The definitive gearbox oil thread

[OzCJ]

And enjoy gear shifts only to be matched by that of roadranger.

My apologies, I can swear that someone posted earlier that gen 1 take 75W90.
If the specification states 75W80 then I would recommend VMX80 or if you want synthetic, use syntrans 75W85.

One thing to note is the viscosity at 40deg. This number needs to be low.

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[DD3]

Yeah, the original Gen 1 owners manual does state 75w90 GL4. But then there's that amendment leaflet posted up by @01KDT. Now I don't actually have that leaflet with mine though, so a while ago I called up Mazda Australia to find out what the go was. Interestingly the person I spoke to had no idea about this, they could only tell me that there was some informal advice given to dealers about using Penrite synthetic 75W90 to stop transaxle noise (obviously the wong noise). But the leaflet exists, so who knows what Mazda Australia's go is. I've been running Castrol Syntrans 75W85 for over a year now. I made the decision to run that oil before the leaflet was posted in this thread. If I'd seen it before I'd probably given the VMX80 a go as it's a lot cheaper than Syntrans. I actually chose the Syntrans based on it's 40degC viscosity and because the TDS stated "Suitable in place of SAE 75W, 80W, 75W-80, 75W-90". I find it ok with this oil, seemed like a bit of an improvement over the Valvoline Duragear 75W85 that was in it when I bought it. It's worth noting that the biggest improvement to my shifting came when I installed the TWM complete replacement shifter assembly. The OEM shifter in mine was showing wear on the reverse lockout plate, resulting in the selector cable being out of adjustment for 1st-2nd. I believe this was causing my gear crunches, no crunches since installing the new shifter. Some shifts, hot or cold, still feel a little notchy but I think this is just the nature of the gearbox. I'd be interested to compare the feel of a 75W80 oil to Syntrans, but I'm in no hurry to drain $100 worth of synthetic oil!

[Fever]

Car - mazda 6 mps 2005.
Oil change - 78,000 km
Reason - thought it was time.
Previous oil - unknown suspect factory oil.
Pre change - gearbox was fine warm or cold. Was a bit stiff and bumpy but no crunch or grind in any gears.

New oil - mobil 75w 90 mineral oil xhp mobilube (From MRT).
After change - 2nd is almost impossible when cold. I have done about 200kms with the new oil. At first it was awesome once the car warmed up....but now its getting worse. Need to shift VERY slowly into 2nd when going up or down gears.

Conclusion - don't trust MRT Don't use Mobil xhp 75w90 mineral oil.

Rechange oil to castrol VMX-M to 75w 85.

Needs 2 mins to warm up now its back to how it was.

[0401MPS]

Car: 2006 Mazda 3 MPS BK

Oil Brand: Penrite

Type / Viscosity: Pro Gear 75w90


K’s on vehicle at time of change: 110,000km

Oil change number: 2

“Woong Woong” Factor out of 10: 10/10

Comments: This transmission fluid is highly recommended for this MPS model, i had recently a major service completed and they used the genuine Mazda Gearbox fluid "supposely" and the winding noise was loud and annoying when in full lock and on accerelation.

Once i flushed the old oil and replaced it with this Penrite Progear stuff, it fixed the noise and the car runs alot smoother!

[dropped]

Car: 2007 MPS 6

Oil Brand: Nulon

Type / Viscosity: Smooth Shift Manual Gearbox & Transaxel oul - 75w - 85


K’s on vehicle at time of change: 77,000km

Oil change number: 2

“Woong Woong” Factor out of 10: 10/10 (no wong, although i never had it)

Chaned from redline ( damm its $$$ and shit) to Nulon, its 100 times better, i now 95% success in changing into 2nd from first with no crunch, im very happy!

and its only $22 NZD per L, i think red line was $32

[creole]

Car: 2010 GENII MS3

Oil Brand: Redline MTL

Type / Viscosity: Redline MTL 75w80 (GL4)


K’s on vehicle at time of change: 89K

Oil change number: 2

“Woong Woong” Factor out of 10: 10/10

Comments: Went from VMX after 70,000KMS, was great, still had occasional 2 to 3rd gear lockout/crunch at high rpm. Decided to go to Redline MTL, and shifts pretty much the same, just a little bit smoother. Due to the rarity of 2nd to 3rd gear lockout at high rpm, i cant say if it has stopped that particular issue. And i do have JBR trilogy and no short shifter.
For gen2 owners, defiantely trial VMX out first.

*update after 4 months and roughly 90km a day, the gearbox hates Redlin MTL. Notchy 2nd and 3rd, 2nd gear lockout occurs hear and there ( ihave full jbr trilogy , solid shifter bushes). I'm going to dump it and try Nulon 75w85 smooth shift (WSD-M2C200-C) , and if thats shit, i will set my car on fire and buy a Golf lol

[AJR]

Car: Gen2 MPS 3

Oil Brand: Penrite

Type / Viscosity: Pro Gear 75W-85 (full synthetic)

K’s on vehicle at time of change: 46K

Oil change number: 1

“Woong Woong” Factor out of 10: 9

Comments: Great oil; shifts smoothly and has decreased noise. It also seems to allow the LSD to lock up harder, which is a lovely positive! I couldn't find any 1 litre bottles anywhere, so had to purchase two 2.5 litre bottles, ended up using approximately 2.7 litres.

[bronald]

Car: 2010 Gen 2 MPS 3

Oil Brand: Castrol

Type / Viscosity: VMX 80W

K’s on vehicle at time of change: 64,500

Oil change number: 1

“Woong Woong” Factor out of 10: 10

Comments: Car was shifting awesome when hot & cold, no wong wong at all. The only time i ever encountered a SLIGHT notch was high RPM third-to-second downshifts. By slight i mean barely. Car's 4 years old now, and the manual says change at 48 months, so I thought I may as well put fresh oil in it.

Changed to VMX 80 after calling every Mazda dealer in NSW and spending hours reading every thread on here to do with gearbox oil. Seems if you have zero issues with the gearbox, there's no need to re-spec the gear oil. My car now shifts as it did before the change, and the second gear high RPM slight-notch is gone.

I'll report back tomorrow with how it goes when its cold. Hoping it's still as good as it was when cold, as it was pretty much perfect before!

[GoonBong]

After trying most oils people have suggested and not being 100% satisfied with any of them (easily, the best one so far is the Castrol Syntrans) I've decided to give the Motorcraft/Ford XT-M5-QS (otherwise known as Unicorn Blood) that everyone recommends on MSF.org a go. Got 3 x 1 qt (946ml) from Amazon. Delivery cost wasn't that bad either (total, $136AU delivered).

I'll have the Syntrans drained and this stuff put in at some stage and report back here with the results.

[lovecolt]

Ouch, that delivery is unreal. Is it because its chemical stuff, hence the pricetag?

[GoonBong]

Delivery was actually a very reasonable (given the weight) $21.58US. Given the current exchange rate, I reckon it was pretty good (and Motorcraft isn't a cheap oil, even for the Yankees).

[lovecolt]

Just let us know how it goes

[GoonBong]

Well, after putting some mileage on this oil I can safely say that the mighty Castrol Syntrans has been knocked off the pedestal. Absolutely no wong noise, great LSD engagement, buttery shifts, no gnashing (even with the Syntrans, it would gnash slightly in second when really cold). It's no wonder the guys in the US love this stuff. Over $130AU delivered from the US is a lot for gearbox oil, but comparing the cost to the improvement, for me it's a no brainer. And you only have to swap it out every 60,000 km or so.

Motorcraft XT-M5-QS >>> Castrol Syntrans >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Penrite/Nulon/VMX80/everything else >>> factory Vegemite.

[Lachlan]

Do you know if you can get the ford stuff in aus (I assume it's used in the ST or something)?

[GoonBong]

A few people have spoken to Ford dealerships around here but didn't have much luck. You could always give it another go, but ordering from Amazon was easy and not that expensive.

[Lachlan]

Yeah, I'll have a check. Keen to hear how it goes long term

[DD3]

Short answer, you can't get XT-M5-QS locally from Ford. I have some more info about this, when I get a chance I'll post it up.

[Lachlan]

Thanks @GoonBong and @DD3

[creole]

@GoonBong what gen is your MS3?

[TJ92]

Hey guys, My 6 mps has been found to have two return pipes leaking oil can anyone refer me to a mazda specialist that is not a mazda service centre?