Does every stock Festiva's gearbox feels like that?

[lancerevo]

Hi. My gear changes like first and third gear feels like hard when changing the gears. Does every stock Festiva's gearbox feels like that? Or could it be the oil, may need changing? What is the gear oil viscosity number for the stock 5 speed manual gear box? I have some 80w90 gear oil. Is this a good oil for the gearbox? Thanks

[ejp2fast]

should not feel hard at all...

haynes manual calls for mercon ATF...

i use 30w oil...

[Tim]

Time for a tranny oil change. I used synthetic ATF in my last manual Festiva, and it was smooth as silk. Cured a grinding problem in 2nd too.

[lancerevo]

I changed to 80w90 and it feels better immediately. The old oil was brown/black and was not tacky at all.
Thanks

[blkfordsedan]

It was designed for Mercon ATF. I'm not saying that motor oil or heavy gear lube won't work fine in a Festiva tranny, but sometimes you have to be careful with lubrication issues. ATF is actually a very good lube for manual transmissions that are designed for it. It has a great temp capabilities, anti-foaming and anti-oxidation characteristics, EP additives for reduced gear wear and is thin enough to improve mileage and reduce power loss. It is also readily available and cheap. Viscosity is important to ensure proper oiling given the tight clearances of newer designs. Sometimes you also need to be cautious when using Synthetic base oils in applications not originally designed for them. Some Synthetics (and additives) can attack components not designed for them. Also, mixing Synthetics of different bases can be bad, although this may be more prevalent in the Industrial rather than Automotive market. All I'm saying is be careful.

Case in point: My '04 Mustang has a Tremec TR3650 manual transmission designed for standard ATF fluid. One of the performance tricks some people do is to run Synthetic or GM Syncromesh fluid. Yes, It reduces friction and makes a couple more HP and makes it shift like butter...........for the first several thousand miles, and then the Synthetic fluid is finished eating the fiber syncros and it starts to grind in every gear! I almost did the same thing until I spoke with an Engineer from Tremec at a car show and he warned me.