Disappointed in Mobil 1 Gear Lube

[Bill in Utah]

I changed out my factory fill manual transmission oil in my 2005 Toyota Corolla a few miles early...

The scheduled maintenance guide states that you should ONLY change the transaxle fluid IF you tow every 30,000 miles.

If you don't then inspect levels and it does not give a time or mileage limit of the oil.

(I don't tow BTW)

I changed it out @ 22k miles. It was performing ok, but I wanted to change it out maybe improve shifting (which was good but could improve)

What came out was ok looking. ( I know looks are not everything but in a transmission where we don't get gas byproducts in, the lube should remain cleaner than the engine IMO ).

Put it Mobil 1 Gear Lube. Nice clean looking fluid.

Really did not improve the shifting (which was good before) but got the new fluid in there.

Fast foward to 65,000 miles. So about 43k on this oil. The shifting has become worst (I was thinking it was the colder temps this winter) and in reverse the noise was getting louder.

So I get with Pablo and order up some lube and change it out.

Major difference! Much better shifting period and in the below zero temps also. Noise while backing up is almost gone.

No difference in MPG over the Mobil 1 or factory fill.

Here is what the new oil looked like that I just put in and the old (18 months or less than 45k miles) oil looked like.



(This lube looked MUCH worst than the factory fill.. Yes, ran it twice a long, but I doubt that Toyota uses Syn transmission oil as factory fill)

Bottom line, in a car that sees mostly highway mileage, a "full Syn"

gear lube should NOT go bad in this short time frame.

My 1986 Jetta just got its manual transmission oil changed last year and the oil looked BETTER than what your seeing above! Oh, 20 years and 292k miles on the FACTORY fill in the Jetta.

I'm glad I did not put in or pay for Mobil 1 gear lube in the Jetta or my Toyota again.

I know the photos don't show what I saw but you can see the color change and bubbles in the oil. The biggest thing is the performance of the oil.

I'll report in a few years how the new fluid does.

Also, its prob a good idea if you have not yet, check and maybe replace the manual transmission oil in your car if you have not yet.. (if you have a manual transmission.. harder to find these days)

Take care, bill

 

[KBFXDLI]

I'm not surprised....M-1 75w90 gear lube doesn't even meet the latest GM specs ( I asked them and they said so). I have quit using all but the Vtwin motorcycle oil as it seems they haven't changed that formula yet. But for the price M-1 wants you can get better performance elsewhere.

 

[Pablo]

It never ceases to amaze me how much shearing goes on in a manual tranny. We BiTOG whackers spend so much time fantasizing about what goes inside our engines and maybe even our rear ends, we forget about the thing in the middle. Gear meshing and sychros can be very hard on lubricants. Is it as bad as an IC engine? Maybe, maybe not –but just different. Look at the NV5600 – that thing is death to fluids – and going “thicker” is no magic bullet.

 

[m2200b]

m1 isn't a very good transmission fluild to begin with and it sounds like it performs like a group 3 now.

 

[ChiTDI]

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It never ceases to amaze me how much shearing goes on in a manual tranny. We BiTOG whackers spend so much time fantasizing about what goes inside our engines and maybe even our rear ends, we forget about the thing in the middle. Gear meshing and sychros can be very hard on lubricants. Is it as bad as an IC engine? Maybe, maybe not –but just different. Look at the NV5600 – that thing is death to fluids – and going “thicker” is no magic bullet.

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In the ATF arena on the ToyotaNation site, there are stories surfacing of trans failure when the specified T-IV fluid is not used. Supports your statement about the box in the middle.

 

[okiedokie]

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gear lube should NOT go bad in this short time frame.

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Bill, what make you think it went bad? Did you have a UOA done?

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that thing is death to fluids

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Yes Pablo, death to all non-spec fluids, i.e. anything **including anything made by Amsoil** that is not Castrol Syntorq LT. Of course Amsoil salesmen will never mention that and quietly disavow any responsibility when the tranny takes a dump after a few thousand miles with their fluid in it.

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sounds like it performs like a group 3 now

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Well there's an astute observation of pure speculation if ever I saw one. Sounds like sombody's been reading alot of the Mobil 1 horror story threads.

You people

 

[Drew99GT]

GL-5 synthetic gear lubes won't even allow me to shift gears in my Corolla. Never tried Mobil 1, but everyone says it is TERRIBLE for manual transaxles. Surprisingly, I still get the best shifting with GL-5 conventional fluids in my car, specifically, Valvoline 75w-90. I'd like to try the Amsoil MTG though.

 

[Pablo]

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that thing is death to fluids

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Yes Pablo, death to all non-spec fluids, i.e. anything **including anything made by Amsoil** that is not Castrol Syntorq LT. Of course Amsoil salesmen will never mention that and quietly disavow any responsibility when the tranny takes a dump after a few thousand miles with their fluid in it.

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Excuse me for interupting you, but do you have data on this? Castrol Syntorq LT is specifically called out by Chrysler?

And of course you know with certainty Amsoil will not warranty an application they specify. Sure.

 

[Pablo]

And I will add there are plenty of folks with 10's of thousands of miles on there NV5600's on Amsoil MTF with no issues, including a recent fellow here. Much better than the factory fluid, btw. I think Chrysler stopped using this tranny for a reason - and it wasn't fluid choice!

 

[okiedokie]

Trying to change the subject are we? I believe the 4500 is the one that is hard on fluid. Look up the part number for the 4500 fluid yourself if you don't believe me. It's a known issue that only people like Amsoil salesmen still attempt to confuse.

 

[Bill in Utah]

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gear lube should NOT go bad in this short time frame.

Bill, what make you think it went bad? Did you have a UOA done?

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No, please read where I said I could HEAR the fluid not working like it should. It was shifting worst. Then when you put in new fluid and all the noise goes away and the shifting gets better.

It went bad.

Oh, I forgot that trasmissions are to make noise and be harder to shift!

The oil was bad. Not that good from the start. Period.

So your saying that $10 a quart Transmission fluid should last how long in a 2400lb manual transmission car that sees highway mileage most of the time?(ie, 5th gear for 1 hour each way with no stopping in between)

I am not going to spend $20+ on a UOA for the transmission when you don't (should not have to) change the oil that often.

Again, Please tell me the OCI for this app.

Toyota does not tell me. I know the factory fluid would have done better than the Mobil 1.

Thats why the title of this thread is "Disappointed in Mobil 1 gear Lube".

Bill

 

[Pablo]

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Trying to change the subject are we? I believe the 4500 is the one that is hard on fluid. Look up the part number for the 4500 fluid yourself if you don't believe me. It's a known issue that only people like Amsoil salesmen still attempt to confuse.

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I’m not changing the subject. (At least I didn’t think I was)

IMHO I the NV5600 is not so robust of a design and is very hard on the fluid. It calls out for an MTF type fluid that is NOT a 15-20 cSt@100°C fluid. The fluids people try and the factory fluid, shift like heck and the UOA’s are ugly.

The NV4500 does call out for a higher viscosity 75W-90 gear oil. I’ll need to check some UOA’s but I haven’t seen people howling about it.

I fail to see why you have some kind of bo-ner for what I write.

Your comment about no UOA is spot on, but after that you sorta lost it.

 

[RogerKlugerAus05]

Changed the transmission factory fill on my 06 Corolla Wagon manual at 5k miles. Fluid was much dirtier than I had expected, replaced with Redline MT90 GL-4 and the gear shift is much smoother. I will change out again at 25k miles.
Roger

 

[jonny-b]

You should forget about using Mobil in your tranny or rear end. I think the best ones are Amsoil, Redline and Royal Purple(and maybe Schaeffers). Besides, when a company have the nerve to bring to market such a #@$%! product for your tranny, I wouldn't thrust them regarding ordinary oil for your engine, either.

 

[04SpecV]

Mobil 1 gear lube is not even optimized for manual transmissions.
It would be like putting Amsoil severe gear in there. I thought that is why Amsoil came out with the MTF/MTG.

 

[Bror Jace]

Bill, I've heard of others who've been very disappointed with Mobil 1 gear oils in manual trannies, a Nissan 300ZX TT project car comes to mind. You are not alone.

That color difference is simply amazing ... and as you pointed out, none of that darkness should be byproducts of combustion.

Mobil 1 seems to be primarily formulated with rear-ends in mind. Best to use an oil formulated specifically for synchro boxes.

As was pointed out, there are better lubes out there in the same price range ... a LOT of them.

 

[Brogy]

When I got my corolla at 125k miles I changed out the factory fill of manual tranny fluid. Stuff still worked, but you've never seen so many metal shavings in a fluid before!

If I were to buy new, i'd change it out at 10k miles, then again at maybe 50k, then 100k, then 150k, ect ect. Or every 3 years. I think that sounds reasonable. ATF on the other hand, i'd change out every 2 years regardless. But then again my tranny went 125k miles on factory fill dino tranny fluid, and it still shifts like new (different fluid of course), so I know no damage was done.

Drew, you asked me before about my experience with amsoil. I highly recommend it for the $35 it costs shipped. Going from the mobil 1 to the amsoil was like going from a beater to a new car, gearbox wise. Although the mobil was GL5, and the amsoil was GL4. Even so if you're worried about synthetic, don't, stuff feels great, no MPG difference at all, but no grinding even on the coldest of mornings. Havent even nicked it yet downshifting.

 

[marco246]

I have Mobil 1 75W-90 in the transaxle of my 20-year-old Ferrari. Works better than the Shell 75W-90 it replaced in that there's no chatter from the limited slip diff. The notorious shift to second gear while the box is cold is smooth as silk. I have only about 2500 miles on the oil so I guess it has not been stressed much. And I'll probably change it well before it reaches 10,000 miles. So, with respect to my particular application and usage pattern, just color me fat, dumb, and happy.

 

[SteveD2]

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that thing is death to fluids

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Yes Pablo, death to all non-spec fluids, i.e. anything **including anything made by Amsoil** that is not Castrol Syntorq LT. Of course Amsoil salesmen will never mention that and quietly disavow any responsibility when the tranny takes a dump after a few thousand miles with their fluid in it.

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Excuse me for interupting you, but do you have data on this? Castrol Syntorq LT is specifically called out by Chrysler?

And of course you know with certainty Amsoil will not warranty an application they specify. Sure.

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Actually, syntorq is recommended for the NV4500, NOT the NV5600 which calls for synchromesh.

I should know, I own both transmissions in dodge applications...and both have the fluid requirement stickers right on the trannies...

steved

 

[SteveD2]

I ran 75w90 M1 in the rear (an 11.50AAM axle) of my 2004.5 dodge ram and within 25k it had deteriorated to the point I thought I had a pinion bearing going bad. It went in clear and drained brown (and smelled burnt) in under 25k. 75w90 is the factory recommended fill.

I have since changed to 85w140 RP in the 11.50AAM and have nothing but good things to say about that switch. Mileage is up, noise is down, and I get no wear metals to speak of on the magnet. That's with 35k on this fill alone.

I will add another GOOD 75w90 choice for manual trannies that I personally have a lot of miles on...Pennzoil synthetic 75w90 gear oil. And to add to the NV4500 argument, this fluid has performed BETTER than the OE syntorq fill for the last 200k (50k to 75k drain intervals). I have 256k on an NV4500 with no metals on the magnet and extremely good shifting in all conditions.

And just to make a point, dodge ended use of the NV5600 because they are using a tranny built in house...it is a Mercedes' tranny (G56). It had nothing to do with the NV5600's quality, which was used for 7 years I might add. It was all about sourcing the tranny...

steved