transmission oil questions: help!

[fiznat]

the synchros in my transmission are a little worn (it likes to grind sometimes going into first and third), so I thought I'd change the oil and see if that helps a little bit... I doubt the previous owner ever changed it so why not.

My first question is to confirm what weight gear oil I should use for the transmission. The guys at the auto parts store looked it up and said 80wt 90, but I wanted to double check just to be sure.

I also have already drained the oil that was in there, and.. jeez, it looks REAL thin and it has a LOT of metal flakes in it. It looks like some sort of metalic paint. Also the magnet on the drain plug had about 1/2" tall spikes of metal collected on it. I wanted to know if this is normal for a transmission that hasnt had its oil changed in 158,000 miles, or is my transmission showing an unusual amount of wear?

[NISTECH]

thats a pretty heavy amount of metal by your description. 80w-90 is the recommended fluid. go with some red line or something along those lines. you probably have some pretty extensive wear to the gears in the transmission but more importantly all that metal was running through the internal bearings, which isn't good. dont be suprised if when you get done you hear howling noise from your trans when the clutch is engauged.

[fiznat]

thanks nistech!

I finished changing the oil this morning (took pics too, I'll make a DIY about it soon...), and now my shifting feels silky smooth. I used to grind a little going into first every once in a while, but I drove almost 150 miles today and not a peep outta the transmission. No howling noise with the clutch either... I'm glad I did it, it made a huge difference in feel... I'm just hoping that metal in there didnt cause (or wasnt caused by...) anything serious.

I'll keep you guys posted. Thanks again!