Manual transmission fluid

[rdkongs]

I am going with the 4 speed manual tranny out of a 240D in my 54 ford pickup conversion project. Haynes manual specifies type A ATF fluid which none of the local auto parts stores have or even heard of. The fluid that came out of the tranny does not look like ATF at all. Can anyone give me a recommendation? Thanks

My 240D four speed has 533,000 miles on it. It is no longer on the road but the transmission is still in GREAT shape and has never been touched except to remove twice for clutch jobs.

At about 100,000 miles I put Mobil 1 10W30 in it and changed it a few more times since.

My 77 240D specified ATF. The car above was an 84 Euro model and it specified 10W30 engine oil.

If it were mine I would put Mobil 1 10W30 in it and then forget about it except to make sure that it doesn't leak.

Good luck,

[R Leo]

I have Redline MTL in mine. The stuff looks just like auto tranny fluid except it costs 3X as much as a bottle of ATF and is harder to find.

In hot weather, I also notice that it shifts different after pulling a trailer or otherwise putting a heavier than usual load on that gear box. When I do the 5-speed swap here in the near future, I'm thinking seriously about taking Mr. Bible's advice and using Mobil 1 instead of Redline or ATF.

[Stevo]

I put a bone yard replacement tranny (80, 240D) in for a friend and it looked like a heavy fluid was in there when I drained it (it had that 90W smell ) I flushed it with chepo ATF, ran it for 50 miles or so with another filling of chepo ATF then put in Redline MTF, which I use in all my manual trannys. I used to use Amsoil ATF, but like the Redline better....Anyway I would flush it good with chepo ATF.

[Palangi]

Around here, the auto parts stores do not have type A, but convenience stores often do. I use the Redline MTL however.

[dieseldiehard]

The only thing I use in manual trans is Redline MTL.

[R Leo]

Originally Posted by Palangi

Around here, the auto parts stores do not have type A, but convenience stores often do. I use the Redline MTL however.

Hey Paul, what would it take to get you to go look at that 190D 5-speed in Ft Worth?

[Stevo]

Originally Posted by R Leo

Hey Paul, what would it take to get you to go look at that 190D 5-speed in Ft Worth?

Randy, my sea bag is packed, where is it?, I'll check it out

[TwitchKitty]

Run some searches, there are many existing threads on this topic. Some say that most lubes are too slippery for the synchros to effectively grab the gears and do their job, a friction grip is required.

Gear oil is absolutely the wrong lube for these transmissions. I thought my car needed new synchros when I got it and it was because it had gear lube in it. After changing to the specified type A fluid it was a whole new ball game.

Check the bushings in the shifter rods, they are often bad.

[Palangi]

Originally Posted by R Leo

Hey Paul, what would it take to get you to go look at that 190D 5-speed in Ft Worth?

Hola Randy

It looks like you have PMs turned off.

I will call the guy tomorrow and see if I can get a look at it. I must admit, I am curious about it also.

Here it is in case you haven't already found it:

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp?tracktype=usedcc&searchType=38&paId=189754962&pageNumber=0&numResultsPerPage=50&largeNumResultsPerPage=0&sortorder=descending&sortfield=PRICE+descending&certifiedOnly=false&recnum=5&leadExists=false&criteria=K-%7CE-%7CM-_31_%7CD-_1274_%7CN-N%7CR-75%7CI-1%7CP-PRICE+descending%7CQ-descending%7CZ-76117&aff=ftworth

[Skippy]

are you putting in that '54 Ford?

Others on this board have established that the 240's manual can take the torque from a turbo 617 (at least for the relatively short time that most of these conversions have been running). If you're putting a V-8 in front of it, I'd be worried.

I don't know too much about manual tranny lubricants. I know my Sammy takes 90 weight gear oil, and the old Eaton Fuller RT-6613 in the cement truck I used to service took 30 weight. I have seen Type A for sale in convenience stores, but not for a few years. I think Honda used it for their power steering systems some time in the 70's or 80's.

Bonus cadence (from my Seabee days):

Drivin' along in my '54 Ford,
Plastic Jesus on my dashboard.
He don't slip and he don't slide-
Plastic Jesus is magnetized!
But plastic Jesus gots to go,
He's f---in' with my radio!

[R Leo]

Originally Posted by Skippy

are you putting in that '54 Ford?

Others on this board have established that the 240's manual can take the torque from a turbo 617 (at least for the relatively short time that most of these conversions have been running). If you're putting a V-8 in front of it, I'd be worried.

I wouldn't. The one currently in my wagon was recovered from a really badly abused car I found in the junkyard and has been going stong behind a 617.952 for 35,000+ miles now without change or indication of impending failure. FWIW, over the years I've been inside several Muncies and I believe the 240's box is significantly more robust. For example, the reverse gear is easily twice as wide as what is on any GM's manual gear box.

THe only drawback is that they aren't smooth shifting boxes.

[R Leo]

Originally Posted by Palangi

Hola Randy

It looks like you have PMs turned off.

Oops, PMs back on now. Going to the farm manana...I'll check on Monday.