Well I changed my tranny fluid this afternoon. Im a little past due (40k miles now). I chose the Pennzoil because most people reccomended it including Jon@TRE and many other respectable people.

Anyway, my car has been grinding going into 5th since around 20k miles. Its gotten slightly worse in a way that it just grinds at a lower RPM now with 100% consistency. Every 5th gear shift over 4500 results in a grind. It used to be only 6k+ but lately its 4500+. Anyway, took the car out after the fluid change and drove around for 45m or so, went to the parkway... nailed 4th, quick shift to 5th.... no grind! I was thinking it was just a fluke so I drove about 10 miles on the parkway and did 6 or 7 -5th gear shifts, and NO GRINDING. I dont know how this could be but Im pretty happy because that was really pissing me off.

1 of those shifts was at 7000rpm in 4th (little over 114mph ) and still no grind! Anyone else experience this after fluid change?

-Tom

 

Yep, I used Red line MT-90 on the trany and Mobil 1 75W-90 on the Diffs, and the car Is much better.
My car has only 20k milles

 

yeah, I changed it and it was gone for a while. Then, it is coming back again slowly

 

Crap

 

Thats when its time to change it again.

 

sup homie, I dont see you online so ill just post it here before I forget about it. How does the car shift when cold. Im running BG synchroshift and I love it but when its really cold out the car is hard to get in second gear when cold. It only did this after I switched from stock fluid to the BG fluid. Does the Pennzoil have this same issue?

 

I only put 2k miles on it. But, I will change again.

 

i used Royal Purple on the trans & diffs. the '03 no longer misses second when shifting above 7K rpm...

 

Pennzoil was better than stock fluid when it was cold still smooth. but, I am in southern CA, temperature never drops below 45 .

 

I've always used Pennzoil Syncromesh in my FWD and AWD dsms, it seems to make the tranny much more manageable in cold weather and grind less often. The pennzoil fluid seems to be very thin and not as viscous as the stock fluid, which would explain why it would make shifting easier in cold weather (the stock fluid is like molasses when cold and the syncros don't get any lubrication).

 

I've used Pennzoil Synchromesh on both of my cars '03 Jetta, and 92 GSX. I noticed the difference immediately and it was really helpful w/ the short shifter on the VW. Gear grinds are a very seldom occurance these days.


But yeah, I'd reccomend it to anyone. I've been having some really cold days here in Arkansas lately but it still shifts great in both of 'em.

 

What up man! My car has actually shifted quite well (with stock fluid) for the most part in the cold weather. Its notchy the first 15m in extreme cold but after that its OK. Ive never had that 2nd gear problem.

I just drove the car some more it really is shifting smoother, Im very happy. Its sliding into 5th gear better than it did new.

 

Give it a month or two, and the grinds will start coming back. And so will the the stock feel.

 

Yeah, Shyncromesh is the $hit. I use it in all my vehicles. It makes shifting very smooth and the notchy feeling on my evo 9 went away.

Great product, cheap upgrade and great investment reliability wise.

My .2c

 

Im glad its working for you. I never had a problem with the stock fluid either when it was cold. But when its in the low 40s high 30s and the engine is cold I have the hardest time with second gear . Maybe the next time I do a fluid change I will swap over to the Pennzoil, afterall it is cheaper and can be found at any Autozone!!

Also you might want to look into some shifter base bushings/underhood bushings. They are pretty cheap and could prolong the life of your tranny.