MAINTENANCE TIP
For the most part, typical maintenance on manual transmissions involves
checking and maintaining the lubricant level. In days gone by, most manual
transmissions used 90-weight gear oil as the standard for lubricant. In the last
decade this has changed dramatically. Carmakers use synthetic gear lube,
motor oil, automatic transmission fluid, and gear oil (and not necessarily 90-
weight). The best way to determine what lubricant your vehicle’s
transmission takes is to check your owner’s manual. Or maybe you should let
your professional technician add the fluid to your manual transmission. On
transmissions with external gearshift linkage, check the adjustments and
adjust as necessary. Make sure there are no leaks and, if there are, tend to
them immediately. The loss of transmission lubricant can result in major
damage and a lot of expense.