Sounds to me like the guy that did your service for the water puddle incident didn't get all the water out of the transmission before he refilled it.

It's a manual gearbox, I can't see why simply another thorough lube change maybe with some kind of water displacement flush wouldn't fix the problem. It's not like there are hydraulic circuits in it like in an automatic or a torque convertor with fins etc.

Transmission fluid and other petroleum based lubes get milky from water contamination most commonly.

Also, changing your manual transmission lube 4-6 times a year is serious overkill in any four wheeled daily driver type automobile at any mileage per year not to mention wasteful and expensive.

It's also possible they were yanking your chain at the service place, can't hurt to do as others said and get a second opinion.

 

she's got a manual, not an auto... no cooler, maybe a dipstick, maybe not, i don't know.
manual transmissions/transaxles normally just have a fill plug and a drain plug. i would expect ? it to use a 90 weight gear lube. (see owners manual). shoudn't cost but $25 or less to have it drained and changed ? right ? i'd still recommend a second opinion, and if it needs it, do it, and it should seriously be good for 100,000 miles as long as your ex stays out of rivers. most people with manual transmissions never, ever, change the fluid. good luck.

 

you can run that 90 wt since your in ga but up here in montana or anyplace that gets cold cold you dont dare run it...

 

Pennzoil syncromesh is great for the neon's MTX.

 

How often do you change you mtx fluid?

 

If you are asking me....about every 100,000 miles or so.

 

Anyone have any ideas why there is milky substance in our transmission fluid that we just changed but let sit for 3 weeks?

 

Do you mean if you drain the fluid its straight milk shake or there was a little milk found on the fill cap? Its normal for motors and trannys to get a little moisture on the caps especially in the cold weather. Short trips or letting the car sit often without driving can make it more noticeable. If there is excessive moisture either you ran it under water, someone put water in it, or you have a huge hole in the casing. I use either purple royal manual trans fluid syncro max (which is like the syncromax and syncromesh made by other company's). But I recently switched to 10w-40 mobil 1 high mileage after seeing this .

I change my fluid every 20-30k on cars I care about.