Hi all... I have a 2005 Jeep Wrangler with the Mercedes NSG370 six-speed. I drained the factory mystery fluid at around 10k miles and replaced it with Pennzoil's Synchromesh (MS-9224) fluid per the Chrysler TSB. It's been great for a year and the shift quality has been somewhat improved over the factory fill.
Lately, I've been having trouble with a nasty input shaft rattle when idling in neutral with the clutch not depressed. It only happens under certain conditions: Almost but not fully warmed-up. The roughness of the engine would seem to "excite" the lash in the front-end of the gearbox and it would rattle as if there was a loose bolt hanging out of the flywheel.
I had no idea what was going on with the trans but I do recall the OEM fluid appearing thicker than the 9cSt Synchromesh fluid. I had a hunch that the fluid had sheared-back quite a bit over the last year and become so thin that it couldn't dampen the internals properly.
Acting on this hunch, I drained the Synchromesh and it was pretty nasty. Greyish, with lots of black #@$%! on the drain-plug. I refilled the trans with an everyday 10W-30 and went for a spin tonight. The rattle is about 50% of it's former volume and the trans is smoother and quieter overall. Less whirring when rolling along in 1st with the clutch pushed, and less clunking and banging as the driveline lash is taken-up when transitioning from coast to drive. Amazingly, the syncho action is fine and so is the shift quality. It's a little balky going into 1st and 2nd when cold but this smooths-out very quickly.
Thinking about this transmission and its traditional applications (selected Mercedes C-class, non-US M-class/E-class, Vito minivan, and Sprinter), I'm confident that Mercedes-Benz would never spec a 9cSt fluid for this trans. It's simply too darn loud and clunkety when filled with salad oil!
With all this in mind, I need to get this generic 10W-30 API SL out of there and replace it with a lube possessing an additive package that's appropriate for an MTX. I'd also like to thicken it up just a little bit more to hopefully suppress the last of that input shaft rattle. This 10W-30 is 10cSt versus the 9cSt of the MS-9224 sauce. I'm thinking that a 50/50 blend of MT90 and MTL would yield a 12.5cSt fluid with a strong EP package.
Any suggestions?
Lately, I've been having trouble with a nasty input shaft rattle when idling in neutral with the clutch not depressed. It only happens under certain conditions: Almost but not fully warmed-up. The roughness of the engine would seem to "excite" the lash in the front-end of the gearbox and it would rattle as if there was a loose bolt hanging out of the flywheel.
I had no idea what was going on with the trans but I do recall the OEM fluid appearing thicker than the 9cSt Synchromesh fluid. I had a hunch that the fluid had sheared-back quite a bit over the last year and become so thin that it couldn't dampen the internals properly.
Acting on this hunch, I drained the Synchromesh and it was pretty nasty. Greyish, with lots of black #@$%! on the drain-plug. I refilled the trans with an everyday 10W-30 and went for a spin tonight. The rattle is about 50% of it's former volume and the trans is smoother and quieter overall. Less whirring when rolling along in 1st with the clutch pushed, and less clunking and banging as the driveline lash is taken-up when transitioning from coast to drive. Amazingly, the syncho action is fine and so is the shift quality. It's a little balky going into 1st and 2nd when cold but this smooths-out very quickly.
Thinking about this transmission and its traditional applications (selected Mercedes C-class, non-US M-class/E-class, Vito minivan, and Sprinter), I'm confident that Mercedes-Benz would never spec a 9cSt fluid for this trans. It's simply too darn loud and clunkety when filled with salad oil!
With all this in mind, I need to get this generic 10W-30 API SL out of there and replace it with a lube possessing an additive package that's appropriate for an MTX. I'd also like to thicken it up just a little bit more to hopefully suppress the last of that input shaft rattle. This 10W-30 is 10cSt versus the 9cSt of the MS-9224 sauce. I'm thinking that a 50/50 blend of MT90 and MTL would yield a 12.5cSt fluid with a strong EP package.
Any suggestions?