Stiff as a grizzly's...

[Funksolid]

Hey dudes. So its getting cold here in Calgary and getting colder.

When I warm up my HJ60 in the morning its all good but the tranny (5spd) is pretty stiff when I first get going, but smooths out as she warms up.

#1 Will synthetic oil help out with the stiffness in the cold?
#2 I read somewhere that putting the tranny in gear, but putting the transfer case in neutral will help (I might be way off, but thats what I remember) to warm it up??????

Thanks, and stay warm.

Andrew

[M John Galt]

The answer to both questions is Yes.

[bigbrowndog]

Have you thought about running a lighter grade of oil especially in winter unless you are towing something heavy over a long distance or traveling at high speed using a lighter grade of gear oil will be ok in the cold. Its common here to put lighter oil in the 150/151 boxes for driving around town to make it easier to shift.

[Funksolid]

No I have never thought of running a lighter oil. I dont tow anything, but I do make highway trips (110-120 kph) out to the mountains a lot, almost every weekend.

So does anyone have an opinion on the "best" sythetic gear oil, and weight?

Thanks again.

-25 c on Monday


Andrew

[roscoFJ73]

Try doubling the clutch as you shift

[crushers]

Andrew,
i have never tried lighter lube in the tranny, i would be concerned about the seal between the tranny and t/c. it is notorious for leaking already.
running a full synthetic is a good idea.
a oil pan heater on the tranny might be a good idea this will keep the oil warmer.
the tranny in gear and the t/case in neutral works fine. it would prevent theft as well, most people that would want to steal a running car would never think of the t/c being in neutral.

[bigbrowndog]

I am at a loss to understand how coming down a grade or two in the transmission oil will make it leak perhaps I have read this wrong. It is common to put 75/85 or straight 80 oil in the early 150/151 gearboxes replacing the 85/95 as even in the tropics they are a stiff shift from 1st to 2nd lesser so to 3rd when cold.Once warmed up they are so much lighter to shift than the H55f box. Even adding Nulon G70 manual gearbox and diff treatment makes either of the boxes shift better. I use Nulon L90 extreme on any gearbox or diff assembly that I do. If you are towing for several hours or driving in extreme conditions in the heat etc I would stay with the heavy oil. In your position I would try a lighter fully synthetic oil.I am not familiar with the cold temperatures you guys are experiencing but I can't see the gearbox getting hot under those circumstances it probably does not reach a decent temperature in 30ks. If you are doing extended trips in the heat in summer and you are concerned drop some or all out and run the heavy oil.cheers

[crushers]

Hey, BBD jump on a plane, we are heading out wheeling today. the high is supposed to be -23C. it is amazing what happens when wheeling in this cold...

you might just enjoy booting up a frozen river and slip sliding around the bends...

tranny fluid and diff fluid gets realy stiff and the unit can actually move ahead a few inches or so with the tranny in neutral when the engine just fires up...

thinner tranny fluid could make quite a difference especially on fuel milage and power...

gotta run, 13 trucks are waiting...

[HeepEater]

Two words.... Royal Purple........ made a huge difference in shifting my tranny. Although it never gets below 15 c where I am at. You guys really make me jealous with all that cold weather and snow!!!! ! Have fun

[skoki]

I have run synthetic in all of my rigs for decades. One of the 1st things I do when I buy a new vehicle is change all the fluids to synthetic. An old mechanic told me once- if you don't know how old the fluid is, change it. Diff's, transfercase, tranny and engine all get changed and I use synthetic grease for lube as well. It all makes a huge difference in how your vehicle performs in really cold weather. Finding synthetic fluids is a crap shoot though. I've used Mobil1, quakerstate, amsoil and whatever else I could find when I needed it. Check out Bob for more info.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/

[Greg_B]

Redline MT90 works well, is a GL4 and does not impact shifting like some GL5 synth's do.

Dunno it's workings in sub 0 weather, however as a synth it should do well. Might be a good year round solution for you.

http://www.redlineoil.com/

hth's

gb

[TwoThirtyDirty]

I let my HJ warm up for a few minutes, shift the Tcase into neutral and tranny into 3rd or 4th for the duration of warm up. Straight 90w in the boxes.

[Eric Winkworth]

I always double clutch, it just makes shifting nicer, although it feels perfect without it when warm just habit I guess.

I use Amsoil synthedic gear oil 80w, after changing it and feeling the difference I will never use anythign else

[coldtaco]

I have always run full synthetic in the Taco's I have owned and in the 70. But I have found that synthetic has NOT helped my rigs as far as keeping them "loose" after being parked for endless hours at work in -20C and colder temps. It usually will take about a mile or so of slow driving to get the drivetrain loosend up enough to feel comfortable to get on the highway, for speeds up to 55mph. This really bugs me because it seems that no one else has this problem when observing other vehicles at work or elsewhere that have sat for a long time. My 03 Taco with auto seems a little looser, but you still can feel the stiffness. Maybe everyone else doesn't care or are oblivious to the stiffness.

[brownbear]

something also to think about is maybe the tranny is overfull. With the tc case pumping pressure into the the tranny, and in the cold you notice it more. If you look on here there is a cheap fix of joining the filler holes with a vent line.

[Garry]

Originally Posted by brownbear

something also to think about is maybe the tranny is overfull. With the tc case pumping pressure into the the tranny, and in the cold you notice it more. If you look on here there is a cheap fix of joining the filler holes with a vent line.

I was going to say the same thing. On my 60, the transfer case oil leaks forward into the gear box and after a while the gearchanges can become very "stiff", even in summer (good ol EP80/90 mineral). Easy fix is to drain the excess off and top up the transfer. I have since linked the two as Brownbear mentioned (saves the hassall of having to get under the thing once a month or so!)

[coldtaco]

The stiffness comes from more than the transmission/transfercase. The diffs are hard too. You can tell by trying to back out of your parking spot and turning by the vehicle hopping and such as if the front and rear where locked, or at least in 4x4. Iv'e got Amsoil 75w-90 in all the places, except engine.

[crushers]

espec if you have water contamination... the sound of ice breaking is a sure sigh...
;^)

[coldtaco]

Hmm, there shouldn't be any more water contamination after the ACT2006. Had the front axle serviced recently, replaced all the fluids. The transmission is leaking into the transfercase so soon after getting the transfercase redone. Anyway, I will be making me a coupler to connect the two shortly, though I would rather have it not leaking between the two. All my Tacoma's do /did the same thing. Don't know if Toyota's are built to tghter tolerances than others?

[Greg_B]

Originally Posted by Greg_B

Redline MT90 works well, is a GL4 and does not impact shifting like some GL5 synth's do.

Dunno it's workings in sub 0 weather, however as a synth it should do well. Might be a good year round solution for you.

http://www.redlineoil.com/

hth's

gb

Been a tad chilly here by Lower Mainland standards (-17C with windchill), so I've had a chance to drive around with the truck having sat all night. Seems a tiny bit stiffer then usual however shifts just great so far, (knock on wood) so I'm happier then ever with the Redline MT90 (T-case and transmission). Chevron synth gear oil in the diffs, and Esso 0/40XD in the engine.

gb