Just finished swapping the stock mystery fluid out with Redline MTL with my dad and the car could not be happier. Whine did slowly diminish a little and that infamous 2nd gear notch was slowly diminishing as well. One interesting thing I noticed about the stock stuff, me and my dad both came to a conclusion that the fluid smelt almost exactly like hydraulic fluid. It was very dark in color and had a light blue hue to it. So happy to have something in the car that actually smells like gear oil and the car is rewarding me.

Anyone else who did a fluid swap have this strange fluid in their car? I still think that Ford is putting the Fiesta QDC fluid in the cars from the factory (even into the 2012 year). When my dad pulled the bolt loose on the drain, he instantly said to me that this fluid just doesn't smell right at all. It was also pouring like water. What you guys think?

I definitely say get that crap out.

 

I plan on swapping out to MTL in a few weeks.

 

Ford has never shipped Mustangs with QDC. It ships with QS. You think the QS is like water... you should see the QDC

 

That definitely confuses me. QS fluid has a honey look to it and QDC has a very dark color to it. The fluid I took out had a strong chemical smell to it, smelling exactly like hydraulic fluid. What the heck are they putting hydraulic fluid into a manual tranny? Also if it is QS fluid, why is it darkening? I'm really confused.

But whatever. That junk is out of the tranny now and the MTL has helped my car so much. The notches are slowly fading with every shift. Now I'm worried of what is in the rear end. Soda Pop.

 

The MTL meets the Ford spec and that is all that really matters.

I can hardly wait for the day that all the tranny BS finally goes away, so tired of hearing and reading about it.

 

That's all that mattered to me as well. I also cant wait till it all meets its end. I really didn't have any problems, I was just concerned about the 1-2 bite that kept happening but I believe that I solved that problem with this swap.

EDIT: And sorry for making yet another thread discussing the transmission. Just wanted to post my findings with the fluid.

 

So..with the TSB and Fluid change at Ford,.... what are they replacing the fluid when when the TSB is performed?

 

They put the QDC fluid in.

 

Hmmm, mine is supposed to go in for the change on Monday...

 

Both of the factory fluids creep me out. The supposed QS fluid that was in our cars from the factory really looks like an ATF but that QDC fluid was not even designed for a manual tranny. It was said to be originally developed inline with the DCT tranny for the Fiesta which just scares me away from it. When the 2011s first came out, the owners manual said QDC was recommended for about 3 revisions of the text then was changed to QS while the Shop manual always said QS. Then a TSB was issued to switch to QDC if you have increased shift effort. I really think they do not have the fluid for the job and are currently looking into it.

If I were all of you, I would just put a trusted gear oil into the tranny like Redline or Royal Purple. Lots of people on svtperformance.com have had great success with Royal Purple Synchromax but I saw a recommendation of Redline MTL and since it meets fords specs for the QS fluid I pulled the trigger. Definitely is helping but don't really have a lot of miles on it to make a definitive call but so far I'm very happy.

 

How much did it cost you for the Red-Line. Did you do it yourself or have a shop do it?

 

How many miles did you have on your GT before you made the switch. I only have 1200 on my 2011.

 

What's the diff between redline mtl and redline mt-90 and why is mtl the recommended one?

 

Different weights and additives and it is recommended because it meets the Ford spec.

 

The MTL was 42 dollars. Got it from Jegs online. Did it myself with my dads help. Jacked it up level and drained it just like motor oil. The fill plug was a little harder to get to but just needed a regular hand allen wrench cause the space was to tight. Very simple though.

720 on my GT. Put 20 miles on the new fluid and is already showing an improvement.

 

Just got back from a car show today and all I can say is wow. I was a little skeptical on a fluid improving much but it did. 1-2 engagement is so much better. The double notch with a strange crunch is completely gone. I now have a solid notch in all gear selections.

Just wanted to say my car is a LOT happier now!!!

 

How much does this MT82 needs for a complete swap ?

 

2.7 quarts. Just get 3 quarts of MTL and take out about 10 ounces of fluid out of the last quart before putting it in. Should give you exactly 2.7.

 

Great, thx. I will go get some Redline on Monday and do the swap ASAP. My notchy, clunky 1-2 shifts are so annoying. Might also get a JHR shifter bracket as well .

 

That combination should practically remove the clunky 1-2 shift. The only thing that was originally worrying me was I was feeling a rough bite of the gears when transitioning to second which kept making me cringe. Its now pretty much gone. It does take some time for the Redline MTL to work into the synchros to begin helping but it does feel like it's improving over time. I think I can wait for the MGW shifter now. Hopefully you experience the same success I got!