How can you tell the difference between regular gear oil and the GL-4?

Be wary of any gear oil with a GL-5 rating on the label. They can make the gearbox feel notchy, and worse, may contain compounds that can harm the "yellow" metals in your transmission's bushings and synchronizers.

In my limited experience I've found only 2 aftermarket oils that work well in the X manual transmission. They are:
1) a 50/50 mix of Redline MT-L and MT90 and 2) Amsoil MTG.

I'm sure there are others, too.

Well, I took my Xterra into a different Nissan dealer today to check out why my transmission is grinding when I shift into 4th. Of course this only started after the last service about a month ago. They think it's a synchro and are going to rebuild it. They said that they couldn't even tell what type of fluid was put in it. I would take it back to the dealer that serviced it, but they where under water last week and are closed!!!

Used the Royal Purple GL-4 in my old 2000 X, wasn't actually that happy tho, made shifting into 1st a pain in the ass.

So got rid of the 2000 and got an 05 instead, problem solved!

Definitely use GL4 and not GL5. NAPA has GL4 dino oil in 2 qt jugs...that's about the cheapest I've seen it. It's typically not stocked at most other chain auto parts stores.

Or, you can do like I did and go with the NV4500 full synthetic Castrol used in 1ton Dodge and Chevy trucks. Costs about $90 for the 6 quarts, but you get the piece of mind of a full synthetic, and best of all, the stuff is odorless, unlike most other stinky gear oil.

No, the best part is that the transmission shifts just as buttery smooth at 30 below as it does at 100 degrees! I got over the initial cost shock very quickly... it is well worth the money, IMO and I paid a lot more than that for it.

BTW, for the original poster, it's Castrol Syntorq LT (for low temp). It's a 75W-85 GL-4 and it kicks ass. Very hard to find, but DR has a link somewhere, or you can pay more and get it from Dodge or GM.

if you want a high quality synthetic i recommend MTL-P from specialtyformulations.com. it is what i have in my xterra and i have MTL-R in my tacoma.
it is also 75w85 which is what nissan calls for. it is expensive but i believe it is worth it.shifting is smooth even in cold weather.amsoil also makes a manual transmission lube (MTG)that would also be an excellant choice.

I thought 4 quarts would do it for the 2000 5 spd. Or are you talking auto?

brad cook

I don't know what the Xterra manual takes...the manual in my Frontier takes just over 5 quarts, and by jacking up the left hand side of the truck, I was able to get 6 quarts into it. A little overfill is not a bad thing, particularly if you do a lot of hillclimbs, etc.

A 2000 manual takes a tad under 6 quarts.

Damn...I thought I read 4. Now I've gotta blow 30 more bucks on two more quarts of Syntorq. Better to find out now rather than while I'm changing the oil though. I was going to do it last week while I was off work but came down with the flu.

brad cook

Pretty sure you can detect GL5 just by the awful smell alone...

GL4 Dino oil stinks too.