Transmission Oil question

Yeah, it looks like 33104 is the drain and 33101A is the fill. I'll get under there and take some pics tonight. I'm going to change my oil to MTL anyway.

Those are them. Be smart: remove the one with the sticker first. If you don't, the oil will splash everywhere when you drain it because the air vent isn't intended to flow enough to drain the gearbox. Top one first, bottom one second with a good sized drain pan underneath. Be sure it holds at least a gallon.

thanks for the tip, Lance.

one more clarification.... it holds 2.9 quarts? i dunno if it's because of my LACK of mechanical skills... but with a fill plug that low... i dont see how it can hold that much oil... but i trust you guys... off to pep boys i go.

Pep Boys won't have Red Line products. You'll need to go to a race shop for that. We have Tognotti's in Sacramento, they're a grocery store sized high performance shop (primarily domestic, but they have import stuff too, and they have all the good oils and goos you need).

lol... yeah, i just figured that out the hard way.... the closest red line dealer to me is a mecerdes dealer.... also in doing my search online i wasn't sure which one i should get.

http://www.titanmotorsports.com/symatrlu.html

MTL. It is specifically designed for transaxles. That's what the tC has.

ONe thing I noticed while draining my tranny fluid was that when it came out, it actually hits that metal bracket and splashes around so like lo bux racer said a decently sized drain pan would be good. I just drove around on a mountain I ususally go on yesterday, and wow the tranny is smooth as butter, my least favorite gear 2nd which used to be sticker is now my smoothest and favorite gear to get into

any one know how much fluid to put in? searching the boards i've seen 2.9 qt and 2.6....so i'm a bit confused not having the service manuals

Fill until it drains out of the top hole. It's not possible to overfill, the excess just pours off.

im just more concerned about not buying enough oil... it'd suck to not be able to drive my car while i wait for more oil to be delivered... i bought 3 qts thinking it would be between 2.6 and 2.9 qts from what i've read so far

You need to use MT-90 not MTL

Direct quote from the Redline website

"MTL is a low 70W at very low temperatures and a high 80W, nearly an 85W, at elevated temperatures, providing adequate viscosity to prevent wear and deaden gear noise. MT-90 is a thicker 75W90 version of MTL."


You need to use mt90
tC's use 75w90
75w90=MT90
70w80=MTL

if thats true... any one want to buy 3 qts of MTL?

I've run MTL in more than one transaxle calling for 75w-90. I get almost 3% better gas mileage just from using MTL, and I've never had synchro issues or differential issues. I've put it in 3 different AE-92 Corollas, 4 different AW-11 MR2's and my '93 GTS Celica. Never had anything even close to a transmission problem. I'll take the fuel economy any day.

would having the lower weight oil be bad if my driving habits were more city based?

It will just keep your wallet fatter from saving gas.

i did it... it was easy but man oh man does it come out fast from the drain plug... i made a mess.... took almost the full 3 quarts i started getting some drips as i was filling

i drove it around the town... the shifting didn't feel any more better than before, but i'll be keeping track of my gas milage

I changed mine tonight too. I had an hour and a half drive from Napa to home, so the oil was nice and hot, good for a change. I covered the subframe with aluminum foil to keep the oil from splashing all over it, but it still made a huge mess. I even let it drip from the drain bolt for a good 10 minutes before I completely removed the plug. It kept up a pretty steady stream, but as soon as I removed the plug it gushed out everywhere. Thankfully the aluminum foil did keep the oil off the subframe, so the only thing to clean up was the floor. Man, what a mess!

I'll have to take it for a spin and see if third gear is still cantankerous. I hope it will work better now. FWIW, it took a little less than 3 quarts, but it was easy to do other than the spillage.

what do you guys think of this amsoil tranny fluid? ill put this in the gf's tC later on. but first i plan on using this in my matrix xrs. either this or redline MTL.

http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/fgr.aspx