r154 shifting experiences

[urantia]

Well that's a possibilty, no air in the lines, unlike my brake lines which i really must get around to bleeding.

When i completed my 1jz conversion in the ma70, i put in 2.5litres of valvoline synthetic gear oil. I suspect this might not be quite enuf oil, and probably not such a great choice for this gearbox.

[ReQuieM]

Sorry to re-hash an old thread but that second link no longer works. Any one got it archived? or another link to the same thing?

[urantia]

Read on supraforums in the US that cygnus was down. Hopefully just temporary becuase that has been an invaluable resource.

[kemicalx]

I went from Castrol VMX80 to 3lt's of Redline Lightweight shockproof and 250mls of Nulon shift conditioner, the shift has improved at least 200% for about $150 it was well worth it.

[ReQuieM]

Dang, I really wanna have a read of that article.

Kemicalx, thanx for the update, I was thinking off giving mine a refresher

[urantia]

I went from Castrol VMX80 to 3lt's of Redline Lightweight shockproof and 250mls of Nulon shift conditioner, the shift has improved at least 200% for about $150 it was well worth it.

far out! lol looks like i'll be dumping the vmx80 out then! :_(

[JZA70T]

Hi Guys,

When I bought my MZ21 Soarer it had just had an r154 conversion completed. From what i had read on the old forums and the US Supramania, I had gathered that they were a pretty heavy box and shifted like a tractor. So when I took my Soarer for a test drive and found it quite stiff to get into each gear I presumed this was the trade off for having a beefcake gearbox.

However, My mate Doobs picked up a manual MZ20 more recently, and the shift quality was soooo much smoother we presumed it had a w58 in it (which i've read has a v. nice shift) instead of the r154 it did in fact have.

My box didn't crunch into any gears so I presume the syncros are fine and although stiff once in gear it held tight and seemed to work perfectly fine.

I know Redline Lightweight Shockproof is the oil of choice for r154s but how noticeable is the difference between this and other fluids on the market? I'm basically trying to work out if I should crack open my r154 before I put it back in the car,

I also know I really should replace the 1st gear thrust washer, and there is a hairline fracture on what I think is the shift and select lever, though I don't see how it breaking could cause any damage to the box itself.

Here’s a picture of the piece in question:


So what are peoples experiences with the R154, oil choice and shift quality? Does it sound like there is anything seriously wrong with my box? If not it'll be going back in the way it is and I'll worry about sorting out the thrust washer when I change the clutch.

Thanks a lot everyone,
Ash

Redline oil is the best oil on the market for these boxes. I was going to pull the box apart 4

years ago. Had all sorts of dramas changing up and down gears!! Crunch every time.

Put the old redline MTL into the box and it took 3 weeks of driving around for it to work properly.

After that it has been perfect for the last couple of years. There is no such thing as fix it in a bottle but this stuff is the closest yet!!!



Cheers

Andrew

[Tayno]

Instead of making another thread, Im reviving this one because it has some good info in it already.

Lately my r154 has been getting tough to get into gear, especially with down changes - sometimes crunching. It had been 12 months or so since I had the gearbox oil replaced (no jack or stands to do it myself at the time) so I thought now with the appropriate tools I would give it a go myself and see if the fluid condition or level was to blame.

I dropped the old oil (looked pretty good) of which almost 4Ltrs came out when the r154 is only recommended to have 3?
I replaced it with Redline Lightweight Shockproof Oil (yes have read Black Supra's thread) hoping that it would do the trick. I filled it up, noting that it took 3Ltrs exactly.

Now when I drive the gears seem to select easier and smoother, up and down with normal driving, but I still find it hard to get into gear when running at the drags? The gearbox has seen some work so im assuming the synchros might be shitty and this good oil is simply making the gear selection a little easier under normal driving?

Reverse is also crunching more now with the RLSP oil then it was before with the old stuff. All of the other gears have improved bar this one. Could this be the reason why the box was filled with 4L of oil last time instead of 3? Should I top it up via the shifter a little more?

Hopefully someone can wade through my dribble and provide an answer, pisstake or anything!

[Smokey228]

I find the box hates shifting with revs at the drags man! If i touch the limiter i cant find the next gear, try changing before you find that...???

I will try redline, bleeding my clutch, and then i'll get someone to adjust my twin plate since i have no idea where its supposed to be...

See how i go!

Cheers,
Jase

[JP]

is your clutch fully disengaging at high rpm? The adjustment on one of my R154's was out of spec a little and it made high rpm shifts very difficult. A slight adjustment of the master cylinder pushrod at the clutch pedal up under the dash (lengthening) made it perfect at all RPM.

Jason

[Smokey228]

I have no idea, i'll have to look into it!

Cheers,
Jase

[JZA70T]

Instead of making another thread, Im reviving this one because it has some good info in it already.

Lately my r154 has been getting tough to get into gear, especially with down changes - sometimes crunching. It had been 12 months or so since I had the gearbox oil replaced (no jack or stands to do it myself at the time) so I thought now with the appropriate tools I would give it a go myself and see if the fluid condition or level was to blame.

I dropped the old oil (looked pretty good) of which almost 4Ltrs came out when the r154 is only recommended to have 3?
I replaced it with Redline Lightweight Shockproof Oil (yes have read Black Supra's thread) hoping that it would do the trick. I filled it up, noting that it took 3Ltrs exactly.

Now when I drive the gears seem to select easier and smoother, up and down with normal driving, but I still find it hard to get into gear when running at the drags? The gearbox has seen some work so im assuming the synchros might be shitty and this good oil is simply making the gear selection a little easier under normal driving?

Reverse is also crunching more now with the RLSP oil then it was before with the old stuff. All of the other gears have improved bar this one. Could this be the reason why the box was filled with 4L of oil last time instead of 3? Should I top it up via the shifter a little more?

Hopefully someone can wade through my dribble and provide an answer, pisstake or anything!

If you go and stick 4 ltrs in it there is a chance you will push your gbox oil seals out!! Its not an oil issue these boxes are a pain in the ass. I run redline MTL and had no dramas for about 4 yrs. B4 i put this stuff in it was crunching up and down the gears.
Maybe your box has fucked syncro rings.. if this is the case its time to replace them. No oil and any fixit in a bottle will do the job

Cheers

Andrew

[Tayno]

I find the box hates shifting with revs at the drags man! If i touch the limiter i cant find the next gear, try changing before you find that...???

I will try redline, bleeding my clutch, and then i'll get someone to adjust my twin plate since i have no idea where its supposed to be...

See how i go!

Cheers,
Jase

Yea I was changing close to the limiter, but as soon as I missed it I would have to back off before I could get it in - what a f*** that was! My clutch has about 5cm of travel from fully in to fully out so I think Ill get it looked at and adjusted too... thoughts?

[Tayno]

is your clutch fully disengaging at high rpm? The adjustment on one of my R154's was out of spec a little and it made high rpm shifts very difficult. A slight adjustment of the master cylinder pushrod at the clutch pedal up under the dash (lengthening) made it perfect at all RPM.

Jason

Ill def be having a look at the adjustment under the dash then, cheers. Is there any way to 'test' the adjustment without going w.o.t. changes up and down my street?

[Tayno]

If you go and stick 4 ltrs in it there is a chance you will push your gbox oil seals out!! Its not an oil issue these boxes are a pain in the ass. I run redline MTL and had no dramas for about 4 yrs. B4 i put this stuff in it was crunching up and down the gears.
Maybe your box has fucked syncro rings.. if this is the case its time to replace them. No oil and any fixit in a bottle will do the job

Cheers

Andrew

The seals seem to be fine atm even with this thinner RLSP oil in it, but i think i will refrain from filling it extra. I might try a few other things (clutch adjustment etc) before I open the box up. I wouldnt be surprised if the synchros were shitfaced, but ill try everything i can before i have to do that.