Misbah

I picked up some mobile 1 Synthetic Gear Lube LS 75w90, 2 quarts, to drain, flush n change my manual transmission on my 02 LX 5spd.

I read on here that most people use 5w20 or 10w30 motor oil, or Royal Purple Synchromax or Redline MTL.

The MTL is 70w80 GL4 gear oil, with a 5w30 motor oil viscosity equivalent. I can't find any chain stores in my area (O'Reilly, Advance, Autozone, NAPA) that carry the redline, and they carry the Royal Purple Max-Gear, but not the Synchromax.

Since the 70w80 is 5w30 equivalent, is it alright for me to use the 75w90 mobile 1 synthetic I picked up?

Also does it matter if the mobile 1 is GL5 rather than GL4?

I know motor oil is fine for use as well, but I would rather have a gear specific oil. I just don't want anything too heavy duty or too thick but if people put redline mtl 75w80 in their 7th gens then the mobile 1 should be ok?

Monk33

Some other veterans of this site will disagree with me, But I used the exact same gear oil when I changed mine last month (Mobil 1 75w90). I have an 02 EX 5spd, and Honestly, the tranny has never been smoother!

My tranny has always been notchy, and hard to shift into gear sometimes. I used to always use Honda MTF in the past and it never lasted more than a week, before my tranny would start acting up. So this time I took a risk, but have always loved Mobil 1 oils.

I know, I know, it's not Honda official MTF and I'm going to ruin my transmission, and I'm going to hell, yada yada yada, whatever. I trust Mobil 1 fluids, and I use no other oil when I do oil changes. As far as I'm concerned, they make good oil, and (as of now) it lubricates better than previous times when I used Honda MTF. SO, as always, change at your own risk, but it's been about 1000 miles so far, and I like the results.

Misbah

Thanks for the reply. Yeah the transmission fluid has never been changed in the life of the car, and it has 86k on it now. I bought it with 46k so I imagine it would be a good time to do it. It's a bit notchy going into first and reverse. Need a new clutch as well but I'll deal with that later. I feel pretty safe with mobil 1, love their oils, I use there 5w20 and filters only. I was just a bit iffy on the weight, because a 75w90 is more like a 10w40 and we should be using something like a 5w30. I see your in FLA, I'm in Texas so the weather is somewhat similar heat-wise. But I'll try the Mobil 1, I don't think it'll give me any problems. It's impossible to find 70w80 gear oil around here. Unless I buy online. And it's sunday so the dealership is closed so no Honda MTF for me. I'll let yall know how it turns out and if my tranny has grinded to a halt on me.

Monk33

Yeah, it's definitely time to change it. Since you're in TX, I believe the heat range classifies your car to be maintained under the "Severe Conditions" schedule in your owner's manual (chg at 60k, or 36 months). This will also enable you to run the 75w90 without too many problems (I probably would not do the same if I lived in Canada or northern climates!!!)

In addition, I have always run a combo of 5w/20 and 5w/30 oil, especially during the summer where we're above 90 degrees for 4-5 months straight. It seems to hold up better than strictly 5w/20 (there's tons of disagreements on these forums about this too, but I have 98k on my Vic, I'm orignal owner, no problems). Manual permits 5w30 as well (see p.210).

Our generation civics have tons of tranny problems, but you should see a noticeable difference once you change your gear oil. Good luck!

Misbah

Well I went ahead and drained/flushed and changed the fluid on Sunday. Definitely a noticeable difference. Not as notchy or noisy. Slips in to gears more firmly and smoothly, I also switched to those aluminum shifter cable bushings as well so I'm not sure how much of the difference is attributed to each change. Overall though the transmission feels smoother, shifts more deliberately/firmly but not like I'm forcing it, more like a nice slipping in to the gear. I've only driven it a few days to work so far so no long term impressions, but on a side note...


Why didn't anyone tell me tranny fluid smells like rotten eggs and dead rodents?! Horrible I tell you.

On an unrelated issue, ever since I change my oil and mtf, my power steering makes dying donkey noises when ever I turn at low speeds. After the car warms up it goes away, and the noise pitch goes up and down with the RPMs so I'm assuming it's either belt or pump related. I doubt this is related to the transmission fluid change, just happened to occur at the same time. Need new belts anyways...

Monk33

LOL MTF does smell like rotten ***! That's hilarious. Should have told you to buy a nose plug before changing it. Glad to hear you're noticing an improvement in the shifting.

As far as the unrelated issue, sounds like it's definitely power-steering related. Hopefully just fluid or belt. I am not aware of any relation between changing the MTF and having any power steering issues. Hope you can get that figured out too.

imonchakraborty

Hi. I just bought a 2002 Honda Civic LX with 5 speed manual transmission. The car has about 160K miles on it, and I am uncertain about the previous fluid change history, so I'd like to change the engine and transmission oils.

Can you tell me the approximate cost for getting a transmission oil change (Note: manual transmission)? Also, can you suggest a good quality oil to use?

Also, for seasoned Civic owners, can you give me an estimate of how much it would cost to change all the fluids, i.e.

1. Engine oil
2. Transmission oil
3. Brake fluid
4. Power steering fluid
5. Engine coolant

Thanks. I look forward to your reply.

02civicsi02

Most of those you need to get at honda like the transmission oil, brake fljuid, engine coolant and powersteering fluid. The engine oil can be anything but I use either castrol or mobil 1.

rednwhite04

iTrader: (3)

I would never suggest getting any of these from the Honda dealer unless you like giving money away. The types/weights of MTF has already been highlighted in this thread. As for brake fluid, coolant and powersteering fluid, go down to your local Vatozone or whatever autoparts store you prefer and grab whatever catches your eye, they are all the same. I however, prefer Prestone coolant with a little water wetter, DOT 4 brake fluid and.....oh wait, I don't have powersteering!

gangulyarchan

@ imonchakraborty - I am not sure why rednwhite04 is suggesting about throwing away money. I got all the fluids except engine oil from the local Honda dealer and none of them were expensive. In fact almost the same price as the local Autozone here and I got them after checking out the prices at both the places. Personally I would stick with Honda fluids except engine oil no matter what others say. You can check the following link out and compare the prices with your local vendor (Autozone, NAPA etc.) before you take your pick -

http://www.handa-accessories.com/civmaint01.html

As for the cost of changing the fluids, most of them you can do on your own especially PS fluid, MT fluid, Clutch fluid, engine oil and oil filter change. All you need is a oil pan and some basic tools (like socket wrench, washers etc.)

For the brake fluid I would recommend a good mechanic if you have ABS (should be $50-60) and if you do not have ABS you can do it yourself. All you would need a hydraulic pump.

Coolant flush should be around $ 70-80 and is a bit more time consuming you can find a great DIY by reddawnman on this forum.

You should do all other fluid changes since I don't think its worth paying the mechanic for these. You can find all the info you need to do all these changes in various DIY threads in this forum (with detailed pics).

All the best and enjoy working on your car.