aspx

 

Thanks alot. I think the socket was in good shape but I might replace it anyway.

 

Where do I add the transmisson oil at? I got GL-4 but not sure where to put it exactly. Don't make fun of me lol.

 

since you have an intermittent problem it sounds like your problem is an input shaft "pilot" bearing that is binding up at times. I think your clutch is disengaging properly, but the input shaft is still spinning. I highly doubt its the type of gear oil, bad synchros, or any other complicated problem. If the problem started right after the clutch was worked on then it has to be related. here is the part no.... 90363-12002...

 

It's the worse it's ever been today. I had to cut the truck off to put it in first at redlights and force the gears the whole time.

 

^^2X Ya this is not a gear oil related issue...

 

My clutch is loose feeling and I added oil and checked every thing. What could be wrong with the pressure plate.

 

Now the clutch won't engage at all. Oh no...

 

hmmm. Slave Master cylinder? is the carpet wet with brake fluid underneath the clutch pedal? how is the fluid level in the slave master reservoir? now that you say the pedal feels loose it would seem that the clutch master or slave cylinder is bad... not a hard fix if its one of these....