Hey guys! Thanks for looking into my thread. Please feel free to critque or counterargue my solution to fixing most tranny problems. It the probably the best way to figure out the best solution to most tranny problems.

Ok so heres my story:

I bought an 86 Sport FC (Which is N/A) and within 2 weeks of buying the tranny started giving me problems especially my second/third gear and my input shaft bearing noise. Second and third would grind but I was still driving it around grind it all out. The grinding got so bad that i couldn't drive it anymore so i did a tranny swap with my friend. I changed the clutch and tranny with a new used tranny with 110k miles and filled the tranny with redline mt90 (good stuff but not good enough). At first the shifting was good and the input shaft bearing noise was minimal. But as i drove it more the bearing noise was comming back and the second/third gear was getting harder and harder to shift into. So i got flustrated and started shfiting at an angle (i shfited with more force toward the left) into second to avoid the hard shifting. This helped for a while but the shifting began to get really hard and sometimes even grinded (remember this is on the new used tranny). So at this point i was really flustrated and started shfiting hard into second at that same angle. This worked for about a week but the shifting became even harder. Oh and by the way, the input shaft bearing noise was getting louder and louder.

Ok so heres the solution:

I drained the old tranny oil. It was really dirty because the tranny was out for a while before i put it in my car. I replaced the oil redline mt90 with more redline mt90 but this time i used the Lucas Full Synthetic Stabalizer (It's a thick clear goo). So i used 2 quart redline and 1 quart Stabalizer. This helped a little but the shifting was still hard and the bearing noise was still there. So at this point im semi-satisfied because the car is at least drivable. Then i remember i bought some of this really really thick (Thicker than the Stablaizer) red oil called Lucas Transmission Fix. So i thought what the heck mine as well try it out. So i unpluged my fill plug and began to pump some of that stuff in (Did i mention it was really really thick?). I let some of the old oil drip from the fill plug as i put the trans fix. And I also put some transmission fix in the shifter area also. I used probably anywhere from 1/5 to 1/4 of the bottle and now my car shifts VERY VERY well into all gears and the bearing noise is very minimal. I am going to put some more of this trans fix into my car.

So heres the formula:

1.5 quarts Redline MT90.
1.0 quarts Lucas Synthetic Stablizer.
0.5 quarts Lucas Transmission Fix.

So here some additional information:

- Lucas has a non-synthetic stablizer that might work better
- Don't forget, Feel free to critque or counterargue!

Thanks!

 

you really think we need the stabilizer thing?

 

well... it says that it reduces hard shifting and helps out the tranny, so i just put it in, but maybe not. Try experimenting!

 

I just used a similar setup with ALL Lucas 80w-90. It took about 1 - 2 weeks, but my shifting feel has increased considerably.

 

How are you getting 3 quarts of lube into a 2.6 quart (full fill from dry) non turbo tranmission.

And lets see how long that tranny lasts with that funky combination of oil in it.

And last I checked... Lucas Tranmission Fix was for automatic transmissions

 

yea... i don't know, it just happened.. lol. i bought a quart of Redline and a quart of Stabilzier but it wasnt enough. so i bought another quart of redline and put it in. It took almost all of the third quart to fill it up. So im not sure but i like to get at least a quarter of a quart of transmission fix.

Oh and it says in the back near the bottom that you can use the trans fix for manual transmission

 

It probably shifts a lot easier because the Lucas stuff reduced the lubricity of the Redline oil. Great for the syncros, bad for everything else.

 

Kinda like the snake oil they call injector cleaner. Probably doesn't hurt but doesn't do any good either.

 

Mm... maybe, but it says on the stabalizer bottle that it won't void the warrenty. So I'm assuming that it either can't be THAT bad for the tranny or maybe its not bad at all. Maybe?

Thanks for the replies guys I'm really trying to find a solution or at least a decent band-aid for tranny problems.

 

well remember if the temp of the gear oil exceeds around 225F it will start becoming corrosive and eat the syncros (and any other brass in the tranny).

See that is the problem with dumping non gear oil gunk in there... it may help initially, but then as it becomes so thick and hot, it will start doing the opposite and eat the tranny inside out.

 

hmm... ok i guess ill be the guiniea pig and keep you guys posted, i plan to drive on this tranny for maybe 4-6 months before i swap it out with a new rebuilt one.. thanx guys

 

use NEO tranny fliud all the way

 

I think that there are very few (if any) miracle-cures-in-a-can out there which will genuinely and lastingly fix problems. Radiator sealants, worn engine internal parts rejuvenators, transmission syncro damage, etc. They're all just band aids at best, useless at worst. When a piece of metal wears out, or gets a hole in it, there's only one sure cure - repair or replace it.

 

The only way to fix the problem with the tranny is to rebuild it. Then add the NEO gear oil to protect it. Pay particular attention to the input, output bearings and the needle bearing between the input shaft and main shaft. The needle bearings tend to be the weak link, and allow the shafts to flex side to side. Incidentally, if you do decide to take on a rebuild, DO NOT use hylomar sealant between the cases. It doesn't last, especially with high grade synthetic gear lubes