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mtf 3 or equivalent

JAPIMPORT

JAPIMPORT

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Messages
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Location
Dublin ireland
Car
2002 ACCORD SE
hi ive just serviced my car today,ive done plugs oil, oil filter, air filter and changed the clutch master cylinder, while i was under the car i noticed that i will also need to change inner driveshaft boot,anyway i was thinking about the manual transmission fluid and changing it,what i would like to know does everyone use honda mtf 3 fluid or is there an equivalent thats as good as the honda mtf 3
 
Most people recommend MTFIII.

I use Redline MTL because I think it's better. Another popular alternative for Hondas is Amsoil MTF.
 
I've never seen MTF sold like that. Are you sure that's the real shizzle?
 
I use MTF3, they have all the right additives for Honda gearboxes, remember that Honda gearboxes are all designed and manufactuered by Honda themselves unlike most other manufacturers, so it is all propierty design. Failing that AmSoil gets great reviews and I might try that next time I am due an oil change.
 
Mr Honda said:
They buy genuine and rebottle it. Honda are cheaper for 3 litres to be honest, just ring your nearest dealer and ask?
http://www.honda.ie/dealers/
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I don't know what 29 euros is in proper money.

What you always have to remember is that these companies selling genuine Honda have to buy it and then make a profit. So usually if you actually ring a dealer you will get better value for money.
 
You can get a litre for about 10 euro from the dealer. I always get 3 litres as you end up losing some. While you're there, get a drain washer as well.

Basically, for a full MTF flush, you're looking at 30 euro in genuine parts - that's cheap.

Oh and you can go off and buy redline, etc, but the MTF3 is actually pretty good stuff.

FWIW - 30 EUR is about 24 STG.
 
Picked up some stuff to do on the weekend :)

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also have to do driverside inner cv boot,

and new power steering fluid,its bad i syringed some out to show yous :(

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All oils and lubrication products are made to a specification - the rest is just marketing.

Of course, if it makes you feel better to use an expensive, correct "brand" then go ahead; peace of mind is invaluable.

Personally I go to an oil wholesale company: "Aztec Oils" at Bolsover. Their products, to the correct specification, are much much cheaper than the brands with fancy labels. They buy huge containers of the stuff and then bottle it to sell at their retail counter.

For example, I used to own a Skoda Octavia with VW running gear. The urban wisdom was that if you did not use the "correct" VW spec oil, then the cam shaft would seize, and all life on earth as we know it, would come to an end.

A 5 litre pack from VW was around £60. The Aztec stuff - with a large label on it stating "VW specification *******". The cost was around £18 for 5 litres.

I used it several times and the world did not end.
 
hi there philip, :) i know what your saying about the marketing side of things,i did buy the expensive oils on my first cars,as i thought if its not the best the car will not run good etc,and i did find out that the world did not end :) but now these days i buy the right spec oil and not the top brands,on my first honda accord i usd to use 5w40 fully synthetic all the time and that was dearer than 10w40,the mtf3 fluid and power steering fluid is not that much dearer than lets say halfords products,for mtf fluid and power steering fluid it cost me 35 euro which is around 29 pound,thats not to bad i actually thought it would be dearer, on other honda forums its highly recommended to use honda mtf and honda power steering fluid,but for peace of mind i dont know when it was ever done,so i know it will be done and probably wont have to do it again,jesus 60 pound for oil thats crazy,never had a vw/skoda but i did hear that they drank oil and the gearboxs are soft,thats why i never had one,is there much difference in driving from the octavia compared to your accord did you have a diesel
 
Hi Tom

My present Accord, only owned it about two months or so, had a very bad power steering leak when I got it home. I was filling it up every day, but I got a litre of fluid from Aztec oils - I had them look up the correct spec. I think it was about £5 or £6 pounds. My local garage found the problem and fixed it. Alls well so far.

As regards the Skoda Octavia, I thought it was an excellent car, very well designed. However, it was a Diesel and they suffer (like a lot of modern diesels) from DMF and DPF problems. The duel mass flywheel is a common early failure and people are swapping them for an old fashioned solid flywheel and it costs a fortune. So whilst liking the mpg, I have decided to give diesels a miss until they get the technology sorted out. The one I owned was giving a few early signs that the DMF might be on its way out.

This is why I was so pleased to come across 6th gen Honda Accords. They are very well built and reliable and are cheap to buy. The present one is an SE and one of the last ones made. Now I have sorted out a few little problems, nothing major, its a terrific car. I like the conservative styling and the excellent fuel economy, the superb smooth VTEC engine. My last one on trips to Scotland gave me 40 mpg using the cruise. This present one gives a bit less.

I would love to have a type V. However until this extended period of my unemployment comes to an end, I cannot afford (good) one.
 
I would disagree with just using any old oil for some parts, engine oil its fine for example, but on the transmission you want good oil, ideally Honda's MTF as these gearboxes are all propierty and deisgned and made by Honda, majority of other manufacturers use third party geraboxes and do not make any of their own, so the Honda oil has all the right additives to protect the gearbox, there are some other oil like Amsoil which are good for Honda boxes.
 
What's actually so special about MTF-3? Is it even synthetic?

I used MTF-3 when I changed my gearbox oil about a year ago, despite this being long-overdue I didn't notice any difference whatsoever (but my gearbox was pretty good before the change). On the other hand, my Toyota has a constant and annoying whine in 6th gear, so I bought some Valvoline stuff that promises wonders, specifically for transaxles with limited slip diffs... that didn't make any difference either!

Does gearbox oil really matter, so long as there's enough suitable oil in there?
 
Jon_G said:
What's actually so special about MTF-3? Is it even synthetic?

I used MTF-3 when I changed my gearbox oil about a year ago, despite this being long-overdue I didn't notice any difference whatsoever (but my gearbox was pretty good before the change). On the other hand, my Toyota has a constant and annoying whine in 6th gear, so I bought some Valvoline stuff that promises wonders, specifically for transaxles with limited slip diffs... that didn't make any difference either!

Does gearbox oil really matter, so long as there's enough suitable oil in there?
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I'm thinking the same Jon as I changed mine a few weeks ago and can't see any improvement at al even though it was fine before
 
Its true that the "correct" oil is important - its the specification that is important and must be correct.

Honda obviously supply the correct stuff, but do charge a lot.

Its the same with all products and consumerism. I always look at the list of ingredients on products, and then compare the prices. For example I bought some mouth wash the other day. Listerine costs £2.45 a bottle. Below it was another bottle from the stores value range - 80 pence. I compared the list of ingredients in the small print on the back. The only difference was the colouring and flavouring used - in fact the cheaper one had sightly more flouride in it.

So take your pick, green stuff at 80p or pale pink stuff at £2.45. Of course when I was rich, I would have bought the pink stuff, because I could - a matter of pride!

Now I am unemployed and poor. If anyone needs an ageing systems engineer, 60 years wise, then please get in touch. Then I could get a Type V and put MTF 3 in it!
 
Guys, the big thing with the gearbox oils is not just the oil itself, but it is the friction additives. These are essential ingredients to ensure that the synchros catch and spin at the right speed. At the lubrication or cooling level, almost any normal oil will do (even Honda say you can use 10w40 if you're stuck).

These additives are critical to get right as if there is too little friction the synchros won't catch and you get gear grinding and a shorten lifespan of the rings and in essence gearbox. Too much friction and the rings won't let go properly and you have stiff changes.

Honda have formulated MTF for their specific gearboxes (all the way up to the S2000 and NSX) and it is on its 3rd itteration (MTF3), so it's good stuff. In reality the cost of genuine vs non-genuine stuff isn't really worth the risk, is it?

E.g. 3 litres of MTF is about EUR30 over here versus non-genuine which is about EUR15, it costs a hell of a lot more that EUR15 to change the gearbox.
 
You won't notice any difference if your gearbox is fine already, but changing it and using the correct ones will protect your box.

I noticed a massive difference, my gerabox was really notchy (started thread on these), then I did an MTF change and it made a huge difference, the gearchanged went from notchy to buttery smooth, theres still some issues but its clutch related. The Amsoil MTF are really highly regarded aswell, most people use them in the Type R's and performance models and those who have notchy boxes tend to rave about how Amsoil fixes this issue, when even the Honda stuff doesn't. Not all oil is the same stuff, different oil have different additives even if both meed basic specs, one might have an additive that could turn a notchy box to a more smoother one.
 
Jon_G said:
What's actually so special about MTF-3? Is it even synthetic?

I used MTF-3 when I changed my gearbox oil about a year ago, despite this being long-overdue I didn't notice any difference whatsoever (but my gearbox was pretty good before the change). On the other hand, my Toyota has a constant and annoying whine in 6th gear, so I bought some Valvoline stuff that promises wonders, specifically for transaxles with limited slip diffs... that didn't make any difference either!

Does gearbox oil really matter, so long as there's enough suitable oil in there?
Click to expand...
It's very thin, low 40s cST, same as an ATF.
 
Hi :) just completed my mtf change and power steering fluid change this morning,the job went smooth enough,i can report that my gear change seems to be smoother,it was notchy ,im happy with it,but ill know for sure when i drive it more :) the power steering fluid was bad it was totally black,didnt notice a difference with that,but at least its done
 
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