ricez

My transmission has been getting harder and harder to shift ever since I had my 30,000 mile service done about a year ago. I started doing some searches on here to see if others were having similar difficulty, whining, and what gear oil they were switching to. (This is NOT the 3rd gear syncho problem, I had that tranny replaced at 22,000 miles).
So over the weekend I hit every store in town, and could not find a single bottle of GL-4, so I ordered Red Line on-line because of the many recommendations on here. Every parts clerk in town told me "GL-5 is just an improved version of GL-4, it'll be fine." After more reading on the corrosion of yellow-metals that GL-5 will cause, I began to wonder if perhaps the dealer had put GL-5 in instead. So I stopped by today and asked to see the specs of the oil they used on my tranny, and sure enough it was pennzoil 75/90 synthetic GL-5

Questions:
Is 8k miles running GL-5 in the tranny enough to cause significant damage? I damn near have to be rolling to get it into first in the morning.

Do you think putting in the redline GL-4 will "correct" the problem?

Should I just press the dealer to replace the tranny at his cost for his ignorance (My warranty expired in September)?

HondaKiller

iTrader: (5)

i think you should start by replacing with the correct fluid. Take it from there, my guess it will probably smooth itself out. If not, then you can take the next step. Either way your going to end up taking that route with the dealer or by yourself.

blastoff99

iTrader: (5)

GL-5 is *not* a new-and-improved version of GL-4. It's different stuff. IIRC, GL-5 is for use in applications (rear diff, for example) that see extremely high pressures. There's something in there that actually forms a bond with gear surfaces. Whatever this is, it probably isn't good for various things in the transmission.

Stay away from all the parts clerks in your town. They're uninformed.

No, just putting in GL-4 will not solve the problem. Damage has been done.

You may have trouble getting your dealer to help you out. You state that this problem has been getting worse for a year. This could be used to show some neglect on your part, for not checking into this as soon as you noticed the problem. In addition, they probably gave you a work order that states what was done and what fluids were used. Although we would all like to think that dealership shops always do the right thing and know what fluids go where, we know this is not true. They may say "we gave you the list of what we did; if you didn't read it, that's your problem."

I think I'd put in a call to NNA. Good luck.

ricez

blastoff,
When I first had the service done, it was noticeable that it shifted different, which isn't uncommon after a change. It didn't really begin to get hard to shift until fall, at which point I did take it in, unfortunately it was a month after the expiration of my warranty. So I wouldn't say I was negligent. Shortly after that trip to the dealer, my car went into the garage for the winter, and I finally took it out about a month ago. Now it's really bad.

The receipt for my service states simply 75/90 lube, nothing about gl-4/gl-5 which is why I went back today to find which it was.

I'll admit that until this past weekend, I knew nothing of the difference between the two lubes, so god only knows how many times I put gl-5 into my old tacoma/supra/200sx tranny's when it should have been gl-4, but I've never had one of those do what the z is doing presently.

bullseye

Are you serious, blastoff? There's no way ricez could be held accountable for the errors of his dealer's own service dept. It does not matter if they gave him a work order. They are the experts. They did the work. And, apparently, ricez did not hold a gun to their heads and force them to do wrong.

I do agree ricez should call NNA. NOW!

blastoff99

iTrader: (5)

I didn't say it would be the right thing to hold him accountable for the dealer's mistakes, but that they'd probably try. At least he should be prepared for all possible excuses on their part.

bullseye

+1

Motormouth

iTrader: (44)

gl5 is corrosive to yellow metals from what I understand. the brass synchros in our cars will be affected over time. unless it is a gl4/5 synthetic fluid, which is safe for either.