Mr2 turbo Gearbox oil specs

[EVL-184]

Ive got a SW20 Lsd box in my ST184 GT2 conversion.. problem is ive been everywhere trying to work out what the problem is,

Thats being the guy who sold me the Clutch, and the guy who built my gearbox .!

Also have had the slave and master cylinders rebuilt..
Problem is it crunches going up the gears starting at 2nd,into 3rd, and into 4th, and sometimes reverse.,..

Im startin to think maybe the oil is the wrong spec...?
Im running the Penrite SIN range 75-90.. Could this be the problem, maybe its too thick..!

Any help and advice would be awesome!

[BeRad]

the syncros could possibly be stuffed, if so they need replacing and can be expensive, you can try some redline oil etc but it only masks the problem for a while. Reverse is sometimes usual if you put it into first and then reverse it solves that one.

[hamgatan]

is it crunching when its cold?

MR2 gearboxes ALWAYS crunch on the second and third gear syncro's when theyre cold.. even when warmed up they sometimes crunch too.

Penrite shouldn't be too bad stuff, just dont use Redline in a MR2 box.. it sucks the dogs todger.. It eats syncro's like you wouldn't believe. You want something thats a good GL4 rating (Not GL5 like Redline).. and you would be surprised but there are some relatively cheaper brands out there that do a better job.

Definitely Syncro's..

[Dale]

If it's crunching all the gears and more so going UP gears and not down, maybe the clutch itself is stuffed... maybe try adjusting the clutch pedal itself to see if you can get a bit more freeplay

Hamgatan are you talking about all mr2's doing that or just your own...?

[Vios-GT_07]

*meh*

even my C52 on the corolla crunches when cold, only 2nd and rarely 3rd.. and i'm definitely using the right oil on it

a lot of people swear by redline.. and there's a lot of others who say not to use the stuff as it'll kill synchros and that...

to get into reverse cleanly, go left right left right, the third, fourth, then reverse.. u'll find it goes in much nicer... some just go first then reverse, but yea whatever works..

and if the box has just been rebuilt, you should hassle the guy who rebuilt it.. and also who installed the clutch? if it's hydraulic, just check the cylinder actually pushes the lever all the way in.. then u can know for sure if it's the clutch that's stuck (clutch housing might be installed incorrectly) or something else.. box not pre-loaded properly?

[hamgatan]

Hamgatan are you talking about all mr2's doing that or just your own...?

all will crunch 2nd and 3rd from time to time.. common thing between S54 and E153 transaxles.

mine in particular has had a particularly bad run with redline. only reason i havent thrown it out and replaced it with GL4 stuff has been because i have a spare box and axles sitting on the garage floor waiting to be installed, and i just cant justify throwing out $130 a bottle transaxle oil just yet least not till i change the box over anyway.

a lot of MR2 guys dont like Redline.. the common story with it has always been with the syncros and Redline on E153/S54 transaxles.. mine crunch occasionally.. but as i said, goanna swap in a new box and axles/cv's anyway so im holding off on ditching it just yet..

[2jzhilux]

try some castrol vmx 80
awesome gearbox oil nice and thin but still protects the gearbox
i think the 75/90 would be a bit too thick

[Dale]

*meh*

even my C52 on the corolla crunches when cold, only 2nd and rarely 3rd.. and i'm definitely using the right oil on it

a lot of people swear by redline.. and there's a lot of others who say not to use the stuff as it'll kill synchros and that...

to get into reverse cleanly, go left right left right, the third, fourth, then reverse.. u'll find it goes in much nicer... some just go first then reverse, but yea whatever works..

and if the box has just been rebuilt, you should hassle the guy who rebuilt it.. and also who installed the clutch? if it's hydraulic, just check the cylinder actually pushes the lever all the way in.. then u can know for sure if it's the clutch that's stuck (clutch housing might be installed incorrectly) or something else.. box not pre-loaded properly?

rofl at the conspiracy theory to get it into reverse

The only reason gearboxes crunch going into reverse is because there's no syncro on reverse and people try to put into it while:

a} the input shaft is still spinning
b} the output shaft is spinning

wait 2 or 3 seconds after putting the clutch in before trying to put it into reverse and make sure the car isn't still rolling in either direction and it won't crunch. The waiting 2 or 3 seconds after putting the clutch in means the input shaft won't be spinning anymore, and making sure the car isn't rolling means the output shaft isn't spinning anymore. Once nothing is spinning, nothing can crunch.
All that putting it into first (or any forward gear) does is give extra time for the input shaft to stop spinning, and stops it spinning once it actually goes into gear. The only other reason it sometimes helps putting it into a forward gear before selecting reverse is to line the teeth up

As for any car if it's crunching going up gears when it's cold chances are:

the oil isn't ideal for it (a bit of ATF mixed in often helps)
you're changing gears at too higher RPM
you're being too rough with the gearstick and not giving the syncros enough time to do their thing
or the syncros are waaayy stuffed

[EVL-184]

Thanks to all who replyed... given me much food for thought, however.

The box was pulled down to install a TRD LSD, and the was given a very clean bill of health,i.e the syncros and bearings were as good as new and all with in spec...

The clutch was taken back to Western Clutch and was checked for pre load, etc... All clear, Also anyone who has dealt with them knows they know there Shit big time!

So the only other thing it could be is possible oil spec is wrong...or ive read on All-trac.com about a longer slave cylinder rod that is meant to give a better feel to the clutch..
So ive order one of those in case..!

Was going to try some of that Motul GEAR FF-LSD TYPE 2, but at $64.00 a litre bottle, you can see why im a but how u going at trying it...

Also got a tube of the Nulon G70 Manual Gearbox and Diff Treatment Would this be the stuff to try also ,
Thanks to all who have replyed.!
Will keep u informed on how it goes.!
~Richie~

[Dale]

If you want a longer slave cylinder rod, go down to supercheap and get a $2 phillips head screwdriver (one of the big ones with a blue/clear handle). Cut to size and angle grind the ends to be chamfered.. they're almost the perfect diameter for the job

[mr2mark]

As stated make sure you use gl-4 and not gl-5 gearbox oil in a mr2 turbo box's.

Have seen first hand and had it explained to me why, and the results of using, gl-5 and why its bad at Road and Track open day in ipswich.