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So my new Boxster S (2009, manual) has been pretty well taken care of, most everything is in very good shape and only 30k miles. However, the when shifting, I noticed some gear lash, especially going into third. My first thought was the obvious: synchros going bad. Likely, this is the inevitable problem.
But then I started thinking about the other possibilities. The car has a Numeric adjustable shifter, and as I really paid attention, I noticed that it wasn't lined up very well with the neutral position perfectly between 3rd and 4th. I had a mechanic tweak that, and it helped a little.
Then I went through all of the previous owner's records (provided with the car, nice!) and noticed that from 2009-2017, the manual transmission fluid hadn't been changed - ever. So I put up the Boxster on ye ol' jack stands and drained the trans fluid.
It was dark to the point of opaque, and when I gave it good look under the light, it was rather sparkly from what looked like metal dust. I assume all that's to be expected to when the fluid has been running for that many years.
I refilled with Redline 75w90, and after a twenty minute drive, Boxster's transmission felt considerably better - not good as new, not as smooth as my 2008 (rest in peace) but still a huge improvement.
Here're the questions I've come up with:
1- Was 75w90 (GL5) the right choice to get maximum protection of the synchros?
2- The Boxster has a Wavetrac TBD (supposed to be maintenance free), but I found a lot of mixed data on limited slip differentials using slightly different oils in the transaxle. Does that only apply to actual LSD's or would TBD's need that, as well?
3- I'm planning on driving the Boxster gently for 6 months or a 1000 miles and then changing the trans fluid again to remove any remaining "sparkly metallic bits." Is that a waste of time? Have I done enough already? Or should I put in something like Royal Purple with special additives for synchros?
Thanks for reading all that. All advice appreciated. Cheers!
But then I started thinking about the other possibilities. The car has a Numeric adjustable shifter, and as I really paid attention, I noticed that it wasn't lined up very well with the neutral position perfectly between 3rd and 4th. I had a mechanic tweak that, and it helped a little.
Then I went through all of the previous owner's records (provided with the car, nice!) and noticed that from 2009-2017, the manual transmission fluid hadn't been changed - ever. So I put up the Boxster on ye ol' jack stands and drained the trans fluid.
It was dark to the point of opaque, and when I gave it good look under the light, it was rather sparkly from what looked like metal dust. I assume all that's to be expected to when the fluid has been running for that many years.
I refilled with Redline 75w90, and after a twenty minute drive, Boxster's transmission felt considerably better - not good as new, not as smooth as my 2008 (rest in peace) but still a huge improvement.
Here're the questions I've come up with:
1- Was 75w90 (GL5) the right choice to get maximum protection of the synchros?
2- The Boxster has a Wavetrac TBD (supposed to be maintenance free), but I found a lot of mixed data on limited slip differentials using slightly different oils in the transaxle. Does that only apply to actual LSD's or would TBD's need that, as well?
3- I'm planning on driving the Boxster gently for 6 months or a 1000 miles and then changing the trans fluid again to remove any remaining "sparkly metallic bits." Is that a waste of time? Have I done enough already? Or should I put in something like Royal Purple with special additives for synchros?
Thanks for reading all that. All advice appreciated. Cheers!