GM Syncromesh gear oil

Would this help quiet down my tranny? My trans doesn't grind at all but it's made a whirring noise for years when decelerating. Now i'm getting a whirring when accelerating -- a new noise.

A few months ago, i did a drain and fill and noticed significant improvement. But now it's getting a little noisey again, and it's not because of a leak either. I'm not low on gear oil.

I'm just considering quickfixes while i shop for a new/used trans.

thanks again for past help

Read my previous post if your interested in my somewhat boring little unmondified civic issues:


January 2006

How long will my transmission last? I know that no one really knows exactly for sure, but i'd like some educated guesses.

I’ve searched the forums but nobody’s question matched mine.

I have a 1991 civic dx, 5 speed. The transmission shifts fine but it makes noise. No clunk or pop noises. I get whirring and whining.

The noise is faint when I’m accelerating. But it’s really pronounced when I’m slowing down-- when I’m still in gear but not accelerating. “Noise on the ‘Deccel,’” as someone described it. No noise at all in Nuetral. I only get real noise when deccelerating in 1, 2 and 3rd gear.

But it’s only noisey when I’m going slow--when I get over 33 mph my car sounds wonderful! Fourth and fifth gears sound fine. If I keep accelerating from 1st to 5th it doesn’t sound that bad. The performance is fine.

It started a few years ago. Some XXXhole at the Honda dealership told me that my trans was on it’s way out and that it was expensive to fix.

Thank god I got a second opinion from a guy who put things in perspective,

“It makes noise, but it might go another 20 thousand miles. It’s not woth fixing. Just keep driving it.” This guy was exactly right. Unfortuneatly he retired to Arizona and I can’t go to him for an updated diagnosis.

Anyway it has not gotten a lot worse over the past two years. I almost want to say it got better because I just got used to it.

My civic has no modifications. It’s far from the fastest out there but I’ve really grown to like it. But everyone says putting $ in to a 1991 is not a great idea.

In any event I know I should be setting some money aside. I considered searching for a low miles used transmission in the yards. It’s got some rust and burns a bit of oil.

Any thoughts? All comments welcomed.

i have seen it do wonders for a handful of customer's with noisey trannies. i can't say how much it will or won't help or how long it will or won't last as your tranny is not in front of me to pass judgement.

the stuff is a bit spendy so i generally don't tell people to go buy it unless they do have a loud tranny....then it's worth every penny :thumbsup:

Thank you Ms Red,
Certainly sounds like it's worth a try.

It's worth a try but just keep in mind there is no magic in that bottle.

thanks Bull,
At this point I'm just hoping to nurse this thing along until I get a replacement. I'm surprised that how progressively worse it got since my last drain and fill. A few months ago i thought I'd be in the clear for a good while.

I saw in a few of your past posts that you found a rebuild in the 300 dollar range. This makes a lot of sense.

The other option is used imports. So far I don't feel 100% confident that the trannys that were used in Japan truly are as low miles as they claim -- 30k to 80k. I'd go with that if i could somehow verify thier mileage.

Yeah, I personally am beginning to look for a tanny myself...3rd gear is starting to click or crunch (like a very very short grind) in at high rpm..I think it may have been the last fluid change I did on it, never showed signs before then...but either way, Im preparing to replace it in the near future, if you find any place that deals in jdm YS1's...I really want an lsd, Im getting tired of having one tire with less tread...

Frodo,
If i hear good things about a trans dealer, i'll let you know.
Nice wheels, BTW.

frodo must feel good about his car. about half the threads he posts in get turned around to talk about his car. not a bad thing i love his car. sorry off topic. move the thread along

and another thing about the lsd. what exactly does it do and can i get one for my ls tranny

as for the jap engines not having low miles.....they have to, it's the law. when it gets to either 50 or 60,000mi they straight take your car from you. we got a front clip for our ITR....its complete with speedo. that engine only has 11,000mi (17000km).

hey frodo....good luck on the LSD. the cable version is becoming non existant. last time we called Japan told us no more and if we happen to come across one to keep it and not let it go. apparently the whole b16a1 (obd-0) is rapidly becoming non exists....

you all better make friends with the b16a2....obd-1 is better anyways :icon16:

congrats BullShifter!

as for the jap engines not having low miles.....they have to, it's the law. when it gets to either 50 or 60,000mi they straight take your car from you. we got a front clip for our ITR....its complete with speedo. that engine only has 11,000mi (17000km).

Thank you, that's exactly the kind of thing i'm looking to verify. So if it's imported from Japan it's safe to assume it has low miles.

i'm kinda bad with numbers but i know it's somewhere are 30,000mi their government compensates them to get a new car. somewhere after that you get fined and by around 60,000 they take your car. i'm sure somebody will jump in here with the exact milage.

back in the day you used to be able to ask how many miles as they had the whole ef9/ef8 clips...they could check before the engine is pulled. not the case any more.

if you look around you can generally find somebody selling their tranny. everybody is doing swaps these days. d series = laying around somebody's garage = cheaper than jap importer.

"cheaper than a jap import"
Yes, I totally agree that they are cheaper. But how worn are they? I can't do the work myself so it's gonna cost to have it put in. As i've heard others say, I'd rather pay the extra couple bucks for one that is quality.

Plus I'd feel confident that in japan you wouldn't have jiffy lube people putting fluid in a manual instead of gear oil. I understand that mechanics put the wrong fluid in civic trannys frequently, here.

Haha, yeah whats up with that? People always turn it back on me, everyone likes the blades (except people where I live, they go "why do you have acura....on a honda?) Anyway, yeah I know the obd-0 is going the way of the dinosaur, unfortunately. Oh, and 2poor, an LSD is a limited slip differential, it locks both wheels together to gain more traction..also preventing the open-diffed peg leg burnout!

The GM Syncromesh products that i saw said transmission "fluid." Do people put that in manuals? Or do they make a gear oil? Do you all recomend the regular or the syncromesh with "Friction Reducer?"

Is the stuff thin? I'd imagine i would use a thicker oil in my trans since i'll get it replaced before fall. (and since my trans is loud as hell)

Anyone got any tax questions? I've been benefitting from your information and i'd like to reciprocate. Ask away if you have a question.

thanks again

oh i heard that the lsd makes your gears shorter somehow. idk just what i heard

it is geared closer. on our b16 cable LSD tranny we were at 4000rpm at like 65mph in 5th gear....it almost felt like we needed a 6th gear.

lsd is nice, boss....especially in the snow

DON'T use gear oil in honda/acura transmissions. Use 10w30 motor oil, like honda does. Better yet, just get the honda MTF, it's 10w 30, and specifically designed for honda/acura trannies. GM syncromesh is fine, as it is not gear oil.

I feel much better about putting 10w-30 in my transmission now, didnt quite want to believe it when I read it...but it is the right stuff.

Thanks to everyone for the input. I've been reading rave reviews about Synchromesh. Many many people said smoother shifting. Many many say it's smoother. But my trans shifts just fine-- no problems. The trans feels fine it's just that it's loud as hell.

Some time ago I concluded that my noise was a problem with worn out bearings as opposed to chipped gears or something else. While Synchromesh would do wonders for many trans I don't see why it would quiet mine down.

I might opt for a heavier weight oil in the trans to quiet it while I get a replacement trans.

10w/30 is the correct weight for Honda trannys, and most 10w/30s are all the same except for the additives. Not sure what makes Honda factory MTF different, but thats all the guys at Gearspeed recommend. Also if yall are looking for trannys, Gearspeed is where I got my rebuilt SI, but they only sell to businesses. So if yall know a shop, have a business, or you can just go to a Honda dealer(which shouldn't charge more than regular retail), they have the best deals I've seen yet. I paid $800.00 for base rebuild and this includes shipping, but they do require your core of same type tranny, which the return shipping is included in the price. They also offer upgrades for an additional price, LSD, carbon coated syncros, polisd/anodized cases. I love my new tranny, and will be doing all my future tranny business with Gearspeed.

All of my gears grind when I'm pissed off and shift really fast (which I do anyway). But when I have a cool head and shift like normal all is fine.... BTW, Honda MTF in tranny installed by Honda only repair shop.