just an update to my first post-- I've been driving over 15,000 miles on this stuff....few tahoe trips, many, a many santa cruz "runs," and daily driving between work, school, and playing. Still, my tranny feels brand new--no grinds, smooth shifts, even when taken to the limit.
Keep in mind that before I dumped the mesh in I was grinding first and reverse 85% of the time and I thought my only way out was a tranny/gear swap.
GM!? go figure

 

We use Valvoline GL5, seems to work well with the Subaru's.

Mike

 

Just read this post, and had to throw my 2 cents in. I had the same tranny issues as everyone else, and decided to go the Mobil 1 route due to availability. As the other guys said, all was great for a week or so, and then the grinds returned, even worse than before. I too read just about every post on every forum on tranny fliuds, and decided to throw a quart of Penzoil Synchromesh in...

5K mile later and tomorrow I'm yanking another 1//2 quart out of the tranny and replacing it with the syncromesh. This stuff works wonders in smoothing out the syncros.

Reminds me of way back when engines were made of steel. Every oil change we'd throw this Marvel Mystery Oil in, and throw a babyfood jar's worth into the gas as well. Engines would last 100K miles with nary a problem with the internals. Syncromesh is like that. I'd throw a quart of the stuff in no matter what oil I was using, even Motul and RedLine's.

SpongeBrain

 

OK so you have something that makes the lube thicker. I don't get it, what's the big deal? There's the standard trade-offs with mileage and gear longevity versus syncro engagement, so of course you want to run the thinnest oil that gets the job done while letting the sycros live...

Personally, being able to slam the thing into 1st was never really much of a priority for me. A quick throttle blip usually solves that problem when I actually need it. (shrug)

Going to get some Motul 300 next week and we'll see how well that holds up...

 

I haven't had a problem with my tranny yet but I also only have 8000 miles on it. But I did have this problem in my Talon. So I put the Synchromesh in because of a suggestion on ClubDSM Colorado and it worked perfeclty blended with Redline ATF and MT-90. The ATF has more conditioners in it to help your seals hold up and I used it because the tranny had a lot of miles on it. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who is under 80k though.

BTW: If anyone is having issues putting a GM product in your subaru, remember that GM owns 20% of FHI who is the parent company of Subaru.

 

I tired 1qt of Pennzoil synchromesh and my observation is, shifting has definately improved. Its now much easier to rpm match and downshift into 1st. There is definately less resistance during quicker shifts but I wouldn't go with more than 1 qt., after all the gears and bearing also need lubrication.....

 

Cheers!

 

this sounds like it must be tha ****. my tranny wont let me shift into 1st if the car is even crawling without grinding. im gonna go to gm, ugh, and buy some. we'll see what happens. i sure dont want to have to give up on scoobies.

 

I guarantee that it will work. Sounds exactly like the problem I had which the GM solved completely. Be surer to mix it with regular azz dino oil though. Our syncros like the stuff, but the bearings I've heard do wear faster. g'luck.

 

i'm thinking of trying this gear oil cocktail but not sure if i wanna use synthetic or not.

which should i do and why?

1) Mobile 1 + Valvoline Syncromesh

or

2) Valvoline dino gear oil + Syncromesh

 

Def. #2. Stay away from the mobil 1 stuff--at least for the wrx's. 1 quart of mesh+(i think) 3.7 quarts of the valvoline. Night and day stuff.

 

Did this last weekend. 1qt syncromesh (had to drive everywhere to find it) 2.5-6ish qts. of Valvoline dyno 75w90. Let me first say, that I had no problems with the syncros. Just every once in a blue moon, I'd get a grind going into first from neutral.

Almost broke my finger breaking the tranny drain bolt. I'm an idiot. I have the cusco lower arm bar ver II so I had to do a little contorting to get to the bolt without removing the bar.

It has taken me until today to get used to the feeling. At first I didn't like what it did. It seemed like I had less feedback from the gearbox. Now the gearbox seems smoother and quieter. I guess I was just used to hearing and feeling metal grinding against metal. lol.

Shifting is smoother, now. I never had a problem rev matching on downshifts and I have had no need to go into first above 20mph. But, rev matching is smoother now, there is no stumble from a light when the car is cold...

I like it. For me, it's no miracle, but it is a very nice improvment.

 

so is the synchromesh synthetic? if so, who knows the difference between this and MT-90? i was thinking of doing a MT-90 blend but redline is hard to come by locally, and i want to get it quick(i know someone said you can overnight and such but local would be ideal)

thanks

Ben