Miata Mailing List: July 1996, Message #178
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   From: sji@plaza.ds.adp.com (Steve Ino)
Subject: 2nd thoughts
   Date: Tue, 2 Jul 1996 17:19:10 -0400

Lately I've noticed that shifts from 1st to 2nd are sometimes *very* stiff,
and sometimes there's even a downright grinding. I thought changing to
Redline MT (about a month ago at 30k) would eliminate the problem, and
while the synth oil smoothed out other shifts, the old 2nd shift stiffness
still rears its head from time to time. (BTW, my '93 is outside the VIN
range for the defective gearshift lever problem mentioned in the MCA tech
issue, so it probably isn't the gearshift itself.)

I came across some MT vs. MTL discussions in the archives, including
testimony from folks who called Redline and were advised by them to use MT.
So I did, even though MTL seems to be the weight of choice on the list. Did
I choose unwisely? Would the problem improve if I switched to MTL or even
Amsoil (which I've got in the diff.)? Should I switch back to dino to see
what happens? At $8 a quart for the synth stuff I'm not real excited about
experimenting, so I'd appreciate comments or suggestions before I start
switching lube stuff.

Last week someone posted something about using Redline with good results in
his '90, but not in his '93. Given my experience, it makes me wonder if
maybe Redline tranny juice and '93s don't go well together. And now there's
something about Redline claiming the Canadian warranty is void if MTL is
used. What gives?

As always, TIAFAI.

Steve I
Portland, OR
'93 red A, LSD