Manual Tranny Flush
01-24-2007, 08:46 AM
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Manual Tranny Flush
Anyone done one of these on the 2.2? i am overdue but i am going to do it myself... if noone has done it i will do a how to...
but i woild also want to know because i would like to put some better stuff in.
01-24-2007, 09:55 AM
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manual transmissions generaly do not need a flush because gear oil requires an extremely long time to degrade and break down. The only thing that you can do is upgrade to a sythetic like royal purple or ams. General Rule of thumb, 150 xxx is usualy how long the gear lube lasts, sythetic last twice that.
01-24-2007, 12:50 PM
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Manual Transmissions are just drain and refill, no flush like that autos. You can toss Mobil 1 in the trans and it will definetly help.
I would suggest you try to do it every 50,000 on that car as preventitive maintenance if your going to keep it. You might be able to get away with 150 but its not worth the $100 it costs to change it out. I recommend to most people when they come in to get that done sooner rather than later.
GM says that their fluids are lifetime but they are absolutely no different than the old fluids that were only 50,000km. They tell you that you never have to change the auto trans fluid either, but cobalts, cavs, and grand ams are the highest failing tranny right now b/c no one changes the fluid. From GM's perspective the lifetime of the car is 4 years, after that, they dont care.
I would suggest you try to do it every 50,000 on that car as preventitive maintenance if your going to keep it. You might be able to get away with 150 but its not worth the $100 it costs to change it out. I recommend to most people when they come in to get that done sooner rather than later.
GM says that their fluids are lifetime but they are absolutely no different than the old fluids that were only 50,000km. They tell you that you never have to change the auto trans fluid either, but cobalts, cavs, and grand ams are the highest failing tranny right now b/c no one changes the fluid. From GM's perspective the lifetime of the car is 4 years, after that, they dont care.
01-24-2007, 12:56 PM
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redberet i agree with you, you do have to still change out the fluids... i was told at 30k though by my boss which i work at an automotive shop... but when i do mine i will definently do a how to... what fluid is recommended though? just Dexron/Mercon ATF is what it says in the book
01-24-2007, 01:39 PM
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30K on a manual tranny is awfully excessive. Like others have posted, unless you want to switch to a different brand, the stock fluid should be good for a long time. Even 50K would be unnecessary; I'd suggest 100,000.
01-24-2007, 02:41 PM
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I'd have to check Mitchell, im off work today, some cars do take atf in the manual tranny.
Yes 50,000 can be a little early, but its at most $100 to get it done. Its cheap insurance thats all, especially if you drive it hard. I already know two people who have had to get their 5 speeds replaced under warranty, so I dont think its a very sturdy trans by any means.
New cars need a lot more maintenance than the old ones. Look at the new GM, Toyota and Dodge Pickups, up here in Canada you have to do your differential service every 24,000km with synthetic or they will remove your warranty. Thats insane, we used to do diff services every 100K or more. I have one customer with an 03 trailblazer has 120,00km on it, has had the diff serviced 3 times and still picked up a whine along the way. They dont build em like they used to, they key is preventitive maintenance.
Yes 50,000 can be a little early, but its at most $100 to get it done. Its cheap insurance thats all, especially if you drive it hard. I already know two people who have had to get their 5 speeds replaced under warranty, so I dont think its a very sturdy trans by any means.
New cars need a lot more maintenance than the old ones. Look at the new GM, Toyota and Dodge Pickups, up here in Canada you have to do your differential service every 24,000km with synthetic or they will remove your warranty. Thats insane, we used to do diff services every 100K or more. I have one customer with an 03 trailblazer has 120,00km on it, has had the diff serviced 3 times and still picked up a whine along the way. They dont build em like they used to, they key is preventitive maintenance.
01-24-2007, 03:40 PM
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ive heard of people running ATF in manual transmissions. it has some benifits and of course some conserns as well. It seems it helps rough transmissions shift better, but it also runs the risk of damaging the bronze gear inside the box, heres a link with some info.
http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=69574&page=8
http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=69574&page=8
01-24-2007, 03:52 PM
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The manual transmissions in the Cobalts come STOCK with ATF in them. I personally have replaced the factory fill, with Mobil 1 ATF. When I drained the factory fill, it was RED and has the smell of ATF.
The above can be found in this thread:
https://www.cobaltss.net/forums/show...ight=synthetic
Originally Posted by Malaclypse
The manual transmissions use ATF because the sump for the fluid is at the bottom of the trans where the final drive is. The fluid has to climb the gears as they rotate so the rest of the transmissions' internal components can get lubrication.
Synchromesh is a much thicker fluid than ATF and would not only starve certain parts of the transmission of lubrication but could also cause problems shifting the transaxle.
Also, to let everyone know, for the '06 model year, it looks as if all automatic transmission cars are switching to the new Dexron VI standard. The fluids aren't backwards compatible so read your manual and be careful which fluid you put in your automatic. That and from what SI is telling me, -ALL- 5 speed Cobalts are getting the Getrag 287 instead of the SS/sc having a different trans (F23) entirely.
Synchromesh is a much thicker fluid than ATF and would not only starve certain parts of the transmission of lubrication but could also cause problems shifting the transaxle.
Also, to let everyone know, for the '06 model year, it looks as if all automatic transmission cars are switching to the new Dexron VI standard. The fluids aren't backwards compatible so read your manual and be careful which fluid you put in your automatic. That and from what SI is telling me, -ALL- 5 speed Cobalts are getting the Getrag 287 instead of the SS/sc having a different trans (F23) entirely.
https://www.cobaltss.net/forums/show...ight=synthetic
01-25-2007, 07:58 AM
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yes it is there is a plug to drain and then a fill plug... the machine is used on most autos but i guess some manuals... at my shop we only drain, change filter, and refill...
01-25-2007, 01:49 PM
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I did one back when I did mine.
https://www.cobaltss.net/forums/show...&highlight=F23
https://www.cobaltss.net/forums/show...&highlight=F23
02-21-2007, 06:06 PM
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I'm at 30K and thought about swapping to a more synthetic blend, as this car is now mostly drag raced. Any suggestions?
Called my local dealer and they couldn't give me the specifications on our manual transmissions. Weird??
I have a 2006 LS with el 5 speedo
Called my local dealer and they couldn't give me the specifications on our manual transmissions. Weird??
I have a 2006 LS with el 5 speedo
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