scsrock

Some of my friends said that we should not (and never have to) replace transmission fuild at all (for any 5-sp or 6-sp cars, including SC300s) because the old fuild is better than the new fluid!

That do you think? (Yes/no/why?). If transmission fuild does need to be changed for 5-sp SC300s (the user manual recommends just inspection), at what mileage interval should the fuild be changed?

TGRich

I change mine when I notice the shifting getting notchy- usually about every year or 20k. I used Reline MT90 this past time and I would recommend it. www.myoilshop.com

Tim


ps- change your oil dude

SCoupe

Changed @ 80,000 miles and noticed an immediate improvement in engagement of the gears, you should to, especially noticable as the cooler weather decends. $50 well spent and easy to do. Used the very high quality NeoSynthetic 75-90 HD Gear Oil and would highly recommend it. Link here to Neo for the reasons and b.s. as to why it's superior to regular oils. http://www.neosyntheticoil.com/75w90hd.htm

edited/deleted my comments re: friend's advice

'94 sc300 5sp 86,000 miles

mrshabo

50 bucks? for 2 bottles of redline fluid it cost me about 15 bucks. that was all it took to fill up my tank.

SCoupe

You may have contaminated your redline synthetic when you filled up your "tank" with 2 quarts. You left about a half a quart of whatever was in there (well to be exact, .41 US quarts) per page MA-22 tranmission capacity stated as 2.41 quarts. The rear differential calls for another 1.43 US qrts which is where most of the remaining portion went, there is a little left over.

Bought a gallon jug for $39.44plus 8.25% CA tax (thx tax & spend gov) and had it shipped, $6, rounded it up to $50. Yes, it costs more, its well worth it and I'm ok with that on something I spring for every 50,000 miles.

scsrock

Thank you all for posting replies (including details about fuild types). Sounds like there's also differential fuild that I may need to change. Manual recommends DEXRON II. What do you think about this fluid? I noticed Toyota dealers do sell this type of fluid.

A Toyota dealer here offer transmission service for $49, plus free car wash and a few maintenance checks (good for me because I don't know much about my car and how to check at all; still learning). But I will probably try to change the differential fuild myself (tough?)

Thanks again!

Buttercup

The sc300 5-spd requires a gl-4 or gl-5 oil. I used the Redline MT-90 and I didn't notice anything at all. I figured that my syncronizers are worn out because when I double clutch upshifting and downshifting in 1st 2nd and 5th gears everything slides in smoothly.

BTW, the manual says that in "sane" driven conditions you'll never need to change the oil. Sane....

TGRich

One of the easiest things you can do to the car- easier than changing engine oil.

SC300T

Redline MT90 has worked well for me for some time now (2+ years).... Mainly improved shift quality, especially when cold. Reduced but not eliminated the "notchiness" when cold. When warmed up, it helps a little, making shifts easier. This applies to the 5spd only. If you have the Supra TT 6 spd, you need to use Toyota stuff only as other types of synthetic have caused some irreversible tranny damage.

LexusBiz

Hey SCsRock,

Oops, I didn't know you had a 5spd. I thought you had a auto. Those .pdf files I sent you were all for the auto tranny a few days back. All that info I gave you (flush, drain/refill) was for the auto, please ignore

Thanks
LexusBiz

fc3s7

There are quite a few good gear oils out there - Redline, Royal Purple, NEO, and BG Syncroshift to name a few.

Switching to a quality synthetic in a manual gearbox is a great idea - the car WILL shift better, and won't be hard to shift on a cold morning. A buddy of mine had a gallon of plain gear oil in the back of his car overnight during a freeze. He looked at it in the morning, and it was SUPER thick like mud. That's why it's so tough to shift in the morning!

The only real downside to the good synthetics is they're usually tough to find locally - you normally have to order them.

BTW, Autozone carries Mobil 1 synthetic gear oil - it's OK, but nowhere near the quality of Redline et al. Decent if you need gear oil NOW, though. Mobil 1 regular oil is great, however .

Dale