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>>Tranny Fluid Info and Experimenting Thread<< (Amsoil, Redline, USC, etc.)

207K views 404 replies 74 participants last post by  persia 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
>>Tranny Fluid Info and Experimenting Thread<< (Amsoil, Redline, USC, etc.)

UPDATE:

To start off, a link to " MEMBER TESTIMONIALS (on page 2 of this thread)" where there are tons of testimonials and lots to read.

What I ended up running and install pics. >>>>HERE on page 4<<<<


MY Blackstone analysis of my USC fluid that I replaced. >>>HERE<<<

Also started a "What fluid was your car running when it blew?" thread.

One more link to the Uncle Scotty's Cocktail Thread on Nasioc.

With that said where I started at 1-30-08:

So it is once again tranny fluid time in my car, or getting close anyways. Last time I used a synthetic version of USC or "Uncle Scottys Cocktail" I came up with. It works great, but in my quest to not leave well enough alone and brand homogeneity, I wanna try an all Amsoil formulation. Specifically, replace the Frankenstein colored Redline Lightweight shockproof with something, but we'll see where the research and findings take me.

What I am currently running:
I mixed up a batch of "Uncle Scottys Cocktail" but a full synthetic version in my 06 TR at 15k miles.

1 qt Redline lightweight shockproof
1 qt Amsoil syncromesh
2 qt Amsoil 75w90 gear oil.
What I am thinking about going with:

4 0z Amsoil slip lock
1
qt Amsoil MTG
1 qt Amsoil syncromesh
1.5 qt Amsoil 75w90 gear oil.

The bold is what I am thinking about to replace the Lightweight shockproof. They have a lower kinematic viscosity at 40 deg which should lead to improved shift at cold temps. Using all Amsoil products also guarantees (through Amsoil) that I can up the service interval considerably.



Discuss.

Here are the results:

Now at page 24 we have come to some conclusions:

* We've decided Uncle Scotty's cocktail shifts nice for a while but breaks down really fast and needs really short change intervals.
--Also don't think syncromesh needs to be in the blend
--There is also concern it may cause extra wear

* Redline Lightweight Shockproof works well in the 5MT but not the STI trans (slinger lubrication versus pump)
--Seems to work just as well straight as mixed

* Straight Severe Gear 75w90 from Amsoil is not good in cold weather, but works well when mixed with shockproof

* SD_GR still loves his Valvoline conventional 75w90

* Subaru Extra S is the greatest gear oil to put in a stock Subaru
--It works well for a long time, shifts great, but is not sold in the quart. Its sold in the 5 gal drum, but many Subi tuners and dealer have it

FWIW Redline 75w90NS is what you'd run in the 5MT, but in non-mixed form it hasn't netted near the result of the Extra-S. Don't use MT90.
 
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#319 ·
+1

It's a closed rear diff for the WRX, so doesn't matter the oil, as long as you meet the specs. Extra S is fine. I used Mobil 1 with good results too. Just remember to always take the fill plug out first when changing the rear diff oil. Why? You don't want to drain the oil only to find you can't get the fill plug out afterwards (lol).
 
#320 ·
Hey I'm new on this forum, but my respect for it.
I would like to share my transmission story here.

I bought 02 bugeye from the first owner- 115k but in pretty good condition. After couple of months I've noticed periodic grinding when shifting from 3 to 4 gear. I never had any problems with my previous cars which all were manual 14 years in business. I decided to change gear oil. 75W-90 this is the spec which was required by manual. I bought mobil1 syn. and replaced. After around 6000 miles grinding started be annoying. When the tranny oil was cold or cool - local driving was fine no noise, but when it got hotter highway drive 20 min+ you would have to do double clutch gear change to change from 3 to 4, not even talking about first without stopping. Although transmission was faster during the winter and not so sluggish as before. Something wasn't right. I thought I f...d up my tranny. I talked with my friend who was in subarus for rhe long time. He recommended amsoil- if this won't help you, you will need to replace gear synchro or replace tranny said at least $1500

I read on this forum about different mixes and stuff. Uncle Sammy’s etc. I took advice from you guys and decided to go with superS from subaru. In my area fishkill ny Subaru dealer sells it for $8/qt.I Bought 4 quarts, replaced and after 4 days 800 miles no grinding, vibration, smooth shifting.

Honestly, I will recommend superS in yor tanny all the time. Don't get me wrong transmission is the weakest point of wrx'es. After 140k my tranny runs strong. My car is stock but i understand people who have more hp. I plan to add some soon:) More hp and your tranny definitely will not handle the load. It suck's that subaru released wrx'es with so weak tranny. Oh well 'got to live it'.

O hope that my opinion will help somebody:) Very good post!
 
#322 ·
In my area fishkill ny Subaru dealer sells it for $8/qt.I Bought 4 quarts, replaced and after 4 days 800 miles no grinding, vibration, smooth shifting.
My dealer has never heard of it. Do you have a part number? For sale online maybe?
 
#324 ·
Well bring this thread back alive. I have some blackstone results for you all if you care to look at them. One is for the redline mix and then the SVG mix. Both mixes showed high iron though, which leads me to believe that a mix just wont work. If you had to do a mix though the svg and redline LW shockproof proved to be better than the LW shockproof and Redline NS mix surprisingly. Right now I am on teh Extra S (6K on it) and will swap it out at 20K do a test and see where the results all shake out, so check back in about a year and I will have the final results.

By sdh7711 at 2011-11-06
 
#326 ·
Very nice post indeed.

I don't have data like that, unfortunately, but I can now sum up my Amsoil experience as I've now switched to Motul Gear 300 75W90 synthetic. The difference shifting wise is night and day. There is still a little bit of notchiness in cold shifting, but not nearly as bad as with the Amsoil. My experiences with Amsoil were poor, at best, from brand new to removal. When cold, I was regularly locked out of second gear at normal shifting RPM's and intervals. Having to drive in 1st gear until 4000 RPMS, or wait until the car slowed down to 10MPH, causing a bogging effect when cold, I could justify keeping this fluid through winter.

Motul has brought back smooth shifting when warm, no more locking out of second gear, and minor notchiness when cold. Downshifting performance increased with smoother feel and quicker gear changes than Amsoil. In summation, I won't be using another Amsoil product in this car.

Best experience still remains Uncle Scotty's Cocktail, may return to that after I'm done with the Motul.
 
#329 · (Edited)
I need your guys advice on what tranny fluid to put in...I have the OPPOSITE effect in my tranny then most of you...When cold my tranny shifts perfect, seems like the synchros are working great..the thicker viscosity helps my gears/sychros..then on the other hand...the minute the tranny warms up my synchros go to hell, sometimes i can't shift into 1st on a dead stop unless I rev-match it. I understand my sychros are going out...but what kinda OIL should i add to help ease the shift when warm? (By the way im running a 2002 WRX stock...with Subaru Extra S (5k miles since tranny oil change), & I live in southern Cali were its HOT!!!almost all year long)
 
#331 ·
Just got my car back after a major tranny repair (bent shift fork resulting in additional problems). The rebuild is running just regular NAPA type gear oil for break in. That's all well and good and shifting fine, but the car wasn't driving right. Lot's of shudder and noise on low speed turns. My thought was the new Cusco RS front LSD was locking up too much and causing the tires to skip. So I added a half bottle of GM friction modifier I had lying around from a rear diff oil change on my GTO from a couple years ago and WOW! Car drives perfect with tons of new grip with the LSD. I guess adding the LSD to the 5MT moved the maintenance requirements to the same as the 6MT.

I'm going back to the recommended mix for a PPG box, 3 qts LW Shockproof and 1 qt Motul 300. I presume the Motul will act as the friction modifier for the LSD.
 
#334 ·
Just curious. If I don't get any improvement with the Extra S I'm putting in tomorrow, I might think about that.
 
#336 ·
In my 02 5spd I use Valvoline regular 75W-90, and I have not noticed much difference throughout the oil change interval. I'm down south but the car will occasionally see temps below 5C, and it's not brilliant until it warms up at those temps but then again nothing would be.
 
#337 ·
Spiros... I use Celsius in the medical field... and I still have to pull it up every time you reference it :rotfl:
 
#338 ·
Human body temp is roughly 36,8C or so with anything below 35C considered hypothermia and anything above low 37Cish in adults a fever, but that's another story.

SoCal is actually a more challenging environment than one might think. I know you've lived here so you too know day temps can exceed 40C in summer and night temps can drop below 0C in winter. In fact it's possible to go from 30C to below 0C in the same day, as I did visiting relatives in the mountains from my house at sea level. It's amazing to me that regular Valvoline works as well as it does with the temp extremes possible, but it does.

I'm due for a change but will just put more of the stuff in. For a splash system like the 5 SPD it's hard for me to justify additional expense since the stuff just works. If I had a pumping system like the 6 SPD I would look for ExtraS though.
 
#340 ·
Human Body is 37* or 98.6F. Officially a fever is 38* Or 100.3F
 
#343 ·
Let us know how it works out for you, as above, I had a horrible experience with it. Don't know what kind of difference could exist between the two aside from maybe climate, but still it would be nice to know how others feel about it.
 
#342 ·
Well I thought I'd chime in for Motul. I changed the tranny and diff to Motul(I got it at cost so I figured why not try it.) after I bought the car (45k miles) and I think it made a heck off a difference. It seems like it wants to go into gear much easier now, especially 1st. I don't know what fluid was in it, but it was clean haha.

Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk
 
#346 ·
Just changed my tranny fluid... Should I be worried? lol

Floor Flooring


Found this roll pin stuck to the magnetic drain plug. Being I just had the tranny rebuilt, I guess you could say I was surprised. Any thoughts on what this is and where it came from? The thing is the car runs and shifts perfectly, with no strange noises. I hope it was just FOD (foreign object debris) from the reassembly. I hope i don't have to have the car torn apart again. I just got it back after two months :eek:

P.S. I'd say it looks like a shift fork roll pin, but if that was the case, I wouldn't be able to shift...
 
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