Attention: TDR Forum Junkies A couple of weeks after having my engine oil changed, I noticed that my manual 5 speed had become difficult (sometimes nearly impossible) to shift. After reading up on the topic, I began to wonder if the shop had added something other than GL-4 to my transmission. I called them to see what they would top it off with, and after a long delay, they said they wouldn't add oil to that transmission because they don't stock the correct one.
I decided to change it. I picked up one quart of Mopar p/n 4874459 and four quarts of GM p/n 12346190 because I read here that the GM dealers sell it cheaper. In my experience, the Mopar product was $19. 00 per quart from Nichols Dodge in Burlington NC and the GM product was $20. 19 per quart from Sonny Hancock in Gastonia NC. Another GM dealer said he would let me have it for $15. 45 per quart, but he was out of stock. Gee, wonder why.
The GM product comes in a container that actually looks like you could use to squeeze the oil directly into the fill hole, but I found it to be difficult due to the angle.
After trying several different hose and funnel methods, I finally decided to try my 2 gallon Solo tank sprayer used for spraying garden products. It had been rinsed with bleach and was perfectly clean and dry, so I wiped it out and loaded a gallon of the oil into the tank. I removed the spray nozzle, pumped the handle a dozen timesand wasted about a cup of fluid into my drain pan which was still under the transmission, just to get rid of any trash that might still be in the sprayer hose. I then inserted the end of the hose into the fill hole, propped the handle on a box, locked the trigger and waited on overflow... about 10 minutes. I added some Permatex to the threads of the fill plug and replaced it.
My transmission now shifts like new. Don't know if the garage actually added something strange or if it was just time for an oil change. Hard shifting is gone! The stuff I drained was dark brown. Either way, I plan to do this again soon, just to be sure it's 100% Castrol Syntorq with no left-overs.
Anyone wanting to try the sprayer method of fluid install might want to invest in a cheaper pump sprayer. The Solo (while not the backpack version) was still a bit expensive to relegate for fluid changes. It did a great job, but there are likely cheaper ones that would likely work as well. Needless to say, that's all this one will be used for now since my wife might not appreciate the new luster on the leaves of her favorite plants!
I decided to change it. I picked up one quart of Mopar p/n 4874459 and four quarts of GM p/n 12346190 because I read here that the GM dealers sell it cheaper. In my experience, the Mopar product was $19. 00 per quart from Nichols Dodge in Burlington NC and the GM product was $20. 19 per quart from Sonny Hancock in Gastonia NC. Another GM dealer said he would let me have it for $15. 45 per quart, but he was out of stock. Gee, wonder why.
The GM product comes in a container that actually looks like you could use to squeeze the oil directly into the fill hole, but I found it to be difficult due to the angle.
After trying several different hose and funnel methods, I finally decided to try my 2 gallon Solo tank sprayer used for spraying garden products. It had been rinsed with bleach and was perfectly clean and dry, so I wiped it out and loaded a gallon of the oil into the tank. I removed the spray nozzle, pumped the handle a dozen timesand wasted about a cup of fluid into my drain pan which was still under the transmission, just to get rid of any trash that might still be in the sprayer hose. I then inserted the end of the hose into the fill hole, propped the handle on a box, locked the trigger and waited on overflow... about 10 minutes. I added some Permatex to the threads of the fill plug and replaced it.
My transmission now shifts like new. Don't know if the garage actually added something strange or if it was just time for an oil change. Hard shifting is gone! The stuff I drained was dark brown. Either way, I plan to do this again soon, just to be sure it's 100% Castrol Syntorq with no left-overs.
Anyone wanting to try the sprayer method of fluid install might want to invest in a cheaper pump sprayer. The Solo (while not the backpack version) was still a bit expensive to relegate for fluid changes. It did a great job, but there are likely cheaper ones that would likely work as well. Needless to say, that's all this one will be used for now since my wife might not appreciate the new luster on the leaves of her favorite plants!
