2nd gear synchro FIX- MT owners read this thread

[gmookher]

Originally Posted by 2forme

I gotta say I'm experiencing the same. It's still notchy/grinds if you shift too fast. The oil "feels" thinner than the stock oil, in that the notchyness is not as muted, if you can imagine it being muted.

I'm willing to give it a few more miles, and maybe a cold morning or two, but as it sits right now.... I'm probably going to swap it out at some point in the near future.

Sorry

sucks for you.
Mines SO much better...

[2forme]

Originally Posted by gmookher

sucks for you.
Mines SO much better...

Live and learn I guess.

[developer]

Originally Posted by Brzer

I decided to get Motul gear 300 for the rear dif. Any problem with also using it in the manual transmission?

The Motul 300 is good for both the dif and transmission. That is what I am planning on using for both. I haven't seen another BRZ in Portland, just an FR-S.

[roddy]

I have played around with the transmission fluid in this car a bit now (as I did with the Mustang), and here are some of my thoughts:

Stock: A fair bit of effort going into 2nd, kind of notchy, and an irritating little crunch occasionally going into 3rd. I know the manual calls for 75W90, but I suspect the factory fill may be thinner.

Redline MT-90 (75W90): Still kind of notchy, but improved. 1-2 is better, 2-3 crunch is gone completely (yay!). As the weather is turning cooler, the 1-2 shift is starting to degrade until the car warms up. This is at temps below about 50F...it's not even cold yet. It is nothing unusual to see temps between -5F to 15F during the winter here. I don't think I would be happy with it as a winter fluid.

Experiment: I wanted to see if the trans liked a thinner fluid, so I got a little silly last weekend and used up some stuff I had laying around. I mixed 1 quart of Redline MTL (70W80), a liter of Honda MFT (not sure of the viscosity, but it's thin), and topped it off with some Amsoil synchromesh (5W30) that I had left over from the Mustang.. WOW! smooth as silk, even first thing in the morning. Damn 3rd gear crunch is back though. Just an experiment...

Pentosin: We shall see. I'm hoping it is a happy medium between the MT-90 and the experiment. I ordered 3 liters today.

[KingRohan]

Did you order stateside or in ON?

Originally Posted by roddy

I have played around with the transmission fluid in this car a bit now (as I did with the Mustang), and here are some of my thoughts:

Stock: A fair bit of effort going into 2nd, kind of notchy, and an irritating little crunch occasionally going into 3rd. I know the manual calls for 75W90, but I suspect the factory fill may be thinner.

Redline MT-90 (75W90): Still kind of notchy, but improved. 1-2 is better, 2-3 crunch is gone completely (yay!). As the weather is turning cooler, the 1-2 shift is starting to degrade until the car warms up. This is at temps below about 50F...it's not even cold yet. It is nothing unusual to see temps between -5F to 15F during the winter here. I don't think I would be happy with it as a winter fluid.

Experiment: I wanted to see if the trans liked a thinner fluid, so I got a little silly last weekend and used up some stuff I had laying around. I mixed 1 quart of Redline MTL (70W80), a liter of Honda MFT (not sure of the viscosity, but it's thin), and topped it off with some Amsoil synchromesh (5W30) that I had left over from the Mustang.. WOW! smooth as silk, even first thing in the morning. Damn 3rd gear crunch is back though. Just an experiment...

Pentosin: We shall see. I'm hoping it is a happy medium between the MT-90 and the experiment. I ordered 3 liters today.

[FreshFRS]

Anybody think of redline lightweight shockproof?

[ziptiespec]

Originally Posted by gmookher

what pentosin are you using-mtf2?

Yes, the MTF2.

Driving the car today it was a little better. There was only a very small amount of a grind on the drive home. I've noticed that the lower in the RPMs you are when you shift, the worse the 1-2 shift feels. When I shift closer to red line, the sensation is very smooth.

The wife's taking the car tomorrow so I'll get to hear her input as well.

I also received my Whiteline Positive Shift Kit today. I'm just waiting on the Perrin shifter bushing before I take my next step in improving the feel of the transmission.

Originally Posted by 2forme

I gotta say I'm experiencing the same. It's still notchy/grinds if you shift too fast. The oil "feels" thinner than the stock oil, in that the notchyness is not as muted, if you can imagine it being muted

I think you're right about the notchiness being less muted, that is an apt description in my case as well. I tend to shift - well not slow, but not fast either, and it feels almost as you describe. As I noted above though, the higher in the RPMs that I shift, the smoother it feels.

Originally Posted by roddy

Experiment: I wanted to see if the trans liked a thinner fluid, so I got a little silly last weekend and used up some stuff I had laying around. I mixed 1 quart of Redline MTL (70W80), a liter of Honda MFT (not sure of the viscosity, but it's thin), and topped it off with some Amsoil synchromesh (5W30) that I had left over from the Mustang.. WOW! smooth as silk, even first thing in the morning. Damn 3rd gear crunch is back though. Just an experiment...

Pentosin: We shall see. I'm hoping it is a happy medium between the MT-90 and the experiment. I ordered 3 liters today.

I hope that the Pentosin balances your 1-2 and 2-3 issues. I've thought about trying Torco MTL or RTF (or a mixture of both) if the Pentosin ends up not feeling right to me. I also have a stockpile of old Honda MTL formulation (red cap) that I've thought about playing with but I think I'll keep that out of the FR-S.

[rice_classic]

Grind? I'm 7300 miles in my car including 2 track days. No grind, not once, not at all.

Maybe I'm misinterpreting. What is your definition of "grind"? My definition of grind means the synchro did not synchronize the gear and the engagement teeth were still spinning when the shift collar tried to engage them causing a grind. Is that what's happening? If so you've convinced me to never try anything that's been mentioned above.

[Marrk]

I've never heard of Pentosin or Torco, but that ain't sayin' much.


At the risk of total apostasy, I thought I would mention Honda's MT Fluid. It was always the best choice for the Aisin tranny in the S2000. Might work in the FT-86.

[roddy]

Originally Posted by KingRohan

Did you order stateside or in ON?

The Pentosin? I ordered from my local VW/Audi/BMW specialist. It is in turn coming from B.C.. He said it should be here in a couple of days.

[roddy]

Originally Posted by ziptiespec

I hope that the Pentosin balances your 1-2 and 2-3 issues. I've thought about trying Torco MTL or RTF (or a mixture of both) if the Pentosin ends up not feeling right to me. I also have a stockpile of old Honda MTL formulation (red cap) that I've thought about playing with but I think I'll keep that out of the FR-S.

I hope so too. From what I have read, the old Honda formulation is a little thicker and works better. It works great in the similar trans in the S2000. If you have some and don't like the pentosin, it might be worth a shot. The stuff I had was the new formulation.

[roddy]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

Grind? I'm 7300 miles in my car including 2 track days. No grind, not once, not at all.

Maybe I'm misinterpreting. What is your definition of "grind"? My definition of grind means the synchro did not synchronize the gear and the engagement teeth were still spinning when the shift collar tried to engage them causing a grind. Is that what's happening? If so you've convinced me to never try anything that's been mentioned above.

I'm not far behind you in mileage. I don't know if I would call what I am experiencing a full on grind, but your description makes sense. Occasionally on the 2-3 shift (with the OEM lube and the thinner oil I mixed up on the weekend), I get a slight crunch. It slides into gear fine with no resistance, just a slight noise, and I can feel it in the shifter. This only happens under light throttle "normal" driving at 2500-4000 RPMs. Full throttle high RPM quick shifts are no problem. I was actually really happy with the MT-90 until the outside temperatures started getting near freezing overnight. I think it would have become bothersome once the temperatures get really low. If I wasn't driving the car through a cold Canadian winter, I'd have no problem leaving the MT-90 in there.

[ziptiespec]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

Maybe I'm misinterpreting. What is your definition of "grind"? My definition of grind means the synchro did not synchronize the gear and the engagement teeth were still spinning when the shift collar tried to engage them causing a grind. Is that what's happening? If so you've convinced me to never try anything that's been mentioned above.

I've experienced what you describe above as well as what roddy describes. I didn't have the latter until switching to the Pentosin.

Originally Posted by Marrk

At the risk of total apostasy, I thought I would mention Honda's MT Fluid. It was always the best choice for the Aisin tranny in the S2000. Might work in the FT-86.

The old formulation (red cap/grey label) would probably work well enough. The new formulation (white cap/green label) hasn't impressed me in either my CRX's or S2000's transmissions.

[Marrk]

Originally Posted by ziptiespec

The old formulation (red cap/grey label) would probably work well enough. The new formulation (white cap/green label) hasn't impressed me in either my CRX's or S2000's transmissions.

That's odd. The white cap/green label has been much preferred by every s2k owner I've met (IRL or on the forums). I never had trouble with the white cap/green label, either in my s2k or my Fit. In fact, the Fit with that stuff in it is super slick, a real pleasure to drive.