after how many miles would you guys suggest to change the tranny fluid in a ss/sc manual. I have around 33,000???? If anybody has done it, is it hard and what would i need? Thanks for all the responses.............

 

tranny fluid does not need to be changed until 100,000 miles

 

yea the maintanence guide calls for 100,000 miles on all cobalt models. unless your putting serious strain on ur transmission (such as a lot of autocross) you dont have to worry about changing tranny fluid or coolant fluid.

and if your just looking for a way to make ur tranny last as long as possible, a good set of transmission mounts and good/soft shifting will do the trick.

 

I changed mine at 12,000 miles just because I could. The fluid that rolled out was deep red/purpleish color. It cant hurt it to change it just make sure you have the right fluid. GM had some 05 and 06 2.2/2.4 shipped with the wrong fluid in them. The GM part number for the proper fluid is 88861800. Could also get the Royal Purple synthetic stuff like everbody else recommends but thats up to you.

 

I had my clutch changed out and the tech said my fluid was black as **** so i just told him to go ahead and change it.

 

i don't beat on the tranny at all. I am actually a granny when driving it. i just thought because it just seems stiff going through the gears. Driving my brother's cobalt ss/sc and its like a hot knife through butter thing. no effort at all.

 

yeah use the GM fluid if you are going to do it...Castrol who makes it claims its fill for life so you really dont need to change it

 

well i know i posted earlier in this thread saying u wont have to change them till 100,000. but ill be honest and say that this summer i will be changing my coolant fluid and tranny fluid. call me a hypocrit, but think about it, GM doesnt exactly put top of the line quality stuff in a car such as mine....

edit: ill be at 50,000 miles by the end of this summer

 

I would recommend full-synthetic gear oil. A manual tranny takes Gear Oil not transmission fluid. Lucas Oil and royal purple make good synthetic gear oil. With manuals, I always like to switch to full-synthetic (in the axle also, if it is a LSD GM usually puts full-synthetic from the factory)

you will notice that it shifts smoother. I'd do it if I were you. It's easier than changing the oil.

 

well i have an auto...do you have any recomendations for that though?

 

i would not wait any longer than 50k to change the fluid on any transmission. especially for "spirited" drivers like most on this site.

just a side note,
the lsj trannies (f35) use GM gear oil.
all other auto and manual trannies in the 2.2 and 2.4 cars use ATF.

 

well, im gonna flat out disagree with you. till the mid 80s, yes, cast iron case manual transmissions took gear oil. however manufacturors started using thinner oils in order to allow for faster shifts and be better comatable with new design syncros. most manual transmissions now take either atf (this is true for the f23), 10w30 (hondas) or special fluids, like the costrol oil for the f35, or gm syncromesh. these oils are all much thinner than gear oil.

ive seen first had what happens when you put gear oil in a tranny thats designed for thin oil. what it will start off with is some light grinding on fast shifts, this is because the oil gets behind the synco and because its thick its unable to drain out when you try to shift, the syncro doesnt push against the gear and you get a little grinding. along with that, oil is unable to get into the bearings properly causing exess heat and lack of lube. end result is bearings failing aswell as gears and shift sleeves needing to be replaced. on the flip side, too thin of an oil can cause lack of lube aswell, causing the same results.

 

the best way to find out what kinda tranny fluid to use is to just go to a gm dealership and ask a tech. an actual gm tech will be able to pull up any and all info on your car and will prolly be able to tell you the best route to go. i wouldnt even recommend going to a normal machanic at say a midas or something like that because they RARELY ever know the specifics about every single car.

 

if you have the ss/sc gm fluid ONLY castrol makes synthetic gear oils and syncromax and neither is compatable with the gm fluid which castrol also makes so use that and only that

 

alright..........still learning then.

sharkey, what do you use in the F23?? what weight ATF?