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Got some Amsoil Syncromesh...

7K views 59 replies 20 participants last post by  crapwacker 
#1 ·
Yeah, Syncromesh synthetic MTX fluid...5W30 weight...
On the label it says it's for GM, Jeep and Chrysler...
Why not Ford? Because they use ATF in their manuals??

**** cost me $16.25 a liter...better be 'da bomb!!!
 
#5 · (Edited)
technically its not for the getrag either.. amsoil recommends the 5w-40 euro oil.

and why oh why did it cost 16.25 a liter? i assume its canadian dollars right?

did some math and thats like 15.23 USD, which is still very expensive for that product. off the website you can get it for 8.60 USD a qt.

just checked and amsoil doesnt have any recommendation for the getrag... weird
 
#6 ·
Yeah, I know I got hosed on the price...he had to order it in...
Yes, CDN dollars...
What's worse? I bought 4 liters thinking the Getrag was 3+ liters to fill...
Dammit!!

I don't think it'll hurt anything...and WTF is Euro oil? Oil that drives on the wrong side of the road, is rude and pisses on sidewalks??
 
#8 ·
I'm not sold with using motor oil in the tranny...
Motorcycle oils are designed for use with engine AND tranny, and are modified to withstand the shearing of gears meshing, which breaks down the oil at a molecular level...
I'd rather run a tranny oil instead of engine oil, even if that tranny oil isn't the right type...
Seems to be a lot of confusion as to what to use with the Getrag...
How can you go wrong with MTX synthetic?
Anyone wanna buy 2 liters of the stuff?
 
#9 ·
thats the same thought i had when i was looking at trans fluid. so i went with the MTF fluid as you did (i have a mtx though) it works pretty well although i have a butt load of miles on my car.

if you know any honda guys all the honda manual trans will take that fluid so you might be able to sell to some of them if you have trouble else where
 
#10 ·
That's exactly the oil I have in my Getrag (the 5w-40 ish). It really smoothed out the notchiness of the gearbox :)
 
#13 ·
I purchased 3 quarts of this also, I have yet to change it out though. Maybe this weekend, I did not like the sound of motor oil in my tranny either. What is really weird is that the Mini-Cooper S with basically the same Getrag ? The amsoil website calls for the synchromesh. If it does not feel right, I will switch to royal purple or back to the stock Ford stuff.
 
#14 ·
I got the oil changed today...and the difference is noticeable...
Probably better than the Redline oil I used last...
I went to Ford, thinking they'll charge by the hour, and only take 15 or 20 minutes...last time I went to JiffyLube and was a little miffed it was over $40.
Ford wanted to bill me a full hour!!! I got in knocked down though, but still!!! Pffff...
 
#18 ·
Has anyone thought to see if or what Amsoil recommends for the Mini Cooper? Same tranny...
 
#21 ·
WuNgUn said:
I'm not sold with using motor oil in the tranny...

OMFG! FORD RECOMMENDS ATF FOR OUR POWER STEERING FLUID!!!!!

OH NOES!!!!! FIRST FORD RECOMMENDS ATF FOR THEIR POWER STEERING FLUID AND NOW AMSOIL SUGGESTS EUROPEAN CAR FORMULA 5W-40 FOR THE GETRAG TRANNY?

WHAT WILL THESE WACKY ENGINEERS START THINKING WE SHOULD DO NEXT? :eek: :rolleyes:

Did you ever think that there must be a REASON that Amsoil recommends that oil for the Getrag over their other products? They didn't just throw a dart at a listing of what they sell and decide that's what we should use......
 
#22 · (Edited)
I posted some information not too long ago that you guys may want to look over, may clear some things up on this issue, whttp://forums.focaljet.com/shift/551814-focus-manual-transmission-amsoil.htmlhich you can read below here as well. I originally posted this in the Shift It section.




Ive been getting some questions regarding the correct Amsoil fluid to use in the Focus 5-spd and SVT 6-spd transmission. I thought that I would make a post here about this so more poeple could see the information. Perhaps we can keep it near the top for a short time so that we get good coverage.

Product and Recommendation History

Amsoil is VERY good about staying current on product recommendations. I have come to trust what they say needs to be used. I have seen instances where they recommended a product or viscosity different from what the dealer and manual recommended only later to have a TSB from the dealer show a recommendation for what Amsoil already said needed to be use.

There are three manual transmissions out there for the Focus that I am aware of. The IB5 (SPI Focus), the MTX-75 5-spd (Zetec, etc) and the MT-265 6-spd (SVT). Amsoil has always keep the group recommendation for them the same. That is to say, what lubricant it recommended for one was recommended for all.

I remember a few years ago a customer came to me with a Focus sedan with the MTX75. He had done some research and was ready to buy, but wasnt sure what the 5-spd needed for fluid. He had called the dealer and they told him to use Automatic Transmission Fluid (which some Ford manual transmissions use). Amsoil said 75W-90 should be used. He didnt want to put himself in a position with getting denied warranty service so placed an order for the Amsoil synthetic automatic transmission fluid.

A couple months later he got back in touch with me and said his transmission was getting very 'notchy' and difficult to shift. I told him to try the Amsoil recommended gear lube. He got that installed and has been a happy camper since.

The European 5W-40 Motor oil came in 2004 and Amsoil changed their recommendation from the 75W-90 to the 5W-40. If I remember correctly (I couldnt find the documentation to prove it) Amsoil recommended the Series 3000 5W-30 Diesel oil for a short time until the 5W-40 came on the market.

The Manual Synchromesh Transmission Fluid came on the market in 2005. Now remember Amsoil changed their recommendation from the 75W-90 to the 5W-40 as soon as that fluid was available. Incidently a 75W-90 gear lube and 5W-40 are close to the same viscosity. However, even when the Synchromesh fluid came on the market, Amsoils recommendation for the Focus manual transmissions never changed and have not to this day.

The differences that count

I think it worth pointing out a couple of things or differences between the 5W-30 Synchromesh and the European 5W-40.

First, the Synchromesh fluid is intended in applications, manual transmissions and transaxles where non-extreme pressure fluids are used. What does that mean? It means its a good lubricant where there is not enough load to pose a risk of 'squishing' the fluid out of the boundry layer (between the metal surfaces). In other words, Amsoil Synchromesh probably doesnt have any EP (Extreme Pressure) Additives.

Why is this important? Because the Amsoil Series 2000 75W-90 gear lube was Amsoils top of the line Extreme Pressure gear lube, meaning it was specifically designed to handle such situations. Motor oils also have EP additives in them as well.

What does this mean to you? It means that the possibility exists that in certain high load conditions (think WOT) its possible to force the Synchromesh fluid from between the metal surfaces and get metal to metal contact, however brief it may be, any such contact is not good and accelerates wear.

Secondly, the Amsoil Synchromesh fluid has a Kinematic Viscosity of 9.6 @ 100* C, the European 5W-40 Kinematic Viscosity is 13.7. Remember that customer of mine that use the Automatic Transmission Fluid? Well a Viscosity of 9.6 is just barely and I mean just barely a 30 weight fluid. 9.3 is the cut off for 20 Weight. Want to guess what weight range ATF falls in? Yep, in the 20 Weight range. Transmission fluid is a little thinner, but not by some huge margin.

The 5W-40 viscosity of 13.7 puts it near the middle of the 40 Weight range. The current 75W-90 gear lubes from Amsoil have a Viscosity of 14.7 to about 16.5 which puts them also in the range of 40 Weight to the very low side of 50 Weight.

Lubrication related failure and warranty

Lastly of major significance in this is your warranty from Amsoil. If you choose to use the Synchromesh 5W-30 and have a failure directly related to the lubrication, you wil have no coverage under the Amsoil warranty because Amsoil recommends use of the European 5W-40 fluid.

Now I am aware some of you have been using the Synchromesh without any troubles, at least none that anyone is reporting. It may be that the Synchromesh fluid will work or do a good enough job. But when has anyone settled for 'Good Enough' when it comes to a car they love? If Amsoil says the 5W-40 is what should be used then I trust it is the best available that can be used.

Closing

Yeah, I know, long winded, but I wanted to get the info out there with as much detail as I could. I hope this has been helpful to someone. I also hope it clears up why the best practice in using Amsoil synthetic lubricants is to stick with what they recommend.

By all means, if someone has a question or needs further clarification, please do not hesitate to email me or PM me. I will be more than happy to help out in anyway I can.
 
#23 ·
I find it a little odd that they change their recommendations twice for our car...
What if that means the previous recommended fluid was just the best that they had 'at the time'? This is what I'm thinking...
And why aren't they recommending the Syncromesh 5W-30 now?? Maybe they figured, again, the last recommended fluid was 'good enough'...
Surely the latest tranny product they make isn't inferior to any previous Amsoil products!

This is why I was leary, and still leary, of using these small market, mom+pop oils! Redline, Royal Purple, Amsoil...
I'm sure they don't have the R&D the major lube companies have, nor the racing background to back it up...
I went with Amsoil because I've heard good things about it...
Now I feel like I was over charged for an inferior product...
 
#24 ·
How many qt's does the Getrag take for tranny fluid? I bought 2 qt's of Royal Purple synthetic manual transmission fluid. Is that enough?

Jason
 
#26 ·
WuNgUn said:
I find it a little odd that they change their recommendations twice for our car...
What if that means the previous recommended fluid was just the best that they had 'at the time'? This is what I'm thinking...
And why aren't they recommending the Syncromesh 5W-30 now?? Maybe they figured, again, the last recommended fluid was 'good enough'...
Surely the latest tranny product they make isn't inferior to any previous Amsoil products!

This is why I was leary, and still leary, of using these small market, mom+pop oils! Redline, Royal Purple, Amsoil...
I'm sure they don't have the R&D the major lube companies have, nor the racing background to back it up...
I went with Amsoil because I've heard good things about it...
Now I feel like I was over charged for an inferior product...
:lol: "small market, mom+pop oils" :lol:

You're just being paranoid. All these oils have been around for YEARS and have racing background as well. Just because they are not easily found in your local WalMart does not mean they are inferior.
 
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