OK. So I drained the old mt fluid and added 2 quarts of new red line mt-85 and about 16 ounces of nissan original 75w85 mt fluid to my 6 spd tranny today. The manual calls for 2.3 liters which is about 80 oz. Re-torqued the plugs to 27 ft-lbs. Outside temp was around 60 deg F. The tranny shifts very smoothly. There is a remarkable positive diff. compared to red line mt-90. It's not notchy at all. I didn't even noticed the 3rd gear crunch. I drove the car for about 45 mins. on the freeway and in stop and go. I'm convinced that this gear oil is definitely much better for our trannies than the mt-90.

 

Sounds good Realtor and thanks for the update. I'll have to order some MT85. I've tried MT-90 and I'm currently running Amsoil; Amsoil seems to be better but not much difference. One of the nissan dealerships near me doesnt sell its brand gear oil, they just have it on hand for mechanics use; I'll have to call around to others. The real test for me would be in 20-30 degree weather.

 

I'm up to bat next. It's a balmy 46 degrees out, which will definitely skew the results to the positive, so expect a more complete writeup when the temperatures drop back into the low 20s. Will post back later today with the initial results.

 

Thanks realtor my 85 is supposed to be in today and cant wait to get the amsoil outta there,that stuff sux.The mt-90 I had in before was better but not great either.this will be the last time I change my gear oil unless I blow a tranny,clutch,or an axle,this is the 4th and last time lol.200 dollers worth of fluid in 8months hah fml.thanks again realtor ill let you know how it is when I get in in there.

 

036mtmax & Eirik, looking forward to your results too. I might place my order by the end of the week.

 

Ill let you know mr.j I got it just now and its going in tomorrow after work.

 

You don't need to buy the original nissan mt fluid. You just need to buy 3 bottles of red line mt-85 if you have a 6 spd tranny. If your car is a 5 spd, I think you'll need something like 5 or 6 quarts. Yes, the 5 spd takes more than the 6 spd. The reason why I bought only 2 quarts is b/c I had half a quart of the original nissan fluid in my garage and the red line is compatible with any conventional gear oil so I figure it won't hurt anything to mix'em up. I've got mine from summitracing.com.

 

yea when its cold the shifter can sometimes get quite stiff

 

Even though I'm wary of the placebo effect and subsequently butt dyno results, I'm interested in seeing impressions with the MT-85. Tell it how it is guys!

 

I was looking at Amsoil's website and found this:

http://www.amsoil.com/mygarage/Produ...ATSUN+MAXIMA+2

Nissan recommends use of MTF HQ Multi 75W-85 oil or
equivalent product which optimizes shift quality
PN 999MP-MTF00P per Nissan service bulletin
reference no. NTB03-015a

 

I had one ridiculously miserable time getting the new fluid in there, I'm not sure how much I spilled onto the ground, but it was awwwwwful. After I had poured in the last of the third bottle (!), I realized I hadn't jacked the car up quite evenly and the transmission might have been tilted towards the driver side--ie, the fill hole. The install took so long, in fact, I haven't even driven my car with the new fluid yet. I'll be checking the level later this week to see if it has enough, 'cause I really couldn't tell. I was so covered in gear oil and my hands were so numb, I couldn't feel if the level was at the fill hole or not. Yikes.

But, it will make for a great story later when I explain why I had to run to the mall to buy a beer bong to fix my car.

Edit: Oh, my transmission doesn't have much of a third-gear crunch. Third would make a variation on the "you just buzzed off the synchros" sound, at a much lower frequency/more of a clunk than a buzz, when shifting into it when ambient temperatures were below freezing, but second and fourth did/do the same thing. The oil that came out was extremely foul. Reeking of burnt carbon, it practically glittered there is so much metal in it. Yikes.

So long as the MT-85 performs the same as what came out, I'll be pleased. I'm mostly looking to prolong the life of the transmission internals, not cure shifting maladies.

 

^^^you cant prolong the inevitable man,sounds like you need to get that tranny out and rr it or swap for a used 6th gen tranny.I put the 85 in my car and have been driving it for the past 45 minutes and im noticing I much more effortless shift than with the amsoil now keep in mind all my drain and fills have had no more than 15k on them and everytime I drain mine it still looks new and smells like gear oil.Ive tried 5 different kinds of oils and weights and so far this seems to be smoother right off the bat,ill have to drive some more to really tell but I am **** as hell when it comes to cluthes and trans.and to fill it easier take a big funnel fit a rubber hose on the outlet and stuff that in the fill hole with a drain bucket underneath that,have someone pour it in from the top while you keep an eye on the hose.

 

This post really made me step up and read twice, 036mtmax. I ran on the same OEM transmission fluid for the first 50K miles, swapped in MT-90 for another 15k, and now you got me thinking of swapping in this MT-85 this spring.

Keep writing.

 

I'm not sure how you tried to pour the new oil into the tranny but I'll tell you my method. I bought a funnel with a long clear hose specifically for gear oil. I think I got it at advance auto parts but Pep boys probably has it too. For the first 2 quarts, I jacked up the car but for the last half bottle the car has to be leveled on all 4 tires. I poured the oil by placing the funnel next to the battery. An alternate method can be done by using an enema bag that you can buy at Walgreens or Wal Mart. It even has a clip that you can use to stop the flow of oil. good luck.

 

I was able to wriggle under the car enough to reach the fill plug. I popped it out while the car was parked on level ground at work and WHOOSH out came a small torrent of pink MT-85! I'm not sure why the transmission was guzzling the stuff down when it was well above the fill hole, but whatever--the fluid is now down to the correct level.

The transmission shifts... Exactly the same as before, only it "warms up" much more quickly. Like, after maybe five or six shifts, everything is smooth, versus twenty or so shifts before. Ambient temperatures are still warm, however, hovering in the low 40s. I checked the forecast for the next 10 days and the coldest it's going to get is the mid 30s. That's nice, but won't give me a direct comparison to how the car behaved when it was 14 degrees out.

First gear readily accepted the lever, whereas before you had to be very careful to not be moving at all aaaand give the clutch brake time to work before sliding the lever in. Second was mostly the same, third slightly better, fourth, fifth, and sixth the same.

@036MT: Yeah, but maybe that was a normal amount of metal in the oil. I would be willing to wager a large sum of money that it had never been changed in 128K miles of driving. Granted, this is the only manual transmission car I've driven for an extended period of time, but I'm not getting any feedback from the transmission that it's on its way out. Yeah, third gear has a feeling and slight noise associated with it, but it's not crunching like some poor souls have on here. But, yes, I'm going to start saving up for a sweet 6th gen transmission or, like Sparks said, maybe a Sentra Spec-V transmission (but I thought those required modification to fit on?). Regardless, a more rugged transmission will definitely be put in when this one fails.

The mechanics at my work kind of gave me weird looks for replacing the gear oil. The heavy-duty transmissions like the ones they work on in tractor-trailers don't get that oil replaced for the lifetime of the transmission--anywhere from 350,000 to a full one million miles. Lots of trucks will crack the bell housing, which mandates added gear oil, but replacing the gear oil is not part of Penske's routine maintenance.

 

Rochester,all I can say is it was 15 degrees this morning,i let the car warm up for a few minutes took off purposly on the cold side of what I normally do and im happy to say that after all the money spent on the wrong stuff it was worth it to finnaly get the right mix in there.not one bad shift all the way to work,much easier to get into gear where with the mt-90,amsoil,and royal purple I let the car warm up almost to ot and still didnt shift as good.Its worth the 50 bucks all day in my opinion.

 

Awesome news. Where did you order your MT-85 from? Amazon?

 

Ditto on that. If 036mtmax tried five (5!!) different tranny fluids in his car, and this one rates the best in his opinion, then that works for me. When the obsessive/compulsive in the room is finally happy, that's when you pay attention.

I'm planning on having my mechanic replace the lower oil pan in March. Based on this, I'm going to have him swap in MT-85 at the same visit.

Amazon... ($13.49 x 3 quarts) + $6.99 shipping = $47.46

 

This is good news fellas. I was going to replace my gear oil in April (next oil change), but i might do it before then.

 

I feel like a missionary bringing the Good News to the masses.

Oh, Rochester, I take it the rusting of the lower oil pan is a common 5.5 gen problem? Mine is flaking off, piece by piece, and I think others have mentioned the replacement? $79 for a new pan and drain plug seems reasonable to me.

 

I'll try to remember to thank you guys if I like it... or yell at you if I don't.

Oh, Eirik

I don't know if it's common to our cars, or common to 9 year old cars driven through Northeast winters. I've been keeping an eye on it for the last couple of years, and my mechanic finally said it's time. After it comes off, I'll see how easily a screwdriver pokes through the rust. If it doesn't, well then I needlessly jumped the gun.

 

I ordered my MT-85 from racerpartswholesale.com it was on my doorstep in 3 days.I did my oil change at the same time as the gear oil.when I pulled out of my dealership I held it to the boards 1st and 2nd and it felt like a million bucks.-shift ~

 

I forgot that "Shift" was Nissan's tagline a few years ago.

 

Thought it would be funny to toss that in there.

 

Someone should make "Shift" decals for us manual trans Nissan's.

 

Im not sure but I think erty67 sells em.i got my org stickers from him.

 

erty67 will do custom work, if you ask him. He's extremely reasonable. I've got ROCHESTER centered on my rear window, in half-inch height and the GOODTIMES font, to match the 4DSC decal. It's very subtle. Most people don't notice, and when they do, it's pretty cool.

I can get away with that because, well, I live in Rochester.

 

^^^ Thats cool rochester,a+ for originallity on that one.

 

How do you guys think this new MT-85 will compare to a MTL/MT-90 mixture? I've been running that in my transmission for about 1.5 years since I had a new 2004 transmission put into my 2003 maxima. I suppose I'm due for a transmission fluid change before too much longer, hopefully I can get the MT-85 locally.

 

^^^ Read the thread, I had MT-90 in already.

 

Ha ha. Poor guy.

See, after about 100 posts, you have to keep repeating the purpose of the thread, because all that people bother with are the title and the last few responses.

 

Before you guys jump on me perhaps you can properly read my question. I specifically stated that I have a BLEND of MTL and MT-90 in my transmission, not only MT-90.

 

mt-85 took away the 2nd gear crunch I started this thread about and no more 3rd gear scratch so it took me to be the test dummy and I had to blow some money in the process but hey ive gotten alot of usefull info from this site so if I have a chance to pass some along myself to help out some fellow orgers along the way than I think thats what this site is about.So yes the MT-85 is hands down a great product for our trannies,espesially in harsher climates meaning someone in FL or Cali might not notice much of a difference but me being from the east coast its a huge difference.Thanks to anyone who chimed in with any info and happy shifting

 

You have no reason to change it out unless you like spending money or your transmission is giving you problems. You are perfectly okay with leaving that mix in your car for 100 or 150 thousand miles. If it starts acting up, consider swapping it for some super sweet MT-85. The 6th gen tranny shouldn't have any of these 5.5 issues, anyway, so I'd say you are way ahead of the rest of us.

 

The 6th gen transmission is certainly an improvement over the 5.5 gen, however it still isn't perfect by any means. I do notice the occasional difficulty with 3rd gear shifts in cold weather (I really need to take my time making this shift in the cold), and my 4th gear is actually a lot notchier than the original transmission oddly enough. I do think I'd like to be a little proactive and change the fluid out before too much longer. I do think I have enough MTL and MT-90 combined for a full change, however if spending a little money for MT-85 might be an improvement I might just make the switch after more feedback for the new MT-85 fluid is given.

 

I've not forgotten about this discussion. Three quarts of MT-85 have just been ordered and queued up for a fluid-swap in a couple weeks.

Along with a lower oil pan, which is far less interesting.

 

I switched from MT-90 (about 40k on it) to MT-85 about 3 weeks ago. There wasn't the big improvement I was hoping for but I needed to change it anyway so I'm satisfied. 3rd does feel a bit better but I seem to have picked up some crunchiness going to 4th. Overall the feel is slightly better than before but not by much.

 

This thread has piqued my interest, it might be time to change my trans oil...the new oil might make a small difference from reading this thread...

Aaron's ETL made my SHIFT_'s better too, I recommend it 100%...

 

My car still shifts perfect so idk, all i can say is maybe i noticed more of a difference because i did all the fluid swaps in the winter months (5 degrees to like 30 degrees)where my car tended to shift kind of iffy anyways.where there is a warmer climate you may or may not notice as big of a difference.Theres only one way to find out.Well on the flip side i can swap tranny fluid in like 10 minutes and thets allowing 5 minutes to drain lol.

 

what's etl maximus ??