Manual Transmission T56 | T5 | MN12 | Clutches | Hydraulics | Shifters
View Poll Results: Which fluid is best for a M12 T56?
Redline D4 ATF
53
8.85%
Royal Purple Syncromax
179
29.88%
GM Syncromesh
154
25.71%
OEM Dexron III ATF
213
35.56%
Voters: 599. You may not vote on this poll

Which T56 fluid?

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Old 10-15-2005, 08:18 PM
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Originally Posted by NoMoreLS1
Regular Dextron III is the only tranmission fluid that you need. The synthetic fluid will eat away at the blocker rings.
Can someone tell me what are the blocker rings of the t56 trans?
Old 10-16-2005, 01:26 AM
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Originally Posted by 5.0Camaro`
theres a drain plug on the lower part of the passenger side, use a 3/8th drive to take it off and drain the fluid. Then screw it back in and the filler plug is on the upper driver side, the tranny will take 4 quarts(prollly little less since you wont get all the old fluid out) you will need to pick up like a pump that will allow you to get the fluid into the tranny(like 3 dollars at autozone). It just screws on the top of the tranny fluid bottle and you pump it by hand to pull it threw a hose into the tranny. Fill her up till fluid starts coming out again, then put the plug back in and call it a day.

Justin
So you dont change the tranny filter ? Is there one ? how do you tell if youre low on tranny fluid ? Sorry im new to the Manula transmission. Thanks nic .
Old 10-16-2005, 02:49 AM
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Originally Posted by minesfaster
So you dont change the tranny filter ? Is there one ? how do you tell if youre low on tranny fluid ? Sorry im new to the Manula transmission. Thanks nic .
there is no tranny filter with the M6.
if u pull out the fill plug and stick your finger in there, it should be just about level with fill plug. hence the "fill till spill"
and your car will also have to be lifted evenly to get accurate readings.
Old 10-16-2005, 04:06 AM
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Cool thank you bro, also if it is low does that means there's a leak ? I dont have anything under my car when it's parked. If it need some fluid what should i use to add to it ? I dont know whats in there now i just bought the car.
Old 10-16-2005, 01:55 PM
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Originally Posted by minesfaster
Cool thank you bro, also if it is low does that means there's a leak ? I dont have anything under my car when it's parked. If it need some fluid what should i use to add to it ? I dont know whats in there now i just bought the car.
you better off just draining it all and refilling.

you can use a pump to get the fluid into there. you can pick one up at your local autozone.
Old 10-16-2005, 06:51 PM
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Just to chime in with my experience. 2002 Formula. 500miles- in went RL ATF and Diff fluid along with RL engine oil 5w-30. At 16K miles of freeway driving and I didn't even start getting on the throttle hard till almost 2K miles. I babied the car, doing only 55 on the freeway with varing speeds and oil changes every year, incl the tranny and Diff. Well, at the 16K mark, my tranny gave out. Under warranty, I got a new one. I have since put 1500K on the tranny and changed it out to AMSOIL ATF. What a difference. It shifts smooth and the SOTP fell was nice. So my vote goes for the AMSOIL in all of my cars in every component that takes oil. Even there grease is awsome. The coolant is 7 year green coolant. This is just my experience, I hope it helps.
Old 10-16-2005, 08:39 PM
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SOMFormula- Did they say what actually failed on your tranny?

Thanks for the info!

Chuck
Old 10-27-2005, 04:29 PM
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Is it ok to refill with regular dexron III if synthetic was used previously? I'm not sure what's in mine and I bought it used.
Old 10-27-2005, 05:14 PM
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Originally Posted by JJ2002
Is it ok to refill with regular dexron III if synthetic was used previously? I'm not sure what's in mine and I bought it used.

Should be no problem. I would just use a good name brand DexIII (i.e.; Pennzoil/Havoline/Q.S./Valvoline, etc.).
Old 10-28-2005, 01:20 PM
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Originally Posted by JJ2002
Is it ok to refill with regular dexron III if synthetic was used previously? I'm not sure what's in mine and I bought it used.
you should have no problems what so ever.

just make sure ALL of the old fluid is out if u plan to switch from synthetic to non.
Old 10-28-2005, 03:10 PM
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Originally Posted by black00TA
you should have no problems what so ever.

just make sure ALL of the old fluid is out if u plan to switch from synthetic to non.
There really isn't a way to remove all the fluid...so should I change it once and then change it again after two months?
Old 10-28-2005, 03:47 PM
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Originally Posted by JJ2002
There really isn't a way to remove all the fluid...so should I change it once and then change it again after two months?
If you have a T56 and let it drain for an hour or so, you will get out all but (at most) a couple of ounces or so.
Old 10-28-2005, 05:29 PM
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well if u drain it out and pump fluid through it while its up on the rack it should all evenetually come out. but your also waisting fluid.. = /
Old 11-13-2005, 12:07 PM
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Hmm, so being that my car is a 98, I should just stick with Dexron III, or is it worth it for me to upgrade to GM Synchromesh? My tranny has been fine, no problems, but I have never changed the fluid in it and now she has 52k miles on it.

Manny
Old 11-13-2005, 12:59 PM
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Factory GM.
Old 11-13-2005, 02:14 PM
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Originally Posted by MannyZ28
Hmm, so being that my car is a 98, I should just stick with Dexron III, or is it worth it for me to upgrade to GM Synchromesh? My tranny has been fine, no problems, but I have never changed the fluid in it and now she has 52k miles on it.

Manny
i think its probably a good idea to change it.

just stick with dexIII
Old 11-13-2005, 02:42 PM
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Not to throw another monkey wrench into the works, but has anyone tried the Amsoil MTF (Synthetic Synchromesh Fluid) or ATD (Torque-Drive Synthetic ATF) ?? The MTF is a direct replacement for the GM synchromesh part #s, and the ATD is a Dex 3 replacement. Are we right back to square one since they are both synthetic and therefore considered useless/harmful to T56s? Any Amsoil dealers out there with any experience with these in our transmissions??
Old 11-14-2005, 06:35 AM
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For those that say only DEX III, have you even ever tried anything else? I have had notchy transmissions before, and I switched to Synchromesh. The notchyness went away and things were nice and smooth.

For the person who called Tremec... When I bought my Tremec 3550 for my Mustang, they specifically told me to only run Synchromesh or it would void the warranty. I had already been running Synchromesh anyway, so I wasn't concerned. Unless there is some major things different between their aftermarket transmissions vs their OEM ones, I don't see why they'd change their minds.

Trust me everyone, if you have never tried Synchromesh, you are missing out on a very smooth shift. If you don't like it, switch back. I can almost promise you will wonder why it took you so long to switch in the first place.
Old 11-14-2005, 02:51 PM
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I was on a road trip coming home from Palm Springs (visiting my buddy there) and my tranny got stuck in 5th gear. I noticed some really hard shifting between 6th and 5th for about 1K miles, but I figured "no big deal" and took the car to So. Cal. Well, on the way back, the shifter got locked into 5th gear while downshifting for traffic.
For the life of me, I couldn't get it out of 5th. I had it taken to a dealership nearby who was going to work on it. Come to find out, there is a part inside the tranny that seized up. Now I don't remember what seized up, but I could still drive the car in 5th gear only, I just couldn't use any other gear. The shifter was really lose in the 5th gear, I could move the shifter around with a little resistance. The dealership could not fix the problem because of a special gear puller that they didn't have, so they just put in a brand new tranny for me. Since than, I have put 1K miles on the stock tranny fluid and have since changed the fluid to AMSOIL ATF and it made a huge difference. It shifts smoother, feels nice. I had a new tranny put in about 2 years ago with 17K on the car, I now have 19K on the car and no problems yet.
Old 11-14-2005, 04:21 PM
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one thing i find somewhat odd is, that i use Honda ATF in my t56 and its amazing compared to others ive tried.

my friend uses synchromesh in his 5 speed integra....and supposidly many of them do.....hmmmm


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