Hey dudes and gals. I owned a 06 Auto TL and the tranny shat out so I had it replaced at an AZ members shop: rebuilt instead of replaced with remanufacture like i asked, leaked after first drive around, and cost me additional money to have my man Trevor here fix it up the aftermath.

Anyway, tomorrow i'm looking to pick up an 04 MANUAL @ 113k miles. 105k was done at 90k, waiting for receipt paperwork. What specific things am I really looking for here. I have owned the car but auto tranny. So I figured I'd cover my basis by asked the members.

From what I know the j32 is a pretty solid, except for the shitty tranny in 04-06.

Any concerns about the manual. What will need/should have been replaced at this milage or in the future?


Thanks!!

 

Hey! Welcome to the 6spd crew. I have an 05 TL that just hit 200k km. (~120k miles)

I would change the manual transmission fluid once a year. (No need for GM synchromesh unless you get 3rd gear grinding) Keeps the tranny happy and it's not expensive. (110$/flush at the dealership in Toronto.)

In terms of the "3rd gear grinding" problem, the only time my 3rd gear ever pops out is when I don't firmly shift it into gear before letting off the clutch. Don't be lazy with shifts. Buy a weighted shift knob and make sure you do crisp shifts.

Overall, clutch is drivable in heavy traffic. It's not as heavy as some that I've tried. (ahem focus st.) Throws are a bit on the long side but I kind of enjoy long throws. They're so satisfying with the mechanical click when you put it into gear. It's all subjective, I guess.

Enjoy your TL! Maintenance is key.

 

When I got mine it would pop out of 3rd gear frequently. Drove me nuts. Dealer wanted to replace the synchros I changed the fluid to GM synchro mesh and I haven't had a single issue in the year since then. Clearly that fluid is made in a lab using pixiedust and ground up unicorn horns.

OP - do it, get the car. It's one of the best daily drivers possible.