If this is a common fact just lock this baby up.

I went to 3 Nissan dealerships today to get manual gear oil and none had any availible to sell me. One of them insisted that I use GL-5 and said that the tech uses it, and one of them said that they only had drums of it that the service department DOES USE.

It is not a new fact to me that GL-4 is hard to find, but I thought for sure the dealer would have it in some form. This is not so.

I am just going to go with MT90 from Redline.

Just trying to save a few of you guys the trip(s).

 

There was a thread on this last week, possibly late the week before. I also phoned three stealerships in greater Vancouver, British Columbia - two only carried GL5 and one carried a product that said met GL4 and GL5 specs - whatever that means.

I had my transaxle fluid replaced in February at a local Mr. Lube with Quaker State, GL4 75w90 gear oil at less than the cost of a dino oil change. I checked with them the same day as I phoned the stealerships and they have since switched to an Esso GL 4 gear oil.

In Canada, perhaps one could buy this stuff at the local Esso bulk plant.

I plan on switching mine every 30K from now on after having the original gear oil in for 57K. By the time I need new gear oil I may be left with no alternative but to buy MT90 or Amsoil and I'm not particularly keen on using synthetic gear oil in my transaxle.

If I was driving an autotragic I would go synthetic, but I question what benefit there is on using synthetic gear oil in a 4th Gen manual transaxle.

 

Yeah I don't really want to go syn because I don't want it to have a tiny leak.

 

I found it a napa for about $13 a gallon...

 

What makes you think it would leak? I have several customer's cars which have used synthetic gear oil (AMSOIL) for the past 10-12 years with absolutely no leaks. Mag drain plugs with ~60K intervals show minimal wear metals when compared to those I have seen run on dino oil...

 

In your case, one benefit would probably be better cold weather shifting...

 

I've never had a problem with cold weather shifting and I've owned the car for over 11 years.

At the coast of British Columbia, where I live, the coldest it gets is -10C (+14 Fahrenheit). If I lived inland quite a ways where it gets down to -25C and colder it would be a bigger factor.

 

Better is a relative term...glad your car shifts well

 

I don't know a superlative for perfect.

 

BOBO- im shocked, 14 degrees? thats a hot summer day here...

 

OT but who cares on a Sunday night?

That's about as cold as it gets. Maybe once in a blue moon it gets down to say 10 -12, but I don't think single digits. Go inland 250 miles or up north 400 or 500 miles and its another matter.

Our climate is about the same as Seattle and to put it in perspective if you drew a line around the globe, I am at the same latitude as Paris, France.

 

ic ic, im always off-topic....u know that

 

That's what dreaming of a manual transmission will do to you!

 

Funny thing. I changed the old MT-90 in my trannie with fresh at 60K miles. I just changed my oil on Saturday and I noticed I have a tiny leak now. It took 43K miles, but it started to leak on RL.

 

Buy a bottle of Auto-RX (www.auto-rx.com), follow the instructions as to how much to use, drive 1,000 miles and drain and fill. Result: possibly no more leak.

 

I'm not positive about MT-90, but Red Line traditionally relies on diester-based base stocks for their oils. Red Line is a good product and while these basestocks have many good points, it is my understanding that they are not as friendly to seals as other basestocks are.

 

I've used ARx in both my vehicles and I am seriously considering putting some in the tranny and hope that the leak stops. After that, if it stops I'm considering going with a semi-syn home blend of about 1-2 qts of Amsoil MTG and the rest Sta-lube. Otherwise, it's going to be the cheapest GL-4 I can find.

 

Where is the leak? I've got a leaky left tranny seal that increased from sweating in February to more like a leak by summer, but the fluid loss is negligible at this point and I am still just monitoring it.

 

The "stain" is at the very bottom of the case. I gather loss is minimal at this point, but as long as I keep the MT-90 in it, it's only going to get worse. I need to get down there and clean it with some soap and water and see how fast it leaks.

 

I was able to find GL-4 80w-90 can I use it instead of 75w-90?

 

I believe the factory fill is 80w90. I am presently running 75W90 with no problems and you will in fact likely experience better shifting in cold weather with it.

 

Factory fill pre-TSB NTB03-015 was 75W90. TSB NTB03-015 called for switching to 75W85, mainly because many of us complaining about notchiness. A bandaid fix rather than dealing with the real problem, the crappy synchros.

80W90 may be too thick on cold NY winter nights. It's up to you.

 

What years does the above TSB pertain to? The Haynes manual specifies GL4 80w90 for a 4th Gen Maxima, not 75w90.

The owner's manual for my 95 Maxima specifies GL4 but no weight. There is a footnote that states to contact the dealership for further information regarding suitable gear fluids. That recommendation is a joke because I haven't been able to find GL4 gear oil through a dealership locally.

I got 75w90 Quaker State at Mr. Lube back in February.

 

my owner's manual states GL4 75w90

Btw: I noticed that Haynes manual contains a lot of incorrect information. I can’t remember the exact facts but there are a couple of things that disagree with the owner’s manual and with what I found out on the org

 

The nissan service manual states GL-4 80w-90.

 

come on guys, there isn't a huge difference between 80w-90 and 75w-90. Use either one as long as it's GL-4. In a cold climate, 75w is better.

 

Sorry for bringing up this old thread from the dead, but it's time for an update.

No more Redilne for me, period. I ended up switching to Amsoil MTG/Sta-Lube back in March. (here). After changing the engine oil yesterday (GC FTW!), I am happy to report that the leak stopped. Shift quality is still good (some slight notchiness is still there). The only veredict still out is what this brew's performance will be like in sub-zero temps.

 

You don't want to go with synthetic, but you're going to get Redline MT90? You know MT90 is synthetic, right?

Or did you mean to say you're going to do it but you'd rather not?

Incidentally, Redline's oils generally have a slightly higher chance of leaking due to the nature of their ester basestocks. Amsoil MTG might work better for you.




Smoother shifting, better protection, better operation when cold, better maintenance of characteristics over a broad temperature range, smaller chance of shearing or leaving deposits...

 

Oh crap. Posted before I realized how old all this isht was. Sorry...

 

I didnt read the whole thread but Napa has GL-4. Its pretty thick, but works in a pinch.

 

i couldnt find the gl4 lube anywhere and filled up with some dino gl3/4/5.
the shifts do feel a little different: the gear shifter slips out of gear a lot smoother and easier but does not shift into the next gear as easy.
i am guessing this is just because the synchros cannot come to speed as fast with the gl5.
what is the difference between gl4 and gl5, is it just the way the it acts when under shear such as the friction of synchros?
i am assuming the difference is the fact that the gl5 is slipperier and gl4 has the capability of stiffening up when under shear to bring the synchros up to speed.

if so i may just leave it in there and shift slower to allow the synchros time to spin up with the gl5 lube

is there anything else about gl5 that would make it unsuitable for our trannies?

 

You have been a member of this website long enough to know not to use GL5 gear oil. Just because the dealership didn't have GL4 doesn't mean you should have stopped looking for it.

Do not use any gear oil that is GL5 or states it is GL4/GL5 compatible. It will ruin your transmission by causing wear to the brass syncros.

Dump that stuff and get GL4 in either 75w90 or 80w90. Absent that get some compatible Redline or Amsoil gear oil.

 

so, a friend of mine works for nissan and he says they have a like 3 or 4 different gear lubes. One is a synthetic they use for the 5spd trans. It's synthetic but doesn't say gl4 or gl5. They also have a different synthetic they use on the 6spds, which is GL5. So, should I buy the synthetic they use on the 5spds? I need it ASAP as on of my clutch plate springs fell out and I need to do a clutch swap ASAP...

 

The synthetic is a Valvoline IIRC.

 

I came across the exact same situation, and I also ended up using MT90 too.

 

The difference between GL-4 and GL-5 is that GL-5 is made to handle more extreme pressure. That means it can lubricate effectively in transmissions and differentials that see a lot of load on individual gear teeth and/or a ton of power. It's really more of a gear oil spec, for use in differentials rather than transmissions.

The additives used to give GL5 oils those properties can, in some cases, cause poor shifting and premature wear because they do not work correctly with some kinds of synchros. A synthetic oil made to GL-5 specs probably won't harm synchros, but it still won't shift as nicely as a good GL-4 oil. Don't forget that a manual transmission fluid has to strike a fine balance -- as little friction as possible for wear protection, but not so much that it prevents the synchros from working. GL-5 oils err on the low friction/high wear protection side for high-load transmissions and differentials. Low friction and high wear protection are good, but a good GL-4 will provide more than enough for our transmissions so it's not worth dealing with the poorer shift quality of a GL-5.

 

yeah thats what i thought, thanks

ill just be gentle on the tranny while its in there, it isnt shifting that bad on upshifts, and i can double clutch on downshifts

 

nope, he said OEM nissan stuff, no valvoline stuff on the bottle...

 

picked the stuff up yesterday. Its 75w-85 synthetic made and manufactured by nissan japan. No mention of of gl4 or gl5...