fammacd=!SPAM^nothanks@tellurian.com (George Macdonald) wrote in message news:<3f24c261.75946917@news.tellurian.com>...

> It's not the seal that got destroyed - it's the bearing cage and it wasn't
> clear if it suffered due to solvency of the plastic in the oil or if it got
> worn away by abrasion. It's completely gone though - all eight balls are
> jammed against each other in the bad bearing.

Was there a big difference between the 5th and 6th generation Civic
5-speeds? My '95 Coupe went 132,000 miles (122,000 miles on MTL)
without a single tranny-related problem. If solvency WAS an issue, it
surely would have reared its ugly head in my car as I ran it much,
much longer.

> The Honda MTF works fine for me.

I've never tried the stuff. A virgin oil analysis on it shows it to be
a fairly ordinary-looking fluid. No special anti-wear (moly,
borate-esters, etc ...) just a good dose of what looks like ZDDP ...
in quantities motor oils used to have the stuff.

I just know that MTL (70W80) was a vast improvement over the factory
fill in both my '90 Integra as well as the '95 Civic. Who knows what
they put in the trannies back then at the factory?

What I like most about the Red Line fluids is their cold-shift
capabilities. Dead-of-winter graunch is greatly eliminated. In fact, I
have to get rid of the crappy factory gear oil in my Sentra Spec-V's
6-speed before this coming winter. The tranny is full of graunch at
any temp under 40F until it's thoroughly warm. I have to shift very s
l o w l y and c a r e f u l l y until the car is well warmed up to
keep from grinding. I figure MT-90 (75W90) will be a significant
improvement ... and it's the most popular fluid with other Spec
drivers.

--- Bror Jace
(Saratoga, NY)