FINALLY going to change MT Fluid.. Which fluid to use???
 

Everyone says use 10/30 motor oil.. some people say use gear oil.. still others say use Honda MT fluid ..... Apparently there was no Honda MT Fluid in 93? But now it is better to use because it has anti foaming agents or some thing?

Grabbed a copy of owners manual online and it says motor oil

10-100+ climate use 30
0-100+ climate use 20/40
-20-100+ use 10/30 to 10/40


What the hell is a good idea then :confused:

Will it make it easier to shift, changing the fluid? It's kind of "notchy" like you kind of have to force it into first... it goes in fine.. but you probably know what I mean

Second and third are the same way

I also wonder the same thing.
I have a 95 MT - what fluid should I use?

In 1995 Honda called for 10w-30 engine oil because they didn't have "Honda" MTF yet. The other weights have narrower temperature ranges. On my 1995 Integra, I switched to Honda MTF and got a very slight improvement in shifting.

Other people have reported a substantial improvement, but I suspect my transmission might have been in better shape therefore less improvement with fluid.

The stupid thing is kind of tough to get into first and second unless you do it "just right" or you're a "forceful asshole" with it (I just do the latter, it ain't going to hurt it .. I don't think .. ???)

Hi everyone

I live in Nigeria. I bought a used 2002 Honda Accord with Manual Transmission. It is now above 300k miles driven and 2 yrs ago I changed both the transmission and engine. Both were used parts. When they changed the transmission, the mechanic said the oil within was both adequate and normal.

Now the transmission oil is short and I need to top-up/change. The manual says use Honda MTF or Engine oil SAE 10w30 for short period only since the latter doesn’t have the required additives to protect the transmission.

Unfortunately, neither is available where I live. Here the ones I have seen are;

• Transmission oil 85w90 GL4 from Total
• EP140 GL5 from a less known manufacturer

Can someone please help?

What do I do?

Do I need to look for other fluids?

I don’t want to wreck the transmission

Thank you very much

the "sae 10w-30" is regular engine oil - sure they sell engine oil in the 10w-30 "weight" in your area.

Some have used "Pennzoil Synchromesh" fluid and say it is fine :shrug:

Do not use either of the fluids you listed.

I've had a '93 5spd manual tranny and now drive a '92 5spd manual tranny with 256,000 miles on it.

Of the two oils you mention as available I would choose the Transmission oil 85w90 GL4 from Total rather than the GL-5 rated whatever. GL-5 fluid is designed to meet current needs of hypoid gear differential service. Some brand manual trannies (Nissan, I have one) loose their manual synchromesh after being filled with GL-5 rated fluid. Don't know of Honda's.

The GL-5 additive apparently is reactive/destructive to brass which is what most synchromesh gears are made from.

The other choice for you is to fill the tranny with whatever motoroil you are using. Best.

I have the same problem with my VW in that I have to use GL4 in it.

But the new poster has a 2002 Accord, and can't find any Honda MTF. I do like poorman212's suggestion of Pennzoil synchromesh or even 10W30 motor oil (probably the best suggestion). From what I've seen, the Honda MTF is really pretty thin, almost like Dextron thin (GM actually used Dextron in their light duty 5 speed truck trannies too), so I don't think I'd try to go too thick of an oil/fluid here.

The actual viscosity scales for gear oil are different from engine oil, with gear oil having a much higher "weight" number for the same actual viscosity.

I can't find it right now, but there's a chart somewhere (bobisthoilguy??) that compares the two, and IIRC 75w-80 gear oil is about the same viscosity as 10w-30 engine oil.

I second that; all of my documentation says 75W-80 is A) roughly the same oil grade (from a viscosity perspective) as 10W-30, and more importantly, B) 75W-80 is the preferred gear oil for Honda manual transmissions.

Another gear oil to consider is GM Syncromesh (I have no idea if it is available in Nigeria); the Acura TL guys have a huge base of empirical evidence which makes a compelling argument for using this gear lube as a means of both smoothing out shifting as well as extending the life of the transmission (specifically the syncros).