'91 Protege LX manual tranny fluid?

[Pete]

Greetings from a first-time poster:

Hopefully there hasn't been a redundant tranny fluid thread listed lately; I didn't find one. I'm getting this car today and I don't believe there is an owners manual with the car. Which fluid do I use? ATF or one of the popular gear oils? If gear oil, which grade is recommended for a 5-spd manual transmission with 150,000 miles? Thanks in-advance for the help.

Pete
'90 Honda VFR750F, race modified
'83 Honda Turbo-LX "project"

[mazdaguy]

Kinda depends on where you live. I personally like 10-40 motoroil.80- 90w tends to make them hard to shift until warmed up. If you live in a cold climate you would use a thinner oil. If you live in hot climate you would use a thicker oil.

[Pete]

Hey mazdaguy,

Thanks for the reply. I found the fluids sticker on the bottom side of the hood. It says ATF or 75w-90. The manual (I found it in the trunk) says ATF for the 2wd Protege. My '83 Accord uses 10w-40, or whatever I decide to use. Of late, I've been using 5w-50 synthetic motor oil and it's been working great, no leaks, smooth shifting. Have you ever tried ATF? I'm thinking of going with the Valvoline Durablend ATF, synth/dino-oil mix. Any other ideas? Thanks again.

Pete

[mazdaguy]

They actually come from the factory with ATF in them. On rebuilding quite a few, i found that the bearings were overheating because its too thin. They were all black and scored. However i live in Houston and it gets extremely hot here. I have had good luck with 10-40 motoroil but i can see where a synthetic could work as well.

[Pete]

Thanks. I see your point. I may be moving to Waco or San Antonio in the near future so I'll keep your thoughts in mind. I think I'll consider something like a lighter weight gear oil, like 75W-80, synth if I can find one. My buddy is a Shell/Citgo/Texaco distributor so I think I'll check and see what he has in stock. Thanks again.

Pete