I have a 93 F-250 with 250K miles. The trans is starting to get a little loose and the syncros (I think) are starting to whine in 4th and 5th. The fluid was changed 10K miles ago and I'm going to change it again before I tow a heavy trailer cross country. I was thinking of adding synthetic Lucas oil stabilizer to the ATF to thicken it up a little but then I saw the demo about additives on Bostheoilguy.com and started wondering if adding Lucas would be best. I was worried about heat build up from the air bubbles with Lucas. I was wondering if some other additive would work better or just using straight ATF would be best. I know very little about the differences between ATF's brands inside a manual tranny. Any help would be appreciated.
Help a worn Ford ZF-5 manual transmission
- Thread starter redneck3282
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I can't tell you which fluid to use, but I'm in awe of anyone getting that mileage out of a ZF tranny of that year without a total overhaul.
JHZR2
Staff member
BMW ZF MTs specced to run on ATF have dobne well on redline MTF, and some even on MT90. Amsoil MTL also works well.
JMH
JMH
Dump the marginal ATF. Even when new,it isn't that great. Modern light gear oils are far superior for shifting and wear protection.
Proven ones are Pennzoil or GM Sychromesh, Redline MTL, or Amsoil MTF.
Whining in gear is not the synchros or the synchro clutches, but the gears or a bearing. Thicker better oil will help , but does not fix mechanical problems.
Proven ones are Pennzoil or GM Sychromesh, Redline MTL, or Amsoil MTF.
Whining in gear is not the synchros or the synchro clutches, but the gears or a bearing
Penzoil ATF? Is that what you meant?
I'll be doing an oil sample when I dump the tranny fluid. That should give me a pretty good idea on the condition of the bearings right? I know the lock that hold it in gear are worn because the shift lever moves a little when I lug the truck. The whining is heard in the higher RMP's, 2000 and up. I realize the tranny is about due for a rebuild but I need to hold it off for sometime. I'm working on saving the money right now. If I can prolong the tranny life til tax return time I be all set.
I'll be doing an oil sample when I dump the tranny fluid. That should give me a pretty good idea on the condition of the bearings right? I know the lock that hold it in gear are worn because the shift lever moves a little when I lug the truck. The whining is heard in the higher RMP's, 2000 and up. I realize the tranny is about due for a rebuild but I need to hold it off for sometime. I'm working on saving the money right now. If I can prolong the tranny life til tax return time I be all set.
Originally Posted By: MrCritical
I can't tell you which fluid to use, but I'm in awe of anyone getting that mileage out of a ZF tranny of that year without a total overhaul.
I bought the truck with over 200K miles on it so maybe the tranny has been overhauled before. The dealer never mentioned anything though.
I can't tell you which fluid to use, but I'm in awe of anyone getting that mileage out of a ZF tranny of that year without a total overhaul.
I bought the truck with over 200K miles on it so maybe the tranny has been overhauled before. The dealer never mentioned anything though.
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