What should I use for tranny lube?

[Infinitrium]

I changed my oil a few days ago, and I'm gonna get my tranny oil changed in a day or so. I'm getting my brother to do it, he's done it before on his Civic so he knows where the drain bolts are, plus whenever I do my own oil changes I always make such a terrible mess. Anyway, what should I use in the tranny? The owner's manual says to use plain ol' 10w30 motor oil, is there something better that can be used? I can't really see motor oil being a good tranny lube on a high mileage car such as mine.

[NoSloCB7]

I changed my oil a few days ago, and I'm gonna get my tranny oil changed in a day or so. I'm getting my brother to do it, he's done it before on his Civic so he knows where the drain bolts are, plus whenever I do my own oil changes I always make such a terrible mess. Anyway, what should I use in the tranny? The owner's manual says to use plain ol' 10w30 motor oil, is there something better that can be used? I can't really see motor oil being a good tranny lube on a high mileage car such as mine.

Please tell me what manaul you have that says to use regular 10w-30 motor oil. DO NOT use motor oil on your trans. Go to the honda dealership and purchase 2 quarts if genuine Honda Manual Trans Fluid, or Automatic Trans Fluid, which ever you own.

[PRIMOCB7]

if your tranny is a manual, i'd recommend GM Syncromesh, but here are some previous threads about this topic:

http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/search.php?searchid=445048

[Infinitrium]

Please tell me what manaul you have that says to use regular 10w-30 motor oil. DO NOT use motor oil on your trans. Go to the honda dealership and purchase 2 quarts if genuine Honda Manual Trans Fluid, or Automatic Trans Fluid, which ever you own.

Right on the back cover of the owner's manual for my 92 Accord, it states:

Manual Transmission

Use SF or SG grade oil
10W-30 or 10W-40 preferred (see page 111 for complete viscosity recommendations)
Capacity (including differential)
1.9 liters (2.5 US qt, 1.7 Imp. qt)

Page 111 basically says the same thing, but also says 20W-40 can be used if temperatures don't go below -30 F, or straight 30W can be used if temps don't go below -20F.

[Infinitrium]

From page 111 of my owner's manual:

Use only SF or SG grade motor oil when adding or changing transmission oil

[Infinitrium]

I can't see why Honda would recommend something that would be bad for a transmission, that would just jack up warranty claims and such. I'm going to use a 10w40 motorcycle oil from Canadian Tire, the back label of the bottle says it can be used in a gearbox where a 10w40 is called for.

[timmy0tool]

just use genuine HONDA MTF or ATF. simple and done! read the link for further insight.

[NoSloCB7]

Edit: I called up two of my buddies, both are Honda Certified Mechanics and I asked them about using motor oil in the trans, while they both said that yes Honda did state in the manual to use Motor Oil for the manual trans, they both agree that it would not be a wise choice. Their reccomendation: Genuine Honda MTF

So in conclusion...I did not disrepect anyone in this thread. I was trying to get my point across that you should not go cheap and use motor oil in your trans, regardless of what the book said.

[91accord4door]

NoSlocb7 has a great point. listen to this man.

[N9netwoAccord]

i use 10w40 oil in my tranny... but i also change it everytime i do my oil change (i got it at my work and so its basically free to me when i need it)

[TheTempest]

NoSlocb7 has a great point. listen to this man.

Yup. A much higher gear weight would be wiser. I use Honda MTF and my 13 yr old gearbox shifts smother than brand new shit from the dealer =) (That's no joke, I just drove a shit load of cars at the GM AutoShowInMotion)

[Infinitrium]

Well, of course they wouldn't. But the manual was written 12-15 years ago, and oils have changed BIG time since then, and are much less suitable for gearbox use than they used to be....hence the creation of MTF.

Ahhhh! So that's the reason some of these gas stations out in the boonies sell 15 year old oil!

[93CB7]

I managed a national brand quick lube for 3 years. We always used 10W30 conventional motor oil. I never had to buy a transmission for this. In my own vehicle I use semi-synthetic oil. The Honda MTF is 10W30 in a bottle that's labeled different. Go to the dealership and ask for the MSDS sheet for the Honda MTF.