Finally changing out the GL-5 I put in a while ago. I went to CRC's website and got a Part# for Sta Lube GL-4. My local NAPA stocks Gallons and was able to order quart bottles for tomorrow morning.
Part numbers are:
SL24229 for 1Qt
SL24239 for 1Gal
SL24259 for 5Gal

 

good find, how much does it run per quart? didn't finda price on the site.

 

Advanced auto, Autozone, and O'reilly dont sell GL-4 outside of royal purple and im not buying that **** im not impressed with it. so i have to find specialty stores around here im now using Motul 75W 90, its quite an improvement over the stuff i have gotten use to.

 

Advance sells Coastal which supposedly meets gl4 and gl5 specs. not sure how good that is, but thats what the bottle says. (thats what i had to use the last time)

 

I payed $25.39 for 1 Gallon and $8.19 for 1 quart. That comes out to roughly $6.72 per quart. Redline MT90 was almost like $9.95 or something. Ill let yall Know how it works out.

 

Well Its been 5 days since I changed to the Sta lube GL-4. The trans shift much better now. Theres still room for improvement I think, but with over 250,000 Miles on the syncros this is probably as good as it gets.

 

I hrd GL-5 performs better cuz it suited for a wider range of gear conditions. Im thinkin bout changing my tranny fluid too.

If i recall the Haynes has a very conservative manual tranny fluid change schedule. I think it was every 60k

 

I think the fuss with GL-4 and Nissan trannys is all about the syncros. I know in the Hardbody trucks, you had to use GL-4 because of the bronze that was used in the synchronizes. The GL-5 gear oil would eat the bronze. I used Redline MT-90 when I had my truck.

 

Sta-lube was the only GL4 I could find when I changed my trans oil 10 years ago. Back then I bought a gallon (SL part #24239) at Napa for $8.49 and an extra quart (#24229) for $2.49. I'm not sure synthetic GL4 gear oil was even available way back then.

The Sta-lube worked great until last summer when I decided to switch to synthetic just for fun. I bought 5 quarts of Red line MT-90 at $11.49/qt (yes, I know if I had shopped around I could have gotten it a little cheaper). It works great, but I couldn't detect any difference in the way the car runs or shifts between the Sta-lube and the Red line.

Oh yeah - my 15 1/2 year old, 211K mile original trans still works great. I'd avoid GL5 at all costs and stay with the recommended GL4.

 

Gl-5 DOES NOT work well with our trannies. Our syncros have issues with it and theres a couple of theories why. Some say ,and I believe this theory, that additive is the GL-5 tha make it high efficiency GPA rated also dis-allows metal to metal contact at the sincro friction surface and will not allow the gears to spin-up on contact. The othe rschool of thought is that GL-5 has agents that are corrosive to our syncros.

Nissan Dealerships use GL-5 because they are too cheap to stock an oil that is in low demand and may sit on the shelf for years. Also, if your tranny dies because they used GL-5 they can claim its the oil companies fault and their hands are clean becase the oil "CLAIMS" it is GL-4 compatible.

 

my research of GL-5 says that it is compatible with GL-4. However, nissan recommends using GL-4 so thats what i would stick with.

I dont have my haynes here with me. Doesnt nissan recommend fluid change every 60k or so??

FSM is a lil ambiguous. It says "inspect every year and replace if necessary". Then there is a lil note that says "driving on rough or muddy roads, change every 30k or 2 yrs". Thats a pretty aggressive schedule? Does anyone do that?

 

I'm 51, & just picked up a '95 somewhat tricked out from a fellow member. Although I never met him, the 'maxima.org' sticker in the window confirmed his existence. I bought the car 'from his good friend'. The car has synthetic in the tranny (origin unknown), but I'm willing to bet it's correct. I noticed I have a small leak of some sort, so, I will pick up some NAPA gl 4 for top off oil. I know it's dino oil but it will work.

 

I found a dealer near where I live that has bulk Redline MT90 and bulk GL-4 (5 gal to 120 gal).

 

Everywhere I've looked has GL5. Having said that, I guess I'll use the WalMart 80-90 that I already have to top off.

 

I doubt that's GL4 - not from Walmart! Avoid it at all costs (or kiss your synchros goodbye).

 

Where do you live kolbpilot?

 

Nobody mentioned this stuff? http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/mtg.aspx
That's what I've been using. Replaced at 74k and then at 119k. Currently at
177k. Guess it time again. Cheap insurance on the tranny! GL4 only in my max!!

 

You should only use GL4 and replace it every 30,000 miles. If you are using synthetic GL4 you are probably good for 50 to 60k.

I had my GL4 replaced at about 60k and the lube place that did it said I was long overdue. It was black rather than honey colour.

The stealerships don't stay on top of the differential oil changes during warranty. The service schedule has periodic inspections, but I question if they even look at it.

 

My napas all have gl4 (napa brand and royal purple) . Dont know why ppl have a hard time finding it in their areas, sucks, but at least ur dealerships always seem to have **** in stock unlike mycrappy dealers who never carry anything.

 

+1

I jus did a flush a month ago at jiffy lube. They used GL-4 syn. But if Haynes and FSM say replace every 30k, im gonna replace every 30k.

I have never hrd of such an agressive change interval but there must be a reason so ima stick to that schedule. 28k miles till next change!!

 

99% sure the transmission has synthetic in it for so did the engine when I bought it. And, 99% sure it's the correct oil for the car came from the org. I looked around for GL4 but even our NAPA didn't have it. My transmission needed topping off so in went a pint or so of WalMarts 80-90 GL5. I've read some of the comments about heaven help ya if some GL5 finds its way in there. My take is for the time being, it is so diluted with GL4 that my new blend is probably a GL4.18. I plan on rounding up some GL4 but for now I'm content that the transmission is just full.

 

Go to the counter and have them order some, give them the part # and don't tell them what it is besides gear oil. If you tell them waht it is and why you want it they will argue and try to tell you what you need because they are not much smarter that the nits behind the Burger King counter.

 

BTW, I got my smooth shifting back after doing the change from GL-5, and Its still good 5 months later.

 

I plan to soon enough. My transmission has shifted the same since day one of ownership. That being, normal. Even adding the extra 16 oz. of GL5 made no difference. Drive to work is 16 miles round trip with not much more after that and my transmission leads an easy life with me behind the wheel.

 

Kind of a late bump here:

I came across this thread doing some research for a friend with a 4th gen. She was asking what kind of MTF to use and I was thinking the 4th gen uses GL4 just like the 3rd gen but wanted to confirm

Back in May, I was looking for GL4 for my blue VE that I had just gotten going. In my previous 3rd gens, I had used the Sta-Lube GL4 as pictured in the first post, and had bought a full gallon from Napa as recently as '08 (it was only like $8 for the whole gallon). So, I went back to Napa to buy some more. And it was GONE from the shelves! They didn't have any for sale.

I went to the counter and asked them about it and they told me they do not carry Sta-Lube anymore. I went all the way back home and got the part number off the gallon jug and went back up there to see if they could order it, and they told me they could not order it. And this is the main Napa hub store in North Texas (Mesquite, TX) too

I eventually had to order some MT-90 out of desperation

Anyway, I just find it odd that my Napa wouldn't order it for me but many of you seem to get your local Napa's to order it no problem

 

hey i just did a tranny swap in my max. I found this stalube gl4 at a local shop. Clarks auto for any of you socal folk. It was like 8 something for a 1 gal bottle, plust 2 something for an extra quart.

 

I really dont understand why everyone insists on pickin up this item local? Granted, the next time ull have to change it would be years down the line so why not just get some of the good stuff online instead of buying crapola in stores?

 

... they sell amsoil locally for 9$... its feels great... I used to get MT90.. but that stuff was like 10$ a bottle.

but when your in a tight situation you gotta get what you can locally and know your paying more.. it sucks.. BUT thats life...

and GL-4 till she dies...

 

looking to change my tranny fluid tonite and found some CRC Sta-Lube Multi-Purpose Hypoid SAE 85W90 API Gl-4 Gear Oil from Napa down the street. It's $25.99 a gallon, about $6.50 a qt. My tranny is leaking a little, souorce still unknown. Gonna get under the car tonite and see if i can pinpoint.

My question - Is this gear oil sufficient? or should i buy amsoil or redline? i'm real tight on cash right now so any input would be helpful!

Also, they only have it in gallons, so would it be that be enough for the time being? i could always buy a qt online and put it in later in the week.

 

whoa 26 bucks for regular gl4?

 

its synthetic

 

pics of the bottle?

 

Thats about normal for dino.

 

my bad i lied - must have looked at the wrong bottle. its 19.99 a gallon non-synthetic. i picked some up and will change in the next few days. will let you know how it shifts after.

 

Here's a link to the GL4 85W90 lube.

http://www.napaonline.com/Search/Det...239_0006410049


I just ordered a gallon online. It will be waiting for me at the store after they open Monday.

 

Last weekend I changed tranny oil to Sta-lube 85w90 4-GL. Before the change, it would be a little hard to shift into 3rd. Now it works great!

The oil had in it looked a light brown to honey color. However it seemed to be thicker than the Sta-lube. I have no idea what it had in it.. The previous owner did a decent job of getting the car serviced but no doubt the servicer used the wrong oil.. The 85w90 is a good weight for this climate where the average winter temperature low is 30 degrees Fahrenheit.

All good here after the change..

 

Yeah, I drove around town looking for this oil, thinking it was commonly carried by most automotive parts store. Finally found a euro garage that a org member mentioned to me. Paid $12.50/qt.

 

I ended up going to Valvoline and using their synthetic stuff. $120 bucks but worth every penny.

 

WAT

 

Gonna bump this... want to get an update on long term use.

To see how it worked out.