A few months ago I read a thread on Redline transmission oil curing the notchy 2K2 manual gearbox. At first I didn't believe it, But thought I'd give it a try! Well it worked great! I put in the MT 90, which is a 75W90 full synthetic gear oil (at 7 bucks a guart) at about 10,000 miles. At first I couldn't tell much difference. But I now have over 15,000 and the tranny shifts smooth and crisp! I believe it's probably a combination of the high quality oil and break-in. But now I really enjoy ripping through the manual gearbox! The car is much more of a pleasure to drive. I recommend Readline MT-90 to anybody with a notchy 6 Speed!

 

Good write up. My tranny is definitely notchy. I was just thinking about how much nicer those acura boys probably have it...my GSR was smooth as silk.
So, now here are my questions....how do you change out the tranny fluid? I've never touched a tranny in my life...always focused on the engine. I can't imagine it would be hard...but can you do it yourself? I thought the manuals were sealed...

 

Russ has a write-up in the How-To's which covers the 5speed. I'm pretty certain the 6speed will use a similar plan.

However, I would have to say that I'm still a bit skeptical. Sorry to say this but with john2002max's statement, another 5k miles on the shifter may explain the "smoothness". Both from being more used to it and from break-in. It's hard for me to believe that hypoid gear oils are that different.

 

No it's not hard. check this out www.greghome.com This is a very good write up! Just make sure your on level ground. When adding the MT-90 pour very slowly as the air in the tranny will have to come out of the hose and funnel. It's also not a bad idea to run a little of the MT through when it's done draining to help wash the dino out, just don't pour more than a 3rd of a Qt. You'll need to buy 3Qts and the tranny only holds 2-1/2.
Good luck.

 

well I went 20,000 miles with the gear fluid that came stock in my 5 speed GXE and the shifting was completly notchy, stiff and difficult

I recently switched to amsoil synthetic gear fluid and the difference is like night and day.

my best friend drove it and he also was amazed at the difference the synthetic fluid makes


don't knock it till you try it

 

The URL poster doesn't seem to be working now but check this dite out www.greghome.com once there click on Greg's Garage. He has a very good write up under the 2002 Max.

 

DRVolkl, Very easy to change. There is a drain plug on the bottom of the transmission and a fill plug on the side of the transmission(under the battery), I believe they both require and allen wrench to remove. you will need 3 Qts of oil, but it only take about 2 1/2 qts or so. You will need a funnel with a long flexible hose for filling, and fill it slow. Once the oil starts running out the fill hole your done! You will definatly feel the difference. Good luck!

John

 

I'd be careful about this. There was another thread in this group about somebody who switched to Amsoil synthetic transmission fluid. There was a big improvement at first, but then the transmission feel started to degrade badly.

Do a search for amsoil in the 5th gen forum.

Apparently, the synthetics don't allow the synchro's to grab properly.

 

Yikes....just like everything else, there's two sides to it! Ugh...well looks like I'll be doing some research for the next 2 months!

I wish there was something SIMPLE on this car!

Thanks for all the advice, it sounds like a pretty easy job, and I'll probably give it a shot.

 

Here's the link:

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....5&pagenumber=2

See page 2. Minirx7 was the fellow who put the Amsoil into his transmission and it went from great to bad.

There are some better explanations as to why putting synthetics into the transmission may not be such a great idea.