I, like many here, have always had the dreaded 2nd gear grind/notchiness and occasional 3rd grind/notchiness. Especially at the drag strip, usually 2-3 runs out of 7 I would be denied 2nd gear or grind hard. Not to mention that reverse always seemed hard to get into. And of course, 50 degree temps and under it was worse.
Now, I was very skeptical that any type of fluid change was going to fix this. My warranty was shot within weeks of me taking possession of the car from dealership because of my engine mods. No prob, I pay to play, not going to make this a dealer issue in MY case. So I had read that some guys had good luck with the Redline products, I bought D4 ATF, still skeptical, but hey, what else is there to try? Rebuild? Yes eventually, that is my intentions to handle more HP down the road.
I drained and refilled with D4 ATF and was able to get 4 qts into the tranny. Immediately after starting the car at just under 50 degree air temp I was able to put it into ANY gear without notchiness, I think to myself "yeah right, don't get excited yet...." LOL! And trust me, I run an MGW shifter so it is much more positive shift feeling. I noticed that it went right into reverse without effort like usual....OK... I went through about 7 good hard launches and ripped through the gears (1st through 4th) like never before!!! I still am in disbelief and I am still hoping that this has bought me some time until I can actually rebuild the tranny for harder use later.
Is this a cure all? Probably not in some cases, but I would definitely recommend that you try this D4 ATF before you do anything drastic, it may help alleviate some of the symptoms we are experiencing with the notchiness and grinding. Redline D4 ATF is designed for manual tranny cars and meets or exceeds GM requirements. And, it helps with synchro mesh by adding more friction, some other brands are in fact too slippery, which I believe causes the synchros to spin to fast and have probs engaging. This thing shifts like butter now!!! I would have never thought the MGW shifter would be quieter when shifting. No notchiness and grind issues to report at this time.
I am running a Textralia oz700 Z grip HD clutch, Separate clutch reservoir and keep the fluid clean.
Again, I am not claiming that this will fix everything but its worth a shot!
