Gear changes a bit crunchy.....

Silvia · Postby **Silvia** » Sat Nov 26, 2011 9:16 am

I think I'll go with the Nulon additive first and add to existing oil - quick and cheap.
If no help I'll try the Red Line oil, but at $42.50 litre :shock:

I'll wait and see how it goes.
I get reverse ok and 2nd gets a bit better with warming up.
I'm thinking The Red Line oil may be the equivalent of 75/95w synthetic with Nulon added ....

aviper4u · Postby **aviper4u** » Sat Nov 26, 2011 10:14 am

75-95w hmm.......

manual suggests 80-90w or 75-90w for gearbox so the 75-90 will aid with cold shifting issues.

+1 as others say to change oil first though

93_Clubman · Postby **93_Clubman** » Sat Nov 26, 2011 2:05 pm

Silvia wrote:I think I'll go with the Nulon additive first and add to existing oil - quick and cheap.

Indeed, quick & cheap, but if the old oil is part of the problem then you're wasting an opportunity to improve the situation by simply including an additive.

Set a baseline & take a graduated approach, based on cheapest &/ or easiest first.

Get a good, economically priced oil that someone has had some results with in a 6 speed & change oil. No improvement? Then add Nulon, Wynns, or again whatever someone has had some sort of result with. No improvement? Then maybe try a premium oil, but there's no guaranteed results!

Silvia wrote:...I'll try the Red Line oil, but at $42.50 litre...

Bursons, one of the auto store chains here in Vic used to sell it for about $25 a litre a couple of years ago.

Silvia wrote:I'm thinking The Red Line oil may be the equivalent of 75/95w synthetic with Nulon added.

Check before adding an additive to a fully synthetic oil.

Silvia · Postby **Silvia** » Sat Nov 26, 2011 2:29 pm

Bursons in Stafford quoted me $42.53 litre :shock:

93_Clubman · Postby **93_Clubman** » Sat Nov 26, 2011 2:51 pm

$25 here: http://www.performancelub.com/Redline%20pricelist.htm

Alternative supplier used by some forumites:
http://www.gllubricants.com/

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Redline-MT90 ... 27b6077a39

Basho · Postby **Basho** » Sat Nov 26, 2011 3:40 pm

I've got the same issue and had a thought , it's actualy about the owners damn manual which coyly and carefully dosen't specify either GL4--OR--5 , hypoid/mineral , and I know that when I inadvertatly stuffed 4 litres of GL5 into my unsuspecting R34GT-t I may as well have put in quickset , it took 2 gear oil changes before I got half way back to normal.

Its a fair few changes to actualy get all the hypoid out , some say that the only real way is to strip down and rebuild.

I know that some 'profesional' mechanical people deride this fact as bullshit and have the philosophy that the heavier the better as long as you can still shift gear.. hypoids ? stuff em in there.

And I'm just wondering as there are so many MX'is with this annoying but far from terminal issue how many of them have been 'hypoided'.

And if there is a case there ?

I know mine was from the smell when I changed the GB oil this week.

Silvia · Postby **Silvia** » Sat Nov 26, 2011 4:19 pm

Well the Red line light shockproof seems to be GL 5 , yet so many people here and in other forums speak highly of the effect on their GB's and none negatively. Is this what you used?

I can order through ebay at half retail - thanks 93 clubman - down to $20 quart from one place and $60 total for 2 inc. post from another...hope to pick up at this one and save freight.....
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/RED-LINE-LIG ... 2a08ee8bda.

Aussie Stig · Postby **Aussie Stig** » Sat Nov 26, 2011 4:39 pm

As Dann mentioned this is the same gearbox used in the S15. It is also used by Lexus and in the RX-7.

There must be a definitive answer out there, these have been manufactured by the hundreds of thousands, for cars much more powerful than the mx5.

PaulF · Postby **PaulF** » Sat Nov 26, 2011 4:48 pm

Aussie Stig wrote:As Dann mentioned this is the same gearbox used in the S15. It is also used by Lexus and in the RX-7.

There must be a definitive answer out there, these have been manufactured by the hundreds of thousands, for cars much more powerful than the mx5.

Doesn't that answer itself? It seems to me that the definitive answer is that it isn't really a problem.

Basho · Postby **Basho** » Sat Nov 26, 2011 5:19 pm

Silvia wrote:Well the Red line light shockproof seems to be GL 5 , yet so many people here and in other forums speak highly of the effect on their GB's and none negatively. Is this what you used? I can order through ebay at half retail - thanks 93 clubman - down to $20 quart from one place and $60 total for 2 inc. post from another...hope to pick up at this one and save freight.....
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/RED-LINE-LIG ... 2a08ee8bda.

Nope, I used Castrol VMX M it's an 75/85 GL4 I'll use the other two litres probably tomorow and move on to VMX 80, again a GL4, for another two rapid succession changes to see (at not to much money) if that improves things , if it does I'll know I'm on the right track.

I don't have any comparative answers regarding Shockproof nor do I doubt that it works well in some applications , there are a fair number of 180SX owners who recon it's the ducks nuts despite hard evidence that it corodes the brass fittings in a gearbox, and guess who's gearbox'is have brass parts in them.

I also Know that a gearbox specialist who I have some respect for won't use it , full stop.

Heres an oil guy I have used for cost savings , I've found deliveries are speedy as well.

http://www.performancelub.com/index.htm

93_Clubman · Postby **93_Clubman** » Sat Nov 26, 2011 5:28 pm

Basho wrote:I've got the same issue and had a thought , it's actualy about the owners damn manual which coyly and carefully dosen't specify either GL4--OR--5 , hypoid/mineral , and I know that when I inadvertatly stuffed 4 litres of GL5 into my unsuspecting R34GT-t I may as well have put in quickset , it took 2 gear oil changes before I got half way back to normal.

Basho, I did a search when you asked about this in an earlier thread, but there was very little on this forum, & nothing really concrete, no pun intended! Just searched on GL4 & GL5.

Basho · Postby **Basho** » Sat Nov 26, 2011 6:00 pm

93_Clubman wrote:
Basho wrote:I've got the same issue and had a thought , it's actualy about the owners damn manual which coyly and carefully dosen't specify either GL4--OR--5 , hypoid/mineral , and I know that when I inadvertatly stuffed 4 litres of GL5 into my unsuspecting R34GT-t I may as well have put in quickset , it took 2 gear oil changes before I got half way back to normal.

Basho, I did a search when you asked about this in an earlier thread, but there was very little on this forum, & nothing really concrete, no pun intended! Just searched on GL4 & GL5.

You're right, there is bugger all about it , I'm going from personal experiance, what I know is that a bunch of MX5 owners are haveing an issue that they shouldn't be having and that when I used a GL5 in a box that specified GL4 even though the oil weights were the same I had an immediate hard shifting issue that took a couple of oil changes with the right wieght GL4 to start behaving itself again.

As there seems to be no general answer to what seems to be a fairly common condition , I am postulating that there may be a connection between the use of a GL5/hypoid gearoil and the poor shifting condition being experianced by a number of owners.

Nonsense--maybe, but in the absence of a definative answer, for me at least, it's worth considering.

One question though , did these cars all have quirky shifting when new, I had a 10th anniversary 9 years ago and I don't recall any gear change issue

I'm in at Mazda on Tuesday , I'll quiz them then about the issue then and post thier response --that should be fun. :lol:

I'll demand free new gearbox'is for everyone ! :lol:

Silvia · Postby **Silvia** » Sat Nov 26, 2011 9:21 pm

Appreciate your input with this Basho. Personally I can't believe that Mazda designed a car to be perfection in it's field and allows it to suffer such a fundamental problem.Can't be doing it's reputation much good :oops:

Re. the GL5 theory - as I said, many seem to have used the Redline GL5 product with favourable results and little or no criticism, so perhaps there's more to it than it seems.
For example Redline say their product is equal to other grades within it's specification.I think I've even seen it described as GL 4/GL5

But I'm sure Lexus , if it has the same type box,would never put up with any crunching issues in a prestige car, so you are right in searching for reasons...

aviper4u · Postby **aviper4u** » Sat Nov 26, 2011 9:28 pm

Basho wrote:I'll demand free new gearbox'is for everyone !

+1, also tell them it's a done deal with a turbo for me :lol:

JBT · Postby **JBT** » Sat Nov 26, 2011 9:36 pm

Silvia wrote:Appreciate your input with this Basho. Personally I can't believe that Mazda designed a car to be perfection in it's field and allows it to suffer such a fundamental problem.Can't be doing it's reputation much good

Re. the GL5 theory - as I said, many seem to have used the Redline GL5 product with favourable results and little or no criticism, so perhaps there's more to it than it seems.
For example Redline say their product is equal to other grades within it's specification.I think I've even seen it described as GL 4/GL5

But I'm sure Lexus , if it has the same type box,would never put up with any crunching issues in a prestige car, so you are right in searching for reasons...

It's not a problem and there are no reasons. I'm on my third MX-5 and have had no problem with gear changes other than a very slight (as in teeensy weeeensy) tendency to be the slightest bit reluctant to change into second when very cold. The issue is not perceptible after one gear change into second and sometimes it does not happen at all. This morning the gearbox was changing butter smooth from go. The oil in it is whatever Mazda used when it was built.

BTW, the original 5 speed gearboxes were revised 929 boxes.