Guy at Autozone says that a 2000 Civic Ex MTF is just 2 quarts of 5w - 30 MO.

I thnk he's full of sh*t. Is he right?

 

by MO u mean motor oil right? at first i didnt think you were serious but yea it looks like you are. manual honda transmissions take motor oil

 

So, it takes 5w - 30 just like the engine? I'm just asking because they obviously make actual MTF and the guy at AZ was like, yeah, Hondas always do theirs different. And I didn't think he was serious.

 

MTF and motor oil smell completely different...the MTF may be based w/ 5w-30 but it has extra additives...

 

Just get the MTF from honda. its cheaper and better than buying motor oil to throw in the tranny. cant go wrong with some thing recommended for your car by the people who made it.

its like 5-6 bucks a qt vs mobile 1 7-8 bucks



and dont ever listen to anyone that works at autozone, advance, napa, any of those(99.999999% of the time). keep in mind most of those people are just hired off the street with no mechanical background. just get what you need from them and be out.

 

Do you just know the viscosity code? I live 45 min. + from Honda and I'd rather not drive all that distance for $10 worth of MTF that I could have gotten down the street at AZ if I knew the viscosity.

 

read the old honda manuals it even says they used 5w-30 back then. it may have some additives but ive been running 20k with 5w-30 in mine with no problems and shifts like butter still and the tranny has over 100k on it

 

Order it online?

 

He actually showed me that an '00 manual says 5w - 30.

Wasted money in shipping. Can I just get a code? I'm sure Walmart or AZ will carry what I'm looking for. Just need the code.

 

this is true, it does say it in the manual. you're okay to use it. although, they make the Honda MTF for a reason. using 5w-30 is only recommended if you're not able to get ahold of some real MTF. my honda dealer sells MTF for like $6-8. two quarts of that isn't much...

 

10w-30 not 5w-30.

I use 10w-30 in mine

 

there is no weight code for HOnda MTF. its the same fluid for almost all manual transmissions, its not just motor oil in a honda bottle. and they dont sell that at autozone.

.. i use to use mobile 1 5w-30 aswell.. until i did the some research on the two.. theres several threads on here about it.

i'm sure you wont have any problems with 5w-30 but when i changed to only using Honda MTF i noticed the difference in the shifting.

its all comes down to this... you can use something that is NOT BAD for your tranny (motor oil) or something that is BETTER (honda MTF)

DO IT ONCE, DO IT RIGHT

we all evolve its in our nature. new times comes with new technology. so why NOT use MTF vs motor oil. the manuals say that cuz they weren't stocked on the shelf as they are now.

real question.. does anyone know when Honda MTF became available, cuz when i started out with honda's i remember being told there was no manual transmission fluid for our cars its only motor oil



10w-30 is kinda thick for tranny

 

The Honda MTF taste different them 5w 30.

 

not the case. 0W-30 is just as thick as 10W-30 which is just as thick as SAE 30.

i'm with Bense on this one (and Honda), go with 10W-30 if you aren't going to use MTF.

 

i know a couple of years ago they switched to a new mtf its a version 2 its the only mtf honda dealers stock now and it works great i only use honda mtf now trans shift very smooth. i would get it over straight motor oil i use to run 10w-30 but now run only mtf

 

I tried 10w-30 once...didnt work too well, constant third gear grind. Some MTF made the trans feel like it was brandy new.

I've been using Honda MTF since then and change it every 6k-7k miles (every other oil change).

 

Older honda manual says you can use MO however, its for temporary purposes and shouldn't be used for too long. I used it for quiet a bit and didn't notice a difference in shifting. However, I switched back to Honda MTF just in case something does happen in the long run. From what I know the MTF has special additives. Kinda the same way how MO has special additives for your engine. Now you wouldn't use MTF as your engines MO now would you?

 

no one was comparing 0w-30 to 10w30, but since you want to bring that up. Yes they are all 30 weight oils but they do NOT maintain the same flow rates. Either way both of these are not the recommended TEMPORARY oil 5w30. if you want to use 10w30 over honda MTF that is totally on you

this is taken from the amsoil website
* AMSOIL 0W-30 is 57.3 cST @ 40 deg. C, & 11.3 cST @ 100 deg. C
* AMSOIL 5W-30 is 59.5 cST @ 40 deg. C, & 11.7 cST @ 100 deg. C
* AMSOIL 10W-30 is 66.1 cST @ 40 deg. C, & 11.7 cST @ 100 deg. C



they are close but using 10w30 in your tranny is not the same as using 5w30, and using 5w30 is not the same as using Honda MTF

 

Flow rate? What are you talking about? Flow rate is the product of fluid velocity and cross sectional area. What cross sectional area are you factoring in on the internals of the manual transmission?

 

your a mod... you should know


so let me get this str8 your trying to say that because your putting the oil into a tranny its not going to act the same as if you were putting it into your engine?? so in turn i could just throw 10/40 and act the same. how does that add up sir

 

same properties, but it's under different conditions. in the engine it's being pumped through passageways and into plain bearings, and experiences higher temps and contamination from blow-by. in the gear box, it's just getting sloshed around into gear meshing and roller/needle or ball bearings to keep everything coated and moving freely. there is really no contamination present like in the engine. also the temperature difference is much lower in the transmission.

 

^^^ thats all common sense. issue is buddy is trying to advise using something thats not recommended for the transmission. just because it doesnt undergo the same conditions doesnt mean i can start putting any oil i want in to the tranny. if u use 10w30/ or a 40 weight oil in there shifting is going to get sloppy.

now if you got a tranny that recommends 10-30 go for it. as far as every honda I have owned. its either been 5w-30 for TEMPORARY use, Honda MTF being the preferred lubricant.

 

this is my last contribution to this thread. i pulled out my OEM service manual and it recommends 5w-30 as temporary use.

NOW my helms manual quoted word for word says this:
"**Always use Honda Genuine Manual Transmission Fluid (MTF). Using motor oil can cause stiffer shifting because it does not contain the proper additives"

take this information for what its worth.

 

Flow rate is a completely irrelevant factor when it comes to the manual transmissions. Volumetric flow rate, like the rate of water coming out of your shower head is completely irrelevant. As there's no piping and duct work inside the manual transmission.

Dynamic viscosity on the other hand, is completely relevant. You cannot just look at completely irrelevant numbers (like flow rate) in your comparison and say "look it's different!!!!"

 

From the USDM 92-95 civic service manual.





A close up