MTX tranny fluid??

[96lt1]

ok, the other day i posted with a tranny problem. i had said that my car was grindin goin into 3rd when i upshift at higher rpm's and when i downshift from 5th to 4th. someone replied and told me to check the tranny fluid. i checked it and it was pertty low. i was told that dexron mercon was what i needed to use to fill it up. i found tons of that stuff but all of it said for automatic trannies. i checked autozone and walmart and all i could find was auto tranny fluid. is this the same stuff or did i just screw myself?? i put the Dexron-Mercon-III in it and it still grinds. i only had 2 quarts and it took all of it. maybe i need more in there yet. the only thing i have goin for me is that if my tranny is screwed i have a quaiffe and tranny coming to me in the next few weeks but i wanna sell my current tranny when i am done with it. please lemme know what to do from here. thanx!!

Sean

 

[SHODWN]

Dexron is a fine substitute, its not that.. from the sounds of it your third gear is going out the window..

Im not an expert with the MTX but I seem to remember a blocking ring issue with 3rd gear.

 

[drdave]

Our transmissions only use ATX fluid, so you did good.

You should drain as much of the current fluid as you can and replace it. The fluid you suck out will probably be black and burned.

There are tons of posts regarding the type of fluid to use. A good synthetic may get rid of the grinding, or just a good quality ATX fluid may help as well. Use the search button and you will get more suggestions than you can shake a stick at.

 

[96lt1]

whew, thats good. i was scared to death when i was puttin ATX fluid in to a MTX. my friends had a suprise b-day party for me as i was checkin the fluid. i was under my car and went in the house and there were like 15 people in my house. it was hours later and many beers later that i got back underneath. by then i just poured and prayed that it was the right stuff. how full should i go???? its not overflowing out the pug hole yet so should i put more in?

 

[Ishodu]

Keep putting it in till it comes out the hole and won't take anymore. On level ground. That is for the hole on the side of the tranny that uses the 3/8 ratchet to take out.

 

[96lt1]

good point. i did have the front on wheel ramps when i was filling it. i cant fit under without it so i guess ill put the back in the air as well.

 

[shojuan]

That's a good idea. Lift the rear to get it level.
If you still have grinding you can experiment with fluids in there. I found 50% redline D4, 40% MTL, and 10% MT-90 work great in my 89 tranny. Since you're selling it though you probably don't want to do that.

It's something to keep in mind when you get your new tranny with Quaife. Ask the previous owner what fluid he used and if he was happy with it. If he wasn't then you might want to experiment a bit with different fluids. The earlier trannys use different syncro blocking ring material than the later trannys. That's why they don't all respond the same to a given fluid.

Rick