i just r&r my right axle and had to drain the gear oil out of my 97SE 5 spd. it is an open diff. manual calls for API 80W90 GL-4, but no one sells it and everyone keeps telling me that GL-5 is better. all except one: http://www.motorvate.ca/mvp.php/800. well, two counting the nissan. all i was able to find is GL-3, GL-4, and GL-5 all in one.... i think that what they are saying is that its actually GL-5 and it exceeds GL-3 and 4. i hope this doesn't damage anything in my tranny until i can find GL-4. anyone have this problem before? where is the best place to get GL-4?

 

Get GL4. Do they have a Jiffy Lube or the equivalent where you live? For what they charge, its hardly worth doing it yourself. They will have GL4.

 

ok, i will have to check out if there is one around here. i have never actually seen it anywhere around this area. thanks

 

get Redline MT-90 from http://www.myoilshop.com/. theres even a discount code floating around somewhere... wish i could find it. I baught my oil local from a specialized race shop, no "normal" store carried GL-4, let alone a GL-4 synthetic!

Devin

 

wis redline MT-90 ok cause i am gonna change the gear oil in my tranny soon too and i dont want it to **** up

 

GL5 Shifts like crap!
I had my tranny rebuilt and they must have put GL5 in there, the next day I drained it and threw in Amsoil GL4. Now it goes into every gear without the shifter getting stuck halfway in gear or not going into gear at all the first try.

 

yeah man, sulphur additives in gl-5 mess your synchros up. i just read it on some site i found on google

 

Check out the sticky on the fluids/lubricants forum. Do not put GL 5 in like as been mentioned. It can shorten the life of your synchros. The code for the discount is somewhere there too. It works, I ordered from there. Came out to seven dollars a quart and with the 10 percent discount shipping was almost free.

 

ok thanks man, i will go look for it. last thing i would want is to have to rebuild my tranny now. i think manual calls for 10 pints +/-, so 5 quarts should do the trick.

 

Yeah, buy 5 quarts. Should use just under that. Fill it until it starts to come out the fill plug. Good luck.

 

I have the Amsoil. I didn't notice much difference over the factory fill stuff. I hear redline has a better feel, maybe more wear. Not sure on the wear part, just something I read. Either way I think a synthetic (GL-4) would be better than regular oil. Definitly want to stay away from GL-5. The last guy is right, lots of evidence to suggest that it's bad for the yellow metals (synchros) in our transmissions.

 

AMSOIL carries a number of transmission, or as they call them, gear lubes. Many of them are multi grade compatible. For example, AMSOIL has a number of gear lubes which are GL-2 through GL-5 compatible. Now, GL-5 and only GL-5 compliant gear lube, if used in a GL-4 specific tranny, will eat the "yellow metals" such as brass, bronze, etc. Metals often used in synchros on GL-4 and only GL-4 compatible trannies. This means that because AMSOIL has gear lubes that are GL-2 through GL-5 compliant, it is both GL-4 and GL-5 compatible. AMSOIL must have found another way to get the slipperiness of GL-5 (which is good, but more slip is not necessarily a good thing in tranny applications, it's almost always better for the differential, but not necessarily for the gears, wear the shear forces sometimes make GL-5 not as optimal as running GL-4 as well, so it must have some unusual properties under different loads compared to nonsynthetic gear lubes), without the shear issues, as well as using additives which will not eat the "yellow metals" in the GL-4 trannies.

These multi grade compatible synthetics are entirely PAO synthetic base stock, with additives. They feel bad *** compared to factory fill (I've done the factory to AMSOIL switch myself and was amazed, I know about 5 Maxima owners personally that have done the switch and each was similarly amazed at the difference), ESPECIALLY in cold weather. AMSOIL feels SO good in cold weather.

However, AMSOIL does offer a GL-4 specific gear lube, though it meets both GL-4 and GL-5 requirements. Nissan calls for a GL-4 80w-90 gear oil. Now in Toronto, we often get -20 deg C (-4 deg F) in the winter over night, and for atleast 2-3 weeks worth of nights where it drops below -25 deg C. Like it's a common thing, this year by Oct, it was below freezing, and today we had a snow storm and it's regularly been -15 at night. So I wouldn't mind having a silghtly lower cold viscosity, say 75w-90? Well, turns out AMSOIL has a 80w-90 GL-4 and GL-5 compatible gear lube. However, they also have a 75w/80w-90 Marine GL-4 specific, but GL-4 and GL-5 compliant gear lube.

Now, that sounds perfect except for the fact that it says Marine. So I get the guys at the AMSOIL storehouse to do some looking up for me with the tech department. Turns out the Marine stuff is even more badass than the automotive stuff. Why? Well it still offers full performance and corrosion protection at up to 10% contamination with water, even salt water That's right, 10%. How does it prevent the foaming? It has anti-foaming agents and has to deal with what the anti-foaming agents will do in terms of the gear lube's performance as a lubricant for given specific ranges of performance. I also took a look at the data sheets, it's pretty badass stuff. Especially the shock load protection. The best part, because it doesn't have to be GL-2 through GL-5 compliant, it doesn't need all the fooling with. Thus, it's WAY cheaper than their GL2-GL5 stuff, even though it performs just as well, but only in GL4-GL-5. So on my next fill in the tranny, I'm going with this 75w/80w-90 gear lube. BTW, if you're wondering what sacrifices I'm making by going with a 75w/80w-90 gear lube as opposed to a 80w-90 specific, I'm giving up 8 deg C in flash point which is already well over 200 deg C, but gaining 7 deg C in pour point which goes from -36 deg C to -43 deg C. Which is more specific to my needs.

Many synthetic gear lubes are multi grade compliant. As long as you make sure it meets GL-4 and atleast GL-4 requirements, you'll be ok. But as always, try to get the best stuff you can, at the best price you can. Personally, I choose AMSOIL, but there's other good marques out there. In terms of long term protection, AMSOIL's hard to beat. AMSOIL gives up a little hear and then in resistance in specific viscosity ranges that help the crank to spin through the oil to Redline's MT-90 for example. But what the AMSOIL gives up in efficiency, it makes back tonnes of long term performance, especially in long drain intervals. If I was running a weekend racer, and rebuilding the tranny or draining the fluid every couple races, I'd go with MT-90. But for my everday car, that I still beat on, but that I change my tranny fluid once a year, or if I like, every 2-3 years, I can, if I go with AMSOIL. There are a number of other full pao synthetic GL-4 gear lubes out there, but they are rare, like Yamaha markets one, I know BG makes one for GL-5 and I think they make one for GL-4. But going with either MT-90 or whatever offering you choose from AMSOIL that atleast meets all GL-4 requirements and you'll be going with quality and performance. If you're willing to change the tranny fluid more often, like atleast once a year, go with the MT-90. If you're going for atleast an annual interval, and up to 3-4 years and beyond so long as you don't contaminate the gear lube, go with AMSOIL.

 

i started reading this right after the blunt at 8 pm last night.... i just finished

jk. lots of good info man, thanks.

 

Yah, having to refer to GL-4 then GL-5 over and over again is tedious. It's a shame it's not more of a regularly used word/phrase so it wouldn't be so annoying.

 

fo sho

 

Always better than someone else touching my max!

 

What do you do with your old fluids - oil, gear, radiator, power steering, brake, clutch etc?

 

I go to one of those gas stations that also have a service dept. attached to it, they have a big huge container they pour used oil into and they will let people bring in their used oil and pour it in there, sometimes they will pour it for me for. Most places are free. I would think most places that work on cars will accept used oil for free.

 

my local dump has oil containers too

 

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=225766
this thread w/code i think. thanks.

 

amsoil does not sell the stuff we need anymore in quarts. only in gallons. at least that is all i could find. so the total for amsoil 2 gals is $51.21.

redline does have quarts.. $37.53 is the total.

i think i am going with the redline... i dont know, some have said amsoil feels better when shifting, but at this point i dont care. 75w/80w-90 GL4 is all i care about at this point.

 

That is so bull. AMSOIL has a GL-4, GL-5 80w-90 that fulfills all aspects required. They also make a Marine Application GL-4 80w-90 or 75w/80w-90 that also works just fine and fulfills all requirements set by Nissan. In fact, they have a number of other gear oils that will fulfill the requirement, but these are the ones recommended by AMSOIL. You can buy either by the quart, but the case, by the gallon jug, and even by the bucket. I picked up case (12 quart bottles to the case) of the 75w/80w-90 Marine app stuff for about $100 CDN plus tax.