ok then i'll stick it out to find some dino. oh, there's no kragen by me either. i'm gonna have to start calling some places.

 

Well I finally got around to putting in the new gear oil mixture. I used ~1.8L of the GM Synchromesh and ~1.8L Valvoline 75w90 dino oil, trying as best I could to split it 50/50. Afterwards I went for a drive up my favorite twisties and pioneered some new dirt roads too. Overall, I’m impressed. Oh, and I have a 1998 Impreza L, not a WRX.

Problems
-Before the oil change I had about 10,000 miles on some Redline 75w90 and at a recent track day I developed a 2nd gear grind while downshifting to it from anywhere over 20mph. This was a hardcore, every time sorta thing; no once in a while clunking, then a grind when it’s cold out, or something finicky like that; this was predictable.

-The motion of shifting from 1st to second usually took me a good full second to do. The shifter would move into the ½ way point between the two gears, stop for a tiny fraction of a second, and then go into 2nd. It was a much more defined, notchy feeling compared to shifting from second to third and so on.

-Getting into reverse was sometimes a pain too. Sometimes I’d turn the car on and put it into reverse with a grind but more common was it just not wanting to go into gear. I could push and pull all I wanted and it wouldn’t budge. The shifter could move anywhere else it wanted within the “HH” pattern but just not reverse. The remedy for this would be to sit for a minute and move through all the gears quickly and then go into R.

Fixed?
-Now that the cocktail is in, the 2nd gear grind is gone, though I wasn’t jerking the car into gear as quickly as I’d do at the track. The last few laps with the grind I kinda trained myself to brake earlier and shift it slower and now I’ve got to break myself out of that mindset. Still, for some “spirited” driving, no grinding.

-The excessively notchy feeling from 1st to 2nd is toned down a bit. It’s still not as smooth as the other gears but it’s much less prominent.

-Going into reverse so far hasn’t been much of a problem, but I’d only get trouble from cold starts so time will tell with this one.

Also
The combination of the two oils is much less slippery than the Redline. The motion feel much more solid when accelerating from a stop. When I downshift into 2nd, It’s a nice, solid rev all the way back up. Previously if I was at about 1500-1800 RPMs in 2nd gear and wanted to accelerate, the car would start jiggling a little and the engine would kinda bog a bit. Not anymore though.

I also had a clutch shudder problem. I don’t know if it’s the clutch, flywheel, the shaft sticking out of the bell housing of the trans case (propeller shaft?) or a combination of any of them. The car would shake when I engage the clutch from a stop if I’m not revved up to about 2000 RPMs. This would happen very often in stop and go traffic, but now it’s much less.

My downshifting into 1st is slightly improved too. Usually I’d be around 10mph that I’d be allowed to put the shifter in place, now it’s about 15-18 and it’s easier to get in too.

Shifting in general is a lot smoother as when I let the clutch back out and get onto the gas again during acceleration, the car doesn’t jerk as much. It may just be in my head or that my driving isn’t as refined, but I don’t have to be as careful with the speed I let the clutch out. I can do it at a nice medium or quicker pace and there’s no rough engagement. Same when I take my foot off the gas, I don’t feel myself jolt forward and the differential making this weird metallic sound. That’s definitely good.

In all, I’m very happy with the cocktail. I was going to try Uncle Scotty’s (a NASIOC member) formula of the Synchromesh, Redline Shockproof, and Castrol HypoyC but I didn’t want to mail order the Shockproof and couldn’t find any of the Castrol locally either.

So what’s this mean for my bearings? There’s 720xx miles on the tranny and these are the only problems I’ve developed as of yet. Some people have been using a full 3.7 quarts of Synchromesh and while I wouldn’t want to do that, I’m interested to see how it’s worked out for them.

Thanks everyone for putting up this info as I was looking for a junkyard tranny to take apart and learn how to rebuild in place of spending $1500 for a new 2nd gear or over $3k for a new trans.

Chris

 

so what is the best combination?

75w90 Valvoline dino oil + Penzoil Sychromesh

or is there another combination I should consider??

2.7 qts and 1 qrt should be ok?


also theres Dura Belnd and High Performance gear oil...just want to know which one works best

http://www.valvoline.com/pages/produ...gory.asp?cid=7

 

Hmmmm...Durablend sounds interesting since it's not 100% synthetic, but I've not heard any reviews.

The "best" combination seems to be somewhat in question, but all use 1qt Synchromesh. For the rest of the fluid, some use one quart Redline synthetic plus the balance 75w90 dino, others just use 2.7qts of dino. Unless you're tracking the car, I don't think the synthetic is absolutely necessary.

 

Did you guys read that the '06 WRX will have dual cone syncos for first gear. I hope we can do a tranny swap.

 

All of the combinations are wrong!
I told 1 guy the correct combo & look at were we are
For a WRX MT-5 AWD 3.7 QU.
Of Penziol synthetic With 3 oz of the GM LSD additive!!

For STI MT-6 AWD 4.3 QU.
Of Penziol synthetic With 4 oz of the GM LSD additive!!

 

Sooo, is the correct blend???

 

I'm a bit hesitant to put that much in, though it should be fine. Some technical info in this post:
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=671387

 

Roo (Rob) was a master tech at Stevens Creek Subaru and has his own transmission shop. Hes rebuilt more Subaru 5 and 6 speeds than anyone I know on the west coast. Yeah, I would take his advice

 

thanks jeremy. folks had their own receipes I didn't know which one to use.

 

Thanks for the credentials.

My mistake, I TOTALLY misread the mix Roo Tech was suggesting. 3oz, not 3qt. I'M the one putting too much in!

Too many trips to Amsterdam.

 

Hey Thanks all,
I have a BIG LOL for all of you!!! LOL

Sorry to say this, but I worked at Stevens Creek Subaru In Service.

Service was a fun group of guys to work with.

Any time I can help I will.

Robert

Roo Tech

 

I wouldn't shout too much about that around here Rob, your likely to get kicked in the nuts!

Mike

 

Been there and done that 2 years back!!
they feel great now

He he!

 

dammit, I even said Carlson, maybe I have a mental block about Stevens Creek