patriotfan11

My mechanic suggested changing my trans oil to something with less viscosity to maybe help with the loud noise of the transmission. He said Redline 75w/90 or just Redline 90. What are youre suggestions? He said anything is better than factory.

russiankid

I put in Redline MTL (similar to MT-90) and I am pleased.

patriotfan11

What grade MTL 70w-80? Thats what mechanic can get.

russiankid

Yes, 70w80. The reason I chose 70w80 is because it is very low viscosity in very cold temperatures which is an issue I had with the factory fluid have a high viscosity in cold weather. Redline MTL functions as 75w80 during normal temperatures.

patriotfan11

Just changed the oil to 70w/80. I found out redline stopped selling 75w/80 and replaced it with that. It shifts a lot smoother and the whiny trans sound went down a bit

russiankid

Glad to hear.

KILLER

is this for manual or auto?

russiankid

This is for manual.

byronthecarguy

Is there a DIY for changing the 11+ man trans fluid?

jlmd

Open fill plug on transaxle.

Open drain plug on transaxle.

Wait for fluid to drain.

Reinstall drain plug with new gasket.

Fill with gear oil through fill plug until oil begins to flow back out of the hole.

Reinstall fill plug with new gasket.

5 Minutes start to finish.

byronthecarguy

Thanks man I really appreciate it you have any suggestions on which gear oil? I'm not a fanboy of any brand just maybe something a little better than factory.

jlmd

Spec is grade API GL-4 with viscosity SAE 75W.

Any gear oil meeting the grade/viscosity would be fine. Spending money on expensive synthetic really isn't worth the extra cost IMO.

Despite what you may read on the internet, there is nothing wrong with the factory fluids. I change the oil in my TC with genuine Toyota 0w20 synthetic. If I had a MT I would use the bulk Esso 75w gear oil we have in the shop.(I have an automatic). Too many people get caught up in the marketing of these expensive oils but the fact is, a TC doesn't need it.

russiankid

What factory fluid Toyota uses is complete junk in cold weather, and by cold I mean single digits. Hard to shift, and even in neutral is whines and dips the idle down a lot. After switching to Redline, all these issues went away.

jlmd

I live in a cold climate. Winter temperatures are on anywhere from -30C to -5C. That is -22F to 23F. I work on every model Toyota/Scion and I have yet to have a complaint regarding fluid causing problems in cold weather. The same gear oil is used in the front differential, rear differential, and transfer cases on all Toyota SUV's, Trucks, & Vans. Again, no issues related to the fluid.

By all means spend the extra money on synthetic if you want, but it will make no difference to your vehicles "performance".

russiankid

Using this fluid in transfer cases and differentials is perfect fine. If you do some research, many people on this forum have issues with the transmission in cold temperatures, mostly engaging second gear. This is the second trans in my tC, and the factory fluid becomes so thick that it bogs high idle down. As for the performance, no where did I state it will increase performance, maybe it came off that way. Rough shifting and howling of the transmission in sub-zero temperatures was my issue , which was resolved with Redline fluid.

Out of curiosity, is the fluid that Toyota/Scion dealers use actually GL-4? I ask because a dealer that is nearby doesn't carry GL-4, but have GL-5 and all the techs state that GL-5 will work in a GL-4 application. This is true, except GL-5 will eat up the brass synchro's.

Edit: I noticed you stated you have an auto. You may not know what I am referring to first hand then since you stated customers have not complained.

jlmd

I cannot speak for all dealers but we have GL-4.

I've driven many, many manual shift tC and have not experienced any shifting related issues.

russiankid

The issue arises after sitting over night, but during the day it is fine.

StatuSCheckA

iTrader: (1)

Tranny Oil change is just like the TC1, there is a good write-up with pics.
I just put in Redline MT-90 GL4 (spec weight) and I am not very happy.
Weather is not too cold; but my transmission with MT-90 sticks in first gear, and I have to slowly put it in second gear. The rest of the gears are fine. When the car is nice and hot 1st and 2nd gear gets better.

My Dealer does not sell GL-4 over the counter, they said they get it in bulk barrels. If they had genuine Toyota Fluid by the quart I would go back to see if its the fluid or if my Trans got messed up over night (unlikely.)
I will wait till warmer weather to make a decision on where to go from here.

scion_toyota25

I have a TC 2011and I started to have transmission trouble after 35K. First It was grinding from 1 to 2 gear and noise start to be audible at cold temp.
I tried Amsoil gear oil, it was terrible at cold, hard to shift, notchy gear and terrible fuel economy. But at hot temp it was shifting like a dream.

After that I tried Pennzoil gear syntec GL-4. At cold lot of noise, hard to shift so basically it was worst even at hot temp.

After some research I found out Scion TC where coming from factory with 75W90 GL-4. At the dealer they where telling me they where always putting this oil in!.!

The owner manuel has a notice using 75W LV oil or noise could be heard. LV is for low viscosity (75W85)
After visiting a second dealer we find this special oil. It's a sythetic oil from Toyota japan, P/N is 08885-81007.
Expensive but working like a charm!!
Hope this will help people like me having trouble with cold weather.

By the way people! Never use GL-5 in your tranny, you will destroy copper ring inside.

StatuSCheckA

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the write-up. I will wait for warmer weather before I make another change. Did you go to the dealer and ask for that part number and they gave you a few quarts, or what did the dealer give you?

How expensive