quick question

[m8r8j]

yea my manual transmission fluid is black.

my haynes says to use MERCON atf...

double checking, ATF in a manual tranny?? shouldnt it be gear oil?

would any MERCON atf work? or should i use a certain brand, what do you guys reccomend?

 

[Mark_88]

My 88 says the same thing...ATF works as long as you get the right rating...as in Mercon or Mercon II...I've got a bottle of it in the garage for my M5OD...but I can't remember off-hand what one it is...

Biggest problem, once you get the right fluid...is getting it into the tranny...and for that try to find one of those squirter bottles with the tube neck...otherwise you will spend a lot of time on your back (unless you have a hoist) spoon feeding the fluid into the tranny opening...which I did the first time...

 

[Sevensecondsuv]

Yes ATF is what you want. I've known guys who assumed it just took "gear lube" like the manual tranies of the 60s and it turned out the M5OD didn't like gear lube so much. Pretty much all modern manual gearboxes take ATF. Since it only takes 3 quarts, I like to put synthetic in mine because it shifts super smooth and theoretically should help gas mileage at little due to less friction between gears in the tranny. In all gears except 4th anyways, lol.

To get it in the tranny you need a good transfer pump. That way you just set the bottle on the floor, put one hose in the bottle, and other in the tranny and pump until it comes out the fill plug opening in the tranny. You should be able to buy such a pump at your local parts store for less than $20.

 

[snake]

You can just take the shifter out and pour fluid right in from the top... have the fill bolt out so it will run out when it is full.

 

[pocket-rocket]

I run a 3 foot piece of clear rubber hose to the engine bay, put one of the pointy caps from the top of a bottle of gear lube and squeeze the bottle until I hear it overflow into my catch pan. ATF is much better then what my cars use. I have to go to the stealership and spend $10+/qt. for a bottle of GM Syncromesh synthetic fluid, but so far nothing but that makes my Getrag shift as smooth as that stuff does.