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Dexron ATF on the BW T5 :)


spiff

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Borg and Warner T5 that came in the turbo 81-83 280zx were supposed to have ATF ran in them not gear oil.  He is noticing a difference is shift quality now that he's figured it out i suppose.

Actually that's not clear from the Nissan service specs., and that's where the confusion comes from.  Plus the fact that some BW manual transmissions specify Dexron, according to the interweb.  See attachment for Nissan spec.  Notice that Nissan calls out the automatic transmission specifically right below the manual transmission spec.  It's just a poorly written specification.  

 

 

Here's a pretty good summary that throws in the confusing point with no clarification.  World class versus non world class, but who knows if that's true.   Nissan calls out either fluid in their spec.  Maybe Nissan used both WC and NWC in their turbo cars and the owner is supposed to know which they have.  It's a mess.

 

About paragraph 7 - 

 

http://www.hemmings.com/mus/stories/2007/05/01/hmn_feature21.html 

post-8864-0-25114900-1403798407_thumb.png

Edited by NewZed
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  • 6 months later...

You mean Synchromax?  Not mesh?  Synchromesh is a GM or Chrysler spec'ed product made by Pennzoil. 

 

Royal Purple's Synchromax is recommended for manual transmissions that are spec'ed for automatic transmission fluid, according to their ad - http://www.royalpurpleconsumer.com/products/synchromax-manual-transmission-fluid/

 

 

My 71B transmission has needle bearings.  Redline MTL is a high viscosity fluid, more like a typical 90W oil than an ATF.  The term "T5" might be linked to more confusion than any other car word on the internet, for me anyway.  Even without World Class and Non-World Class thrown in.  

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@NewZed,

Redline MTL is 75w80.  Its actually a lower viscosity.  When I had my 83 NA box rebuilt the gear shop said MT90 was too thick, put MTL instead. 




I have valvoline dex/merc in my T5, I'm considering putting synchromax instead for track use.  

Edited by stupid_fast
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Hence "more like".  75W up to 140W is the Nissan spec for an 83 NA box, depending on usage temperature.  ATF is about half the viscosity of typical gear oil.  Hard to compare since they use a different spec.  But Redline shows viscosity numbers on their site.  Compare the cSt spec.  CentiStoke is a measure of resistance of a spindle spinning in the fluid.  Higher number means more resistance.  Many words have been spent on these topics.  Still interesting.

 

For what it's worth, trial and error seems to work best for old worn transmissions.  I use a 75/25 blend of Swepco 201 and Dex/Merc ATF in an old 1980 FS5W71B 5 speed.  It had serious synchro grind at mid to high RPM shifts.  Gone now, except for way high.  Credit to jmortensen for the recommendation, although he uses 50/50.  Everyone has their magic elixir. 

 

http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=51&pcid=9

 

http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=46&pcid=7

 

http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=45&pcid=7

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You mean Synchromax?  Not mesh?  Synchromesh is a GM or Chrysler spec'ed product made by Pennzoil. 

 

Royal Purple's Synchromax is recommended for manual transmissions that are spec'ed for automatic transmission fluid, according to their ad - http://www.royalpurpleconsumer.com/products/synchromax-manual-transmission-fluid/

 

 

My 71B transmission has needle bearings.  Redline MTL is a high viscosity fluid, more like a typical 90W oil than an ATF.  The term "T5" might be linked to more confusion than any other car word on the internet, for me anyway.  Even without World Class and Non-World Class thrown in.  

 

youre right :) sorry for the confusion .... synchromax.... just was in the garage to check whats in the Z and found that i got mixed up. have an english convertible with a T5 and used the synchromax there. in the Z i used royal purple max gear 75W90 as i had some quarts left. must say have grinds on downshift 3rd to 2nd and 2nd to 1st. have a 71B box out of a 1982 ZX

Edited by gacksen
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I've had good luck with MT90 also, in a 1978 5 speed.  It ground in to third at high RPM quick up-shifts, with plain old Valvoline 75-90.  The MT90 fixed that.  It didn't fix the 1980 5 speed though.  But the Swepco/ATF blend did, for the most part.  I think the 1980 box might have had some rust on the synchro cones.  Who knows.  For the record.  

 

Notice on the Redline "Gear Oil for Manual Transmissions" page, they also list two ATF fluids.  ATF/MTF fluid.

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