Oil for a Ford M5OD-R2

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Hi all,

I have a 98 Ford F150 with the M5OD-R2 manual transmission. Ford specifies Mercon (now Mercon V since they no longer make Mercon) for this transmission. I've used various brands of Mercon and Mercon V (mostly Valvoline since I get it at work) in dino and synthetic versions. I've also tried Royal Purple Synchro-max at the recommendation of an online Ford truck club. None of the Mercon (or Mercon V) variants have provided consistent performance as far as I'm concerned. They are decent when cold, but once the fluid heats up the shifting is terrible. The Royal Purple was junk all around and I drained it out within 1000 miles. I've never grinded so many gears in my life as I did with that fluid.

I realize this transmission is not meant for butter smooth or fast shifting, but it seems to be at least acceptable (if not better) when cold (when the fluid is thicker).

Is there any recommendation for an ATF (or something that is compatible) that is maybe on the thicker side than a typical Mercon? I know that gear lube that is typically used in manual transmissions basically destroys the insides of the M5OD.

Whatever fluid I use I seem to have to drain and fill in about 7k-10k intervals as this transmission seems to shear any fluid very quickly. By about 5-6k miles there is a noticeable difference in shift quality from when the fluid was new. So if there is a fluid that should last longer, I'm open to opinions.

Thanks in advance for any help.
 
Use Redline MTL. It is thicker than the ATF (but not too thick), loaded with good anti wear stuff, and WILL NOT SHEAR. You can run it 30,000 miles IMO.
 
Originally Posted By: EricF
they still make mercon, it's just not marketed as mercon.

I'm for the MTL or just use redline D4


Ah, yes I knew they still make Mercon. I meant to say that Ford specifies Mercon V now for my transmission since they discontinued it.

I will give the Redline a try at my next oil change in about 500 miles.
 
MTL Info

Regline normally recommends their D4 ATF for trannies specifying ATF, but I think many have found that few if any manual trannies can give optimal performance on such a thin fluid as an ATF (roughtly a 20 weight). The MTL is a solid 30 weight and I use it in my '95 F150 and love it, much better than any ATF I have tried including M1 and D4.
 
Anyone else running MTL 70W80 GL-4 Gear Oil in place of the Mercon ATF in their Mazda supplied M5OD-R2 transmission?
 
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