ATF for Getrag 265/5

[Jimbo1907]

I can't locate my original thread for my Getrag transplant in my 280SL (not that I tried very hard, honestly). But I decided to get her out and drive her a bit, about two weeks ago. Interestingly, I could barely shift the transmission at all.

We had originally (and mistakenly) filled the Getrag box with transmission oil (like 85-90 I think) and it was unshiftable at all) We drained that out and put in ATF. That made it driveable, although a bit stiff. When I went to drive the car recently, it was miserable, but I got it out on the road, slowly, and warmed up the gearbox, and finally it loosened up. We decided to drain the box and refill it with synthetic ATF- I tried to get Redline, but evidently there's a shortage of Redline Dexron 6, so I got a different synthetic.

It's a significant improvement. The box still feels a little notchy, but overall it's MUCH better. I suspect that there was still some 85-90 left in the box from the first fill, even though we had warmed it up and drained it back then, and that it shifts better now because what's in there is only Dexron 6.

[mdsalemi]

Supposedly listed (Redline Dextrin 6) as in stock at Summit Racing.

[Jack the Knife]

I can't locate my original thread for my Getrag transplant in my 280SL (not that I tried very hard, honestly). But I decided to get her out and drive her a bit, about two weeks ago. Interestingly, I could barely shift the transmission at all.

We had originally (and mistakenly) filled the Getrag box with transmission oil (like 85-90 I think) and it was unshiftable at all) We drained that out and put in ATF. That made it driveable, although a bit stiff. When I went to drive the car recently, it was miserable, but I got it out on the road, slowly, and warmed up the gearbox, and finally it loosened up. We decided to drain the box and refill it with synthetic ATF- I tried to get Redline, but evidently there's a shortage of Redline Dexron 6, so I got a different synthetic.

It's a significant improvement. The box still feels a little notchy, but overall it's MUCH better. I suspect that there was still some 85-90 left in the box from the first fill, even though we had warmed it up and drained it back then, and that it shifts better now because what's in there is only Dexron 6.

How do you like your 265/5? I am waiting on a driveshaft for my 230SL to get all the pieces to work. To be clear this is the sport transmission and not the OD transmission.

[Cees Klumper]

I think you are correct, that there were, and possibly still are, remnants of the 85/90 oil in the transmission. That stuff is very sticky, compared to ATF. I would not be surprised if another drain/refill after some use cycles, will improve things further.

[Jimbo1907]

Cees, you are likely correct. The 85-90 is very sticky. I got the car out recently; due to disuse, we replaced the front brake calipers, which were sticking, and also did the rear axle outboard seals, which had been incorrectly installed by a prior owner, years ago- they were leaking.

There are two issues with the car, now- persistent thumping on bumps, which I think might be the Timevalve exhaust system, which doesn't fit very well (this has been a problem since it was installed, it never fit correctly) And the transmission is still hard to shift- it doesn't clash or grind, and it isn't noisy, but it doesn't feel like the BMW Getrag gearbox in BMWs I've owned- the shifting in them was light and precise and easy, even in older cars. I have a good friend who's a transmission specialist (he rebuilt the unit in my E-type and did very well on that one) and I've asked him to drive it and see what he thinks. I can't tell if the difficult shifting is in the linkage, outside the gearbox, or inside it. But all the gears are somewhat hard to engage. Any suggestions?

[Peter h]

If all gears are difficult to shift, it could possibly be the linkage. The Getrag often only have a problem with 2nd gear.
Please first check whether the gearbox is correctly aligned.
Peter

[WRe]

Hi,
In the German Pagoda forum a member reports: "At first I was disappointed because it was very difficult to shift gears, espec. 2nd and 3rd gear. After consulting with ZF, we used a very liquid ATF. It's been working since then."
...WRe

[JamesL]

Cees, you are likely correct. The 85-90 is very sticky. I got the car out recently; due to disuse, we replaced the front brake calipers, which were sticking, and also did the rear axle outboard seals, which had been incorrectly installed by a prior owner, years ago- they were leaking.

There are two issues with the car, now- persistent thumping on bumps, which I think might be the Timevalve exhaust system, which doesn't fit very well (this has been a problem since it was installed, it never fit correctly)

I had a persistent thunk on bumps. The jack wasn't mounted properly

[Jimbo1907]

Thanks to all. I'll check the jack- if it turns out to be something that simple, I'll be very happy. A close friend who is the local transmission magician is going to drive the car early next week- we'll see what he comes up with. It would be nice if we didn't have to pull it out of the car, but if we do, we do.