Redline MTL in 5600

[Hohn]

This is good stuff. i noticed it was a LOT smoother shifting before I even fired the truck up again.



It's not "spec" fluid for our trucks, so all you guys who whine about API certification can save your breath.



5QTs was plenty to refill the trans. In fact, when I pulled the last bottle out of the hole, it started gushing back out! i stuck my finger in it until I could get the plug in real quick. At $8 a quart, I don't want it going on the shop floor!



It was a real PITA refilling the trans. There's no room in there to fit Redline's bottle design-- the front driveshaft and skidplate really restrict your room. if Redline would sell the stuff in gear lube-style bottle, it would be cake. But they use a round oil bottle with a centered spout.



Anyway, she shift REALLY nicely now. I would highly recommend it-- it's worth the $40 in fluid.



I can't stress enough that we have to have reasonable expectations in how slick you can make this thing shift. Think of how heavy that big clutch is! Now imagine you're a little synchronizer trying to alter the rotational speed of that thing in a hurry. I suspect that the inertia from the 13. 5 inch clutch is the main reason that shifting isn't as smooth as a little car. it's still very good for a truck, IMHO.



Redline MTL made it much better.



YMMV



HOHN

 

[CRegal]

I bought 7 quarts to change mine out, but havent had the chance to do it yet, perhaps this weekend. I also bought the fast coolers for both sides(thus the 7 quart purchace). I also bout a pint of Prolong to try & mix in there with it. Hopefully it will eliminate the problem I am having.



I also bought Jayz ez funnel, since I knew it was going to be tough to fill. Hope it helps.

 

[mgoncalves]

I am planning on doing this some day. Where is the best place to get the oil? My truck only has 15,000 on it, so I am not in a big rush yet.







Matt

 

[CRegal]

I dont remeber where I ordered mine from, but I can check the box when I get home. I know it was a F*rd mustang site that had it for the best price. I think it was like 7. 50 a quart. It was out of Dallas Tx I believe.

 

[csevers]

I too have changed to Redline MTL

on advice of The clutch guru and it does make the trans shift nicer most all of the time, only draw back was I got the 3rd gear clash when real cold under 20 degrees on the first shift to that gear other wise it is great I got mine MTL from Racer Wholesale Parts not sure what state there in but they shiped it quick. I am still looking for the prolong to try also.



Craig

 

[Diesel Freak]

Been using MTL in my transmission forover a year now..... still running strong.



now I prolly should change out the rear diff fluid:-laf

 

[Hohn]

I buy my Redline products from Al Smith Automotive Products (ASAP). They are at www.synlubes.com.



They carry Redline, Amsoil, and POR-15 products. Customer service has always been excellent, and shipping is free with orders over $100, which is easy when buying Redline (3 gal cost $90!)



I also bought a bunch of ShockProof heavy for the differentials. I will swap it out in a bit-- I have Mob1 in them now, and want to get a LITTLE bit of use out of it, so i didn't waste that money.



Read up on the ShockProof Heavy. Lots of people are starting to say this is the ultimate gear oil, period. If you go to www.bobistheoilguy.com and go to his forums, you will read about a test he did on the Shockproof. Straight from Bobistheoilguy's mouth:



"I got a hold of Mystic 80w90 gear oil and Redlines supershock 80w90 yesterday. The results were as follows.



The mystic did not climb the gears. As a gear oil, it appeared to have a good resistance to foaming unlike some of the conventional gear oils.



The redline heavy shock gear oil, Very interesting stuff. It started to climb over the first gear when started but quickly dropped. Reason I believe it did this was because of the thickness it has when cold. BUT... This stuff is like paint. When it touches a spot, it's there. It did not come off, it did not run, it stayed where it hit. To clean my machine so I could even get it out there, I had to flush it out 5 times!. I can see where this stuff would hold up quite well if this is any indication. It is somewhat like the Schaeffers gear oil as both leave residue on the gears and walls. Difference here is Schaeffers price is lower and will climb but isn't as pretty as that red stuff . "



As a Schaeffer guy, Bob is basically saying the Redline is awesome gear oil, but the Schaeffer costs less and isn't pretty and red.



Before he ran the test, Bob said this:

"Toy, I would really like to get my hands on a qt of redline gear oil. None around here that I can find. That is the only gear oil I have heard nothing but good about and I wonder just how well it does do in climbing and ariation. I know it has moly as schaeffers does, so I don't know how it will do in climbing and air bubbles. "



Though Bob won't be a Redline convert any time soon, he was obviously impressed with their Shockproof gear oil...





HOHN

 

[10-G]

Very interesting. Perhaps I will try some redline. I have been waiting for my shifting to get smoother and it has not. It is like shifting a boat paddle in a bucket of bricks.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

I'm interested in that Redline stuff as well - a little better off than most here - I live close to Martinez where the stuff is manufactured and marketed - been over there and bought stuff direct from them in the past... My transmission shifts just fine - but I'm always looking for something better, and since they're so close, I can drive on over and talk to them directly about the "special" requirements of the NV-5600...

 

[Hohn]

I think that the "experiement" of the MTL is easily worth the $40 in fluid. It is VERY unlikely that you are going to fry your trans trying it out.



I added only MTL, no ProLong. I just don't believe in additives. The MTL made a big difference by itself, so why screw the chemistry up with additives?



I doubt the ProLong would hurt anything, but the ammonia compounds most of those additives use are not something that I want in my truck.



The EZ and now the MTL have made the truck really fun to drive-- smooth shifting and strong acceleration.



Hohn

 

[Rob Thomas]

Originally posted by Gary - KJ6Q

since they're so close, I can drive on over and talk to them directly about the "special" requirements of the NV-5600...

Uh oh, quick, some call and warn 'em... ... ... ... . Gary's comin'!!!





Rob

 

[Rman]

I used redline MTL in most of the stick shifts i've owned, its excellent oil. I opted for Royal purple's synchromax for my NV5600, mainly because of the differences in the weights of the oils. The voodoo specs of the 5600 require a weight similar to 5W-30, the synchromax is supposedly close to that and supposed to replace transmission fluid in the transfer case as well. I replaced both the transmission and transfercase at the same time, made one hell of a mess because of that skid plate.



Poor option and if i had it to do over i'd leave it off. I don't hardcore offroad, i have my landcruiser for that! ANyways the results i had are in line with everyone else. It's somewhat smoother, but i still do have the 3rd gear initial shift when cold problem. I can't really tell between stock and the royal purple. I can tell on all other shifts when cold, the RP is much smoother.



I'd like to add i got gutsy one day and chucked my transfer in 4wd going about 45 mph "to test the brute functionality" Hell i wanted to see what this expensive "4WD" machine could do... thank god nothing broke and it shifted like butter. My wife thought i was nuts, i told her whats the worst that could happen, i'd be upgrading to a better transfer case! I don't have the HD so i had good enough reason.



I have a real problem with putting engine oil in my transmission, all those additives and soot preventives, and all the other garbage just didn't seem like it fit in a transmission. So i went with "transmission" oil that was what i felt "designed" for it. If it explodes, i'll get another and stick with the stock oil, until then dammit its mine and i wanna play with it!



DC can take their $17 a quart cut-rate cheap-ass oil and shove it

 

[JRodgers]

For what its worth, I just put the MTL in my truck. I bought the truck in Jan and couldnt stand the hard shifting transmission. I thought all the 'oil wars' business here and elsewhere was bunk until I tried it. I was amazed at the difference the MTL made. I also installed the BD short shift kit. Now I couldnt be happier with the way it drives.



Joe

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

rhickman, the Redline MTL is also very close to the 5W30 weight rating. http://www.redlineoil.com/redlineoil/mtlti.htm

 

[John]

Red Line MTL (Manual Transmission Lubricant):



MTL for NV5600 (6-speed manuals)



MTL90 for NV4500 (5-speed manuals)

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

I dunno guys - I'm as interested in advanced technology in lubes as the next guy - but having transmission lube that's about the consistency of water in my transmission, as I tow our 5er up in the hills, just isn't very reassuring for some reason...

 

[Rman]

Gary, C'mon thats like saying we all should go shove molasses in there because its thick as hell. There is tremendous shearing forces inside a transmission, this lube is proven to stand up to that. Regular motor oils are NOT rated for that. But then again, i use 20w-50 in my dirtbike, shift without using a clutch and that transmission holds up fine.



I stand corrected on the MTL, i thought it was close to 5-30, but not that close. I just wanted to try royal purple out anyways, my buddy swears by it so i thought i'd give it a shot.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

WELL, just for comparison, and a measure of reassurance, how many of the 18-wheel rigs use lube in weights down around what we're discussing here in their trannies and differentials... ?



And if they are NOT using thinner stuff, why not?



And why would THEIR heavy duty requirements be any different than some of us in towing applications?

 

[John]

Ok Gary...



How 'bout this, big rigs have much larger and heavier duty transmissions and differentials. Thus, they require much larger and heavier duty gears... key word here being, larger (i. e. , diameter). What I'm getting at here is surface feet per minute of gear rotation. These are "slower speed" transmissions and differentials, generally requiring thicker, "climbing" (or "clinging") types of lubricants in order to adequately protect the gear teeth (i. e. , cushion... or shock loading).



Bottom Line: these transmission and differentials were DESIGNED with specific lubricant parameters in mind. And so was your NV5600... the manufacturer decided it should use a 5W-30 lubricant... as did the Getrag 5-speed manual.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

It can be hard to break old habits, theories and conclusions - transmission and gear oils have traditionally been far heavier than engine lubes - and let's face it, since the EPA and various factors such as CAFE ratings have entered the picture, auto manufacturers are specifing some lightweight lubes purely as a fuel mileage enhancement, not necessarily due to advanced protection for the mechanical parts involved - shucks, if use of a 5w oil gets another 2 mpg, and allows a maker to sell another 100,000 cars under CAFE rules, what do they care if the transmission fails at 200,000 miles instead of the 500,000 miles it COULD have lived with heavier lube... Not saying that's what's happening here, just food for thought - there's LOTS more going into manufacturing decisions these days than attempts to necessarily get the longest life out of a given component...



And then, lets not forget what's been done to gasoline and diesel fuels in recent years, where radical changes were made in formulations with full acknowledgement that those changes would damage engines and fuel system components... Outfits like EPA have a different set of priorities than vehicle owners do - and often those priorities govern what the manufacturers must do to comply and stay in business - as long a a vehicle can be expected to last beyond the warranty period, neither the EPA, manufacturer, or others more locked into other agendas, really care a whole lot - besides, when your current car craps out, you're gonna need another to replace it, right?



In the case of this thread, and thinner lubes - I wonder how many trannies we will see that can last as long as the engine, as was common in earlier tears - sure, the engines were weaker back then - but the trannies were too!