Hi, while changing my clutch i have emptyed my tranny for it to be lighter so it dont crush me while i removed it (doing it on a bed).

The oil that went out was gold, not too think not too thin and did NOT smell BAD like gear oil. smell a little sweet, or my nose is ******! so there i was hunting down web sites to know what lube to put it, some say 75/90... or ATF...

since it looked nothing like ATF... i'd go with 75/90 but, i want to make sure, maybe i have to put a special GM bottle in there or what?
Can gear-oil with time loose its smell? or it's viscosity?
1987 canadian car, original t-5, written borg-warner on it, i can get any # off it, if they have different model ...
After looking at some pic, it must be the NWC.

I'm about to put the transmission on... just need some Lithium grease for the fork and pivot. <--- hope its the good grease... i dont like squeeks

So do i get about lets say 3 quarts of Hypoid GearOil 75/90 ?

Thanks

 

If you have a T-5, then run Dextron III in it or preferably a synthetic Dexron. Mobil -1 has one.

Don't put 80/90 gear lube in it or anything like that. I should know because I did, and on cold days the tranny would whine and be very hard to shift till it started warming up.

And I don't think I want to ask how you're changing a tranny out on a bed!!!! LOL

 

i dont use the car in temp lower than 15 *celcius...

but if i go with the DextronIII, the little Old oil, that i dont know what it was, will it MIX ok, or should i run it a bit and flush it again?

i dont want to screw up this tranny yet, it's working fine and i dont have the money for a t-56 yet

syntec is great i know, specially in places i dont change often...

 

Why don't you ask a reliable oilcompany,like redline WWW.REDLINEOIL.COM,or WWW.CASTROL.COM
If it's not an automatic,I wouldn't use ATF,but synthetic gear oil.

 

So long as you have drained all the old fluid fully, it should be no problem. Just top it off with Dextron III, or preferably Mobil 1 synthetic Dextron III. That's what a guy at Gearzone told me to use when I called them about my tranny.

I called them to ask for a rebuild kit, and when he found out I was running 80w/90 gear lube, he told me to try putting the right fluid in it first. Made a world of difference. All T-5's whether they are BW or WC, use Dextron III, not gear lube. Hope this helps.

BTW....My car has the NWC trans in it too. Sucks. Only rated for something like 240 ft lbs. of torque.

 

Waking this from a dead sleep! I was told to run GM Synchromesh fluid. I have a 95 T5 out of an S-10. Can I still use Dextron, or the synthetic stuff?

 

I know for a fact that all World Class T5s use ATF. You can use Dextron III, Mobil 1, or my favorite Amsoil synthetic.

There is some debate about whether or not the earlier non-WC T5s use ATF or gear oil. If what you drained out wasn't gear oil, and it wasn't ATF, who knows what it was? Maybe it was some kind of synthetic ATF, or maybe it was just plain old motor oil! That's the thing about used cars, you never can tell what the guy (moron) before you did.

I don't think you can go wrong with ATF. All T5s use clutch-like material in the synchro assemblies, which shoudl really be used with ATF, not gear oil.

 

Well, I rebuilt this T5 for a good friend of mine. When I drained it, it looked, and smelled like ATF to me. I asked another friend of mine, who use to wrok at a GM dealer. He said to use the synchromesh stuff. He said its clear, but its not really like ATF. Maybe thats b/c he had that drilled into his head for a couple years! I will try the ATF.

Thanks,

 

Dexron III should be the way to go, believe doward posted once how he ruined one of his t-5's by using gear oil.

 

You can definately ruin a WC T5 using gear oil. A friend of mine killed his Cobras T5 like this. There are oil feed passages through which gear oil can't flow. It causes the bearings to burn up.

 

I know what your saying about those passages. For some reason, I always thought all internal rail transmissions were never suppose to use gear oil. Learn something new everyday.

Josh

 

I feel like by adding my two cents here we're really beating this to death, but yes, ATF Dextron III is what to use with out doubt. Just did the clutch in my T-5, used Mobil 1 Dex III and the thing shifted like a new one afterwards. Actually, shifted better than a new one cause it got a brand spankin new Hurst shifter, but that's off subject............ ATF and we're not s#%tting you either. ( I was suprised two, your not the only one ;-)

 

I'm not remembering if the later S-10 T5 would be WC, or if not, have brass synchros.

If it doesn't have fibre synchro linings, a gear oil will be fine.

If your compadre can verify that synchromesh is fine in the 95 box, I would go with it.

 

It is possible that it isn't WC. Jeeps never got the WC box.

 

No it doesn't. There is no valid difference in oiling between a non-WC (which can be run with gear oil because it has brass synchro linings) and a WC T5 that would cause oiling problems.

The problem with WC T5s and gear oils is the fibre synchro linings swell up.

 

Well, I'll tell you the story. My friend has a '94 Mustang Cobra, which uses a Cobra spec T5 (slightly different than the standard GT box, roller pocket bearing, ect). He started having problems with the box, so he pulled it apart and did a "rebuild" (don't know what he did, I wasn't there). Later on he complained that it was grinding 2nd gear. Back in the day I had nearly unlimited access to a lift in my dad's shop, so one weekend we pulled the trans and tore it down. My friend only had a 2nd gear and synchro assembly. We put it all back together and it was fine for about a year, during which he proceeded to build up the motor with bolt ons. Eventually the trans became noisy and started grindign gears again. He drained the ATF and filled it with 85W90 gear lube thinking it was already on the way out, so what was he going to hurt? Shortly thereafter the trans started grinding and making horrible noises and he said the hell with it an bought a Tremec 3550. We tore the trans down just for the hell of it and the front countershaft bearing was trashed (blue and galled like insufficient lubrication, because the preload was right on). Predictably the synchros were trashed too. I later read the Tremec book on the T5 and they warn about using gear oil exactly for this reason. There is an oil feed hole that feeds the bearing, and gear oil is too thick to flow through it properly. That's why I feel that running gear oil in a T5 is a bad idea. Bad experience. Sorry it's a bit long.

 

Wow!! This is an old post!

I've had both the older T-5 and the WC now. On my old BW trans, (which they both are) I ran for awhile with 80/90 gear lube.

It shifted like SH*T until it warmed up. My Haynes manual actually says to use it (for '83). I thought that my synchos were shot or something.

So I called Gearzone.net on the phone and they said ALL T-5's should use Dex III. I did and it helped alot. Shifted much smoother.

With the G-force WC I have now, I run Dex III with a GF2000 additive. The stuff reminds me of assembly lube - only thinner. I guess since the gears are a straighter cut, it helps muffle down on any gear noise.

And that's all I know!!

 

alli've ever run a t5 or wct5 is m1 or amsoil gear oil reguardless of what gm or anyone else has had to say. i can't say the trans lasted for ever but i can say i put 55,000 miles on one with a total of 140,000 miles.

 

If this one is a WC or not, I dont know. I thought it was, due to the impression I was under that all T5's after the mid 80's or when ever, were WC. It does have some brass synchros in it. Some were just tapered, some had the fiber lining on them. The blocker rings, and synchros all look the same to me. We'll try the DexIII, if it doesn't seem right, he'll have to spend the $35 for the synchromesh fluid.

 

AFAIK, 88-92 T-5's are WC trannys. They require Dex III.

Gear lube worked in my old trans too - until temps dropped below around 40 degrees, then every gear would clash in mine for the first 20 minutes of driving until it warmed up. Then it would smooth out. Synchros were brass too.

During the summer, I had no problems really running the 80/90. I'd think if you live somewhere in which it stays warm all year round, you may not have any probs. at all with gear lube.

I know I've heard of some people putting a qt. of 10W-30 in with the DexIII to help lube things up a little for smoother shifting also.

I guess I'm saying I don't know. I just know what has worked in my case.