Gearbox Oil MT 90

[normanh]

For years now since I had to get some work done at a well known dealers in Essex backed into a corner as I needed the car back urgently and to be be honest it was a big mistake both on price and the ensuing issues I have had over many years. Thats the background well since then my gear change has been rough to say the least, it went back at the time and I was told nothing wrong it was me paraphrased by you cant change to first with the car moving which is total b***ocks. Anyhow I let it go. Finally took the plunge and had the oil changed oh my what a difference. Its not been really icey cold in the last few days but compared to what it was its silky smooth. I dont think its me/my imagination but it feels as it was from years back. I'll know for sure when the Mrs next drives it! Well it cost £45 for the oil plus labour, I wished I had it changes years back god knows what they put in! Get MT 90 in yours!

Norman

[thetyrant]

Is that Redline MT90 ?

 I put that in mine and box does feel good, that said it didnt feel too bad before and was probably the original oil but its nice to know new stuff is in there, the MT90 can give issues if running high gearbox temps as the moly can start to separate out and clog things up so if doing a lot of trackdays i would use something else, i do very few trackdays these days and mostly 1 lap sprints so im happy to use the Redline for now

[shnazzle]

We ranted about this years ago. Figured it was a defacto standard by now. Mt90 definitely makes a world of difference. Especially if you haven't swapped fluid in a while. 

I'm due a change come to think of it

[househead]

On a scale of 1(easy) to 10(hard), how easy is this as a DIY job?

Not sure if mine has ever been changed. There's nothing in the service logbook to say it has anyway, and my previous owner didn't mention it when he listed the fluids he had switched out.

[Carolyn]

On a scale of 1(easy) to 10(hard), how easy is this as a DIY job?

Not sure if mine has ever been changed. There's nothing in the service logbook to say it has anyway, and my previous owner didn't mention it when he listed the fluids he had switched out.

Then the odds are it hasn't been done.  Not a hard job.  maybe a '3'.  male sure you can open the fill hole before you drain it.  (Mind you, I do have a trick for filling that doesn't use the fill hole....)
Does make a massive difference.

[paulj]

I found it to be an easy job so will go with  Carolyn's 3 . There is a how to on here. Two additions when I did it, I replaced the aluminium crush washers and also used an oil syringe rather than the length of hose for filling - syringe meant the whole job could be done from underneath.

[Ardent]

All of the above.
As ever, top tip from @Carolyn, make sure you can re fill it before dropping it.
I will add, if you have the car level, when it runs out the hole. Thats the amount you need. Members have reported various volumes, so I would not get to hung up on a specfic amount. When it runs, your done.

From memory, the gear oil is one of those "for the life of the vehicle" things. No planned change in the service schedule.

Although MT90 is undoubtedly good stuff and the go to gear oil. I would say any gear oil of the correct spec will yield an improvement.

I went for mpm gear oil of the correct spec and very happy with it.
Mt 90 "might" be better. I don't know.
I have yet to see a review where 60 70 80 thousand mile used gear oil is dropped, replaced with something non mt90 ran for a few thousand more miles then dropped again for mt90 and compared.
Is it because, it is mt90, or, is it because it is new oil that people say how much better it is.

[househead]

I found the howto so gonna link it here ...

https://www.mr2roc.org/forum/index.php?topic=62272.msg725375#msg725375

It's now on my list!

[shnazzle]

I found the howto so gonna link it here ...

https://www.mr2roc.org/forum/index.php?topic=62272.msg725375#msg725375

It's now on my list!

In the how-to I do describe the "correct" procedure. But, lots of people do use the unused speed sensor hole. At the top of the gearbox. 

So instead of filling it using the hole on the side of the gearbox, you undo the filler plug, undo the top plug and fill until it starts to come out of the filler hole.

[Carolyn]

I found the howto so gonna link it here ...

https://www.mr2roc.org/forum/index.php?topic=62272.msg725375#msg725375

It's now on my list!

In the how-to I do describe the "correct" procedure. But, lots of people do use the unused speed sensor hole. At the top of the gearbox.

So instead of filling it using the hole on the side of the gearbox, you undo the filler plug, undo the top plug and fill until it starts to come out of the filler hole.

You must jack the rear up to do it that way, or it will overflow from the speedo-sensor hole, long before the full amount is inserted.  Two full quarts of the stuff are the perfect amount.  The MT90 comes in quart containers, not litres!  So just put two bottles in.  If you do use this method (I do) don't undo the filler plug either.

[shnazzle]

I found the howto so gonna link it here ...

https://www.mr2roc.org/forum/index.php?topic=62272.msg725375#msg725375

It's now on my list!

In the how-to I do describe the "correct" procedure. But, lots of people do use the unused speed sensor hole. At the top of the gearbox.

So instead of filling it using the hole on the side of the gearbox, you undo the filler plug, undo the top plug and fill until it starts to come out of the filler hole.

You must jack the rear up to do it that way, or it will overflow from the speedo-sensor hole, long before the full amount is inserted.  Two full quarts of the stuff are the perfect amount.  The MT90 comes in quart containers, not litres!  So just put two bottles in.  If you do use this method (I do) don't undo the filler plug either.

Sounds like it needs an addendum on the how to.

[househead]

I found the howto so gonna link it here ...

https://www.mr2roc.org/forum/index.php?topic=62272.msg725375#msg725375

It's now on my list!

In the how-to I do describe the "correct" procedure. But, lots of people do use the unused speed sensor hole. At the top of the gearbox.

So instead of filling it using the hole on the side of the gearbox, you undo the filler plug, undo the top plug and fill until it starts to come out of the filler hole.

You must jack the rear up to do it that way, or it will overflow from the speedo-sensor hole, long before the full amount is inserted.  Two full quarts of the stuff are the perfect amount.  The MT90 comes in quart containers, not litres!  So just put two bottles in.  If you do use this method (I do) don't undo the filler plug either.

The original howto says 3 bottles for a 6 speed or 2 bottles for a 5 speed. Yours is a 5 speed iirc Carolyn? Should I use 3 quart bottles in my 6 speed?

[Carolyn]

I found the howto so gonna link it here ...

https://www.mr2roc.org/forum/index.php?topic=62272.msg725375#msg725375

It's now on my list!

In the how-to I do describe the "correct" procedure. But, lots of people do use the unused speed sensor hole. At the top of the gearbox.

So instead of filling it using the hole on the side of the gearbox, you undo the filler plug, undo the top plug and fill until it starts to come out of the filler hole.

You must jack the rear up to do it that way, or it will overflow from the speedo-sensor hole, long before the full amount is inserted.  Two full quarts of the stuff are the perfect amount.  The MT90 comes in quart containers, not litres!  So just put two bottles in.  If you do use this method (I do) don't undo the filler plug either.

The original howto says 3 bottles for a 6 speed or 2 bottles for a 5 speed. Yours is a 5 speed iirc Carolyn? Should I use 3 quart bottles in my 6 speed?

Mine are both five speed.  You'll need to look up the Toyota specs for six speed.

[thetyrant]

The original howto says 3 bottles for a 6 speed or 2 bottles for a 5 speed. Yours is a 5 speed iirc Carolyn? Should I use 3 quart bottles in my 6 speed?

Dont just pour in X amount of bottles do it correctly and use fill level hole to make sure amount is correct when car is on the level, the 6speed holds around 2.1 litres depending how much old oil you get out so 2 bottles of Redline which is in quart bottles so 1.13 litres per bottles so 2 should be enough with a little spare but i cant remember on mine.

[Carolyn]

The original howto says 3 bottles for a 6 speed or 2 bottles for a 5 speed. Yours is a 5 speed iirc Carolyn? Should I use 3 quart bottles in my 6 speed?

Dont just pour in X amount of bottles do it correctly and use fill level hole to make sure amount is correct when car is on the level, the 6speed holds around 2.1 litres depending how much old oil you get out so 2 bottles of Redline which is in quart bottles so 1.13 litres per bottles so 2 should be enough with a little spare but i cant remember on mine.

They're US quarts. Not the same as Imperial quarts.  1 US quart = .946 litres.

[thetyrant]

They're US quarts. Not the same as Imperial quarts.  1 US quart = .946 litres.

Ah bugger yes i forgot so thats why howto says 3 bottles ....i couldn't remember how many i opened as had few bottles left over from previous.

[househead]

The original howto says 3 bottles for a 6 speed or 2 bottles for a 5 speed. Yours is a 5 speed iirc Carolyn? Should I use 3 quart bottles in my 6 speed?

Dont just pour in X amount of bottles do it correctly and use fill level hole to make sure amount is correct when car is on the level, the 6speed holds around 2.1 litres depending how much old oil you get out so 2 bottles of Redline which is in quart bottles so 1.13 litres per bottles so 2 should be enough with a little spare but i cant remember on mine.

Sure, wasn't just gonna pour blind. Should have been more specific in my reply as it was more about how many to buy rather than how many to pour in!

[thetyrant]

Sure, wasn't just gonna pour blind. Should have been more specific in my reply as it was more about how many to buy rather than how many to pour in!

Phew thats good its just it was mentioned earlier in thread so didnt know if you had taken it literally

Ive got some spare MT90 left over but not enough for a change, however it might save people having to buy a 3rd bottle if they wanted it, ive just moved house and trying to clear out things like this so will see what i have left and from memory i think ive 1 full sealed bottled and 1 part used but will check.

[Beachbum957]

The specs I found for a 6 speed SMT are

2.1L  (2.2 US qt, 1.8 Imp qt) with Limited slip
2.3L  (2.4 US qt, 2.0 Imp qt) w/o Limited slip

The manual should be the same

[james_ly]

Is that Redline MT90 ?

 I put that in mine and box does feel good, that said it didnt feel too bad before and was probably the original oil but its nice to know new stuff is in there, the MT90 can give issues if running high gearbox temps as the moly can start to separate out and clog things up so if doing a lot of trackdays i would use something else, i do very few trackdays these days and mostly 1 lap sprints so im happy to use the Redline for now

Interesting to know, I may try the OEM stuff this year, as my car has progressively been harder to shift into second on track. It may just be wearing out normally though

[thetyrant]

Interesting to know, I may try the OEM stuff this year, as my car has progressively been harder to shift into second on track. It may just be wearing out normally though

Yes we found out the hard way about the moly seperation when we tried MT90 in the Aston DB2 race car here, box on that runs very hot due to older design and we had a gearbox failure first race with the MT90 as a shaft seized up due to lack of lube, cant say for 100% it was the MT90 but on researching more it turned out its common complaint with these oils (which are full of additives to give the slick shifting especially when cold)  but if ran too hot can cause issues if they start to breakdown.

I will probably change to Castrol or something next change now that im turbo as things will get hotter down there!

[shnazzle]

We could actually do with a club Mt90 stockpile. 
Everybody's always left with half of thr 3rd bottle  
That half would then serve another person!

[Captain Vimes]

I run MT90 in the Caterham race car. The gearbox is just a ford type 9 (Sierra 5 speed) with a straight cut  short ratio gearset. Nothing special but it gets plenty of abuse.

The guys that rebuild the gearboxes swear by MT90 so that's what I run and it's held up for the last 2 seasons.