Need helps draining the transmission fluid.

[Corn_Bread]

I screwed up out of sheer laziness. I took my car into Valvoline to change the oil. My shifter was clunky as hell so I asked them to flush the transmission fluid and replace it with their top brand. It worked very well for a month but now 1st and 2nd gear are even worse than they were before. Should I just grab some Motul Gear 300 and do it myself?

[menikmati]

I did both my transmission and differential with Motul 300 at approximately 5k miles and have had no complaints, I basically did it for the learning experience, peace of mind, and the "I-want-to-do-something-nice-to-my-car-today" feeling.

[Mr.ac]

Originally Posted by Corn_Bread

I screwed up out of sheer laziness. I took my car into Valvoline to change the oil. My shifter was clunky as hell so I asked them to flush the transmission fluid and replace it with their top brand. It worked very well for a month but now 1st and 2nd gear are even worse than they were before. Should I just grab some Motul Gear 300 and do it myself?

If you can do an oil change you can do it. You just need the 10mm hex/Allen wrench.
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19218

[Corn_Bread]

Originally Posted by Mr.ac

If you can do an oil change you can do it. You just need the 10mm hex/Allen wrench.
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19218

Thanks. I've thought about taking the car back since I have a warranty for the service, but I cannot imagine anything they could do to improve the situation (besides just give me my money back.)

[sly]

Originally Posted by Corn_Bread

I screwed up out of sheer laziness. I took my car into Valvoline to change the oil. My shifter was clunky as hell so I asked them to flush the transmission fluid and replace it with their top brand. It worked very well for a month but now 1st and 2nd gear are even worse than they were before. Should I just grab some Motul Gear 300 and do it myself?

These transmissions are made for GL-3 gear oil. GL-4 will also work but you can not use GL-5 oil which is what the majority of gear oils are. GL-3 and 4 oils are sulphur free. The transmission has brass and copper components and sulphur can degrade these parts. GL-5 contains sulphur and should not be used. If they used a GL-5 oil then you need to have it replaced. I would recommend either Subaru OEM gear lube, Pennzoil Synchromesh or Motul 300 which are all safe for yellow metals.

Engine oil should be fine as long as it's synthetic. The owner's manual states that these engines require synthetic oil. 0W-20 Mobil is what I used.

[Corn_Bread]

Originally Posted by sly

These transmissions are made for GL-3 gear oil. GL-4 will also work but you can not use GL-5 oil which is what the majority of gear oils are. GL-3 and 4 oils are sulphur free. The transmission has brass and copper components and sulphur can degrade these parts. GL-5 contains sulphur and should not be used. If they used a GL-5 oil then you need to have it replaced. I would recommend either Subaru OEM gear lube, Pennzoil Synchromesh or Motul 300 which are all safe for yellow metals.

Engine oil should be fine as long as it's synthetic. The owner's manual states that these engines require synthetic oil. 0W-20 Mobil is what I used.

Thankfully I kept the invoice and looked up the trans fluid used. Looks like they used a GL-4 MT fluid and 0W-20 synthetic for the engine.

http://content.valvoline.com/pdf/vps...sion_fluid.pdf

I'll have to keep looking to why it's so hard to shift into 1st and 2nd after driving 10-30 meters. Thanks for the oil suggestions.

[sly]

Originally Posted by Corn_Bread

Thankfully I kept the invoice and looked up the trans fluid used. Looks like they used a GL-4 MT fluid and 0W-20 synthetic for the engine.

http://content.valvoline.com/pdf/vps...sion_fluid.pdf

I'll have to keep looking to why it's so hard to shift into 1st and 2nd after driving 10-30 meters. Thanks for the oil suggestions.

Mine was a little difficult to shift into second as well. I've found that these transmissions like to be shifted at higher RPMs than I was used to. Try revving a little higher in first before shifting into second. Also, they like to be warm. I've found that after driving for a few miles, the transmission warms up and the shifts get a lot smoother.

Here is one of the most useful posts I've found here: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...0&postcount=82

I followed the advice and let the engine rev a little higher (run lower gears) while the engine is warming up. This increases friction to the oil which heats it up faster. I've found that my transmission shifts smoother much faster if I don't bog the engine down when it's cold, but let rev a little. I drive smoothly but one gear lower than I would normally use. This gets the transmission shifting great in no time.

[Ashikabi]

Originally Posted by BuiRicky

I recently just broke in my car. Should I drain both the engine and transmission oil? And what brand do you guys recommend? I also want to learn doing it myself any helpful video would be great

I didn't read the whole thread, just this first post. I would recommend doing transmission and differential. I bought my car at 12000 miles, and changed fluids a few thousand after that. Both my transmission and differential were very dark and had a lot of sediment, my drain plugs were caked in metal shavings. That's why I recommend it, just in case. Only costs maybe 40$ in fluids. Well worth the piece of mind IMO. I use Amsoil products. Visit a store ir call them and they will tell you what you need. All the big names are fine, I'd just avoid the cheap Wal-Mart stuff and the overpriced Japanese stuff(quality is fine just over priced unless you are a dedicated track guy)