Recommended TR-3650 fluid?

[5.0 Hatch]

I'm in the middle of swapping out my shifter and figured I'd change the fluid at the same time. If I remember correctly, I'm running Vavoline ATF. Cold shifting stinks but once it warms up, it's fine. I did some research and saw everything from Vavoline maxlife to penzoil syncromesh and everything in between. Anyone have any recommendations? I also see it takes 3.2qt.

 

[2003RedfireVert]

I always ran factory fluid (Mercon III I think). I always was nervous the synchromesh would ruin the syncros. I never could find legit information on it so I errored on the side of caution. Mine shifted perfectly fine, albeit notchy when cold. I’m sure the synchromesh is fine to run and it’s what everyone seems to run in them. I also ran 3.2qts vs the 3.6 which I thought was spec but I could wrong…that was apparently part of the problem too with the notchiness. Who knows…..I should probably google before I post

 

[robvas]

Some guys swear by fluid X and some guys won't touch it.

I have always used generic ATF and it's been fine. Just don't think the fluid is going to be a magic fix if you have clutch or synchro issues already.

 

[Bullitt1448]

There is no magic bullet fluid that will repair clutch or transmission mechanical issues. Fix the issues then add whatever fluid you find works best. Your car wil be much happier

 

[Deceptive]

Per Tremec, GM Synchromesh


Sent from my iPhone using svtperformance.com

 

[5.0 Hatch]

There is no magic bullet fluid that will repair clutch or transmission mechanical issues. Fix the issues then add whatever fluid you find works best. Your car wil be much happier

I guess I should have clarified, nothing is wrong with trans outside of the notchy cold shifting. I'm installing a shifter and since I have access to change the fluid, I will. Was just looking for recommendations on what seems to work best.

 

[Bullitt1448]

I guess I should have clarified, nothing is wrong with trans outside of the notchy cold shifting. I'm installing a shifter and since I have access to change the fluid, I will. Was just looking for recommendations on what seems to work best.

My misunderstanding, sorry my personal recommendation is Royal Purple but everyone has their own favorite brands. Amsoil seems to be pretty popular too.

 

[52merc]

I went with Royal Purple for the first oil change. I thought it helped a bit over OE. Then I switched to Amsoil and that was a big improvement over the OE and the RP. I know, Scamsoil.

 

[cidsamuth]

When I had a 3650, I experimented little to see if one was smoother than the other. No problems, I was just curious if there was some smoothness to be found.

I did Mercon V, Pennzoil Syncromesh, and Mobil 1 ATF back-to-back-to-back.

By far, the Syncromesh was the smoothest. Was it good or bad for longevity? I can't tell you.

BTW, there are forum posts that say Tremec recommended Syncromesh back in the day, but that's second hand info. When I called Tremec in 2018, they would only recommend Mobil 1. I'm sure there are a lot of factors that weighed into that though. The guy was clearly reading from a script.

 

[Badaz01]

I used tremec brand fluid in my t56. It’s what came with it when I swapped out my 3650.

 

[shurur]

Answers will vary..T45
I switched from Valvoline to Castrol to Redline. Iirc it was D4...

I like the Redline best.

 

[FIREBALL]

Before I converted to a T56, I tried them all including Mobile 1, Amsoil and then the so called secret sauce mix. The truth is the 3650 is a lousy shiftter even when new or low miles. The best that worked for me was the Penzoil syncromesh (same as GM) or Red Line Atf but like all the others they only work well for a little while until the shifting gets notchy again. Even the Tremec snycromesh didnt last long. My 2001 with the 3650 with very low miles and the clutch was in adjustment and working well but shifting was horrible so I converted to the T56 with also having some notchiness issues but after break in and going with the Tremec oil it is a good improvement over the 3650 and shifts pretty smooth. Sorry but there are 100 different opinions of what works the best for the 3650 and with many post, but in the end you have to just live with the 3650 notchiness. Every once and awhile someone here will say theirs shifts like butter after using a certain oil----thats baloney to put it mildly. Most of the younger guys here dont know what shifts like butter really feels llike, Ive had alot of manual transmission through the years and nothing has shifted as smooth as an old 3speed Borg Warner or 4 speed muncie with hurst shifters and it hardly matter what oil they had in them.

 

[Badaz01]

Before I converted to a T56, I tried them all including Mobile 1 and then the so called secret sauce mix. The truth is the 3650 is a lousy shiftter even when new or low miles. The best that worked for me was the Penzoil syncromesh or Red Line Atf but like all the others they only work well for a little while until the shifting gets notchy again. Even the Tremec snycromesh didnt last long. My 2001 with the 3650 with very low miles and the clutch was in adjustment and working well but shifting was horrible so I converted to the T56 with also having some notchiness issues but after break in and going with the Tremec oil it is a good improvement over the 3650. Sorry but there are 100 different opinions of what works the best for the 3650 and with many post, but in the end you have to just live with the 3650 notchiness. Every once and awhile someone here will say theirs shifts like butter after using a certain oil----thats baloney to put it mildly.

My first couple cold shifts are notchy on my t56, but after that it does indeed shift like butter.

 

[shurur]

Before I converted to a T56, I tried them all including Mobile 1, Amsoil and then the so called secret sauce mix. The truth is the 3650 is a lousy shiftter even when new or low miles. The best that worked for me was the Penzoil syncromesh (same as GM) or Red Line Atf but like all the others they only work well for a little while until the shifting gets notchy again. Even the Tremec snycromesh didnt last long. My 2001 with the 3650 with very low miles and the clutch was in adjustment and working well but shifting was horrible so I converted to the T56 with also having some notchiness issues but after break in and going with the Tremec oil it is a good improvement over the 3650 and shifts pretty smooth. Sorry but there are 100 different opinions of what works the best for the 3650 and with many post, but in the end you have to just live with the 3650 notchiness. Every once and awhile someone here will say theirs shifts like butter after using a certain oil----thats baloney to put it mildly. Most of the younger guys here dont know what shifts like butter really feels llike, Ive had alot of manual transmission through the years and nothing has shifted as smooth as an old 3speed Borg Warner or 4 speed muncie with hurst shifters and it hardly matter what oil they had in them.

Like butter....vague, sloppy and lose.