ATF oil in T5? LOOK!!

[sociopath5.0]

I was searching the forums looking for a good how-to on engine bay cleanup (wire relocating, battery relocated etc.) and saw a link to moderndriveline.com and their T5 torque/gearing specs page. They also have a section on T5 history. Pretty interesting.

What really caught my attention was that they recommend ATF oil in the T5 World Class in our cars (read: any T5 after 1985 is a "World Class"), NOT Redline MTL or heavy gear oil. Is this right? I was about to drain and replace the tranny fluid anyway, I just want to make sure it's done right. I have not had a chance to check the owner's manual because it is in the car, and the car is not here. What is the right stuff?

Here's the link: http://www.moderndriveline.com/Technical_Bits/t5_history.htm

 

[davins130]

gm syncromesh

 

[OrangeMustangGt]

yes what you read is correct. T-5's are so strong and high-tech they need atf because it is a high-tech smart oil opposed to heavy, stupid oil

 

[davins130]

you only want to put in smart oil, not stupid oil

 

[super302]

gm syncromesh

 

[RIO5.0]

I like to run Ford tranny and dif fluids...I dont get confused this way...

 

[Nobody]

yes what you read is correct. T-5's are so strong and high-tech they need atf because it is a high-tech smart oil opposed to heavy, stupid oil

Wooo that's funny!!!

BTW - GM synchromesh is a brand of ATF. Put it in your WC T-5.

 

[HISSIN50]

I am not a fan of the syncromesh in WC T'5's ( and i am in the minority).

the WC T5's have needle bearings - gear oil is too thick to lubricate. older and other application T5's that use steel synchros can use gear oil.

 

[Scot_94GT]

It says in the owner's manual to use ATF. Synchromesh is a thicker gear oil.

 

[JJ95GTID]

http://www.redlineoil.com/whitePaper/13.pdf

This is some good reading. I use RedLine MTL in my T5. I also emailed Tony @ Astroperformance. His reply stated that the synthetic MTL is okay to use on a T5 that is broken-in. For new or freshly rebuilt T5s he said to first use an ATF for the brake-in period. I run my T5 hard and have no problems running MTL.