I have read on some other threads that some people replaced their tranny fluid with synthetic for the 1st time and they reported that their tranny had gone.. Is this true? I want to replace my tranny fluid with royal purple but i dont want to if its going to mess things up... (i dont know if it has ever been changed before)

 

I replaced it with Amsoil synthetic atf and so far so good, no leaks either, shifts are much smoother and quicker. I'm very happy with it.

 

i used redline mt 90 for the first time at 95,000 miles but i didnt notice any smoother shifting.so far so good though.

 

I have 83k miles on my car and I don't think the tranny fluid was ever replaced. When I took it out was a VERY dark brown and lots of dirt/particles in it, the new Amsoil fluid was very clean and red. I've only had it for 2 weeks now so I can't say much on the long term effects. I'm glad I did it though

 

I wanted to replace mine also but i have 117k on mine. Been told that it will go bad though.

 

I think you will find that after many miles of use, the AMSOIL fluid will continue to look much like it did when it was new. I do a simple drain/refill every 30K and you can literally see through the stream as it is draining from the car...the used fluid is still bright red, and the drain pan is free of particles, etc.

 

what would cause it to make your tranny go bad? i never understood why people think sythetic makes things go bad..

 

A mechanic put synthetic oil in the engine of my old car thinking it would make it run better and it ruined the seals instantly. It cost me $700 to fix. I've been changing my oil myself ever since. However, I do have synthetic in both the engine and transmission of the max since it's always recomended.

 

Please describe the process whereby synthetic oil ruins seals.

Thanks.

 

yeah Keyser Skoze i am at 118 and i have ryoal purple sitting in my room waiting to be used but im still scared..

 

In the past synthetic could introduce some problems, but mobil 1 says it's totally compatible with conventionals in cars now. Also, a decade ago (?) there was a change in the seals that are being used, so any problems in the past using syn shouldn't pop up now. This was always the issue of going from a conventional to a syn, if you'd not been using a syn for a while. I don't think it's an issue now. That's for engines...trannys I dunno

 

If you look at most synthetics, it always says it can be combined with conventional fluids. Synthetics are always a better way to go. They just cost more. But you get better performance over a wider temperature range and longer period of time with them. If you plan on getting rid of you ride anytime soon, then it's probably not worth it. But if you plan on running it for a while, and running it hard, then it is a good idea to switch.

 

so from what everyone is saying is that my tranny wont blow if i change the fluid for the 1st time that i know of and put in synthetic..

 

The issue is that the old fluid has a bunch of junk floating around in it, and all of the tiny metal particles and other debris in it has [usually] settled to the bottom of the tranny, VB, wherever..

If you never change the fluid, that stuff gets really built up. then when you finally DO change it, the new fluid with all of the detergents will cause all of the sediments and debris to starts coming loose inside the tranny. this can cause the particles to get stuck in the VB or shift solenoids, or can simply cause seals to leak because the gunk buildup that was helping keep the fluid from seeping out is now gone- and the only thing hold it back is a dried out 10 yr old seal.

It's not a synthetic vs. dino fluid thing.. it's about changing your fluids at all once the car has that many miles on it.

It's then a simple case of the shift solenoid getting stuck for a couple seconds because of a blockage... which causes a clutch to burn up.. then BAM. dead tranny.

 

FWIW, my 97 with 83k on the 5 speed has never, to my knowledge, had a fluid change. I'm going to be putting MT90 in this week.

EDIT: Hmm, I checked the logs more closely. It was changed at around 40k, then at 67k. I checked it last night and it's a gorgeous amber, so I'm leaving it in for a while.

 

so the question is... should i replace it? yes or no?

 

Just dropped my pan (76k) and cleaned the magnets, replaced the filter, etc. according to the ATF faq in this forum and had no problems (other than that damn nut--grr). The old fluid looked like engine oil it was so dark. I switched to Mobil 1. Not sure if it's the synthetic, or the change in general, but shifting is much smoother now.

 

you have really noticed that your shifts are much smoother and quicker?i put in redline mt 90 in mine and i barely noticed a difference.who knows.

 

He's got an auto though...I honestly noticed no difference when I put in MT90 into my 00, but then it was shifting nicely before hand, and the fluid I drained out was visually in perfect condition.

 

Yeah maybe I can tell the difference becaus I have an auto and my old fluid was in terrible shape. Anyway I would recomend doing it, I think it's worth it.

 

Which ever name brand Tranny oil u use get a B&M tranny cooler. I recomend AMsoil that is my .02

 

I think the key word in the first post is Synthetic. I have heard the same thing if you replace your motor oil on higher mielage cars with Synthetic oil, that a lot of times you will see a leak that you may never have noticed if you kept using the regular motor oil.

It may be the same thing with the Trany. Synthetic oil is much thinner than regular oil so it would only make sense that if there is a small leak and you, out of the blue, start using synthetic oil or tranny fluid for the first time, that it may start to leak out of that small leak area. Did that make sense?

Anyway, I have almost 150K on my 96 I30 and I don't think the tranny fluid has ever been changed. I recently had it done and have had no problems at all. I also notice smoother shifting.

In my opinion, just stick with whatever type of tranny fluid or motor oil is in the car on higher mielage cars and you should be fine.

I hope this helped. Have a great day!

 

No it isn't. 10w30 synthetic has the same viscosity (thickness) as 10w30 dino oil, that's why they are both called 10w30.

The more robust detergents in syn may clean out some old gunk around worn seals and expose leaks. This is actually rare though.

 

Well it's been around 2500 miles since I changed my atf and 2 trips of 4 straight hours of driving 80-90 mph (some streches I was doing over 100), and I still haven't noticed any leaks. I don't know if driving fast puts any additional pressure on the transmission. Anyway I checked under the car this past weekend and everything was nice and dry. I would really recommend doing it especially if you have high mileage and never changed the fluid.

 

Unless your tranny fluid is in really bad shape, new fluid won't make a difference regarless of brand. I personally have Amsoil atf. The only difference I noticed was the car was much easier to shift out of park. The tranny still shifts smooth.

 

i am 26K miles on my tranny, i think i am going to get the tranny replaced before warranty expires, so its worthless to even bother to do a fulid swap. how about syntetich oil, should i put that in.