m5od fluid help

[theAntihero]

My 91 ranger has been shifting a bit hard for a little while, mostly in 1st and 2nd with 3rd being a bit notchy as well.

I replaced the leaking master cylinder so i assumed the slave cylinder needs replaced as well but for giggles i replaced the fluid(the car has just been recently ressurected from a 7 year stint of being parked in the woods) and it was quite dark and varnish smelling plus the magnet was packed with basically sludge. Now while the problem hasnt dissapeared it is shifting far smoother so im thinking that its more an old fluid problem/sludge problem rather than the slave cylinder.

So what would you guys recomend to really clean out and help my tranny? Trick Shift? Some sort of Trans Medic? Something from RedLine?

 

[adsm08]

I think I saw this thread already.

 

[wizkid00104]

I'd say a nice synthetic ATF for Mercon V applications. I prefer Amsoil. You could look at adding some Sea Foam. You can out that stuff in any orifice of the vehicle and it seems to help in some way. Check out Amsoils website. You can select your vehicle and it will tell you the volumes and correct fluids to use. Good luck!

 

[kunar]

i would just run some cheap atf, if the old stuff was really bad change it again in a few thousand miles. a manual trans doesnt really make much heat and isnt subject to combustion gasses or anything like that. no real reason to go way overboard with it.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

I use Amsoil ATF in my '91 5 speed Mazda trans. I would run regular ATF a few hundred miles and then change it to the synthetic.

If the vehicle has a bunch of miles on it, the shifter bushings are probably shot and this will cause the shifter to hang up, since the whole thing tends to drop a little bit further into the tranny and it hangs on the shift rails. New bushings made mine feel like a new transmission.

There is a thread on here about replacing the shifter bushings, and I posted a similar one on www.garagejournal.com >>>HERE<<< using a very complete set of pics, but you have to be signed up and logged on to see the pics. The thread on this board is a little dated and the p/n's have changed. The prices have also changed, expect to spend about $130 at the dealer for the necessary parts.

Charles

 

[theAntihero]

I think I saw this thread already.

Yeah, i thought i might get some more responses in this forum.

I like your idea though.

 

[theAntihero]

Ok, so as an update ive run it for a couple hundred miles now and threw in some Lucas ATF stuff. The Lucas helped immensly and now it shifts better but still not perfect.

Here's the thing that gets me though, it shifts great when its first driven but gets harder the more it drives. Correct me if im wrong but if it wasnt a fluid issue and the slave cylinder was gone wouldnt it always be bad?