Syn ATF, High Milage Tranny

[landtoy80]

Does it matter what brand of ATF or syn atf in the tranny and power steering on a tranny and PS with high milage?
M1 is about $5, Amsoil $8, Redline $$$?, or name brand syn atf (Val,QuakerState,etc.)
Whats the different between the ATF's?
I don't tow but do carry a lot of weight at times.

 

[RavenTai]

there is not much info out there about ATF (compared to oil)

I really liked what Mobil one did for my Allison 5 speed auto over the Castrol Transynd witch I used first, have used M1 since, so far have put 1 pan full in the 80 have not noticed any difference, flushed it both it and the PS with 2 cases of chevron before that, the chevron turned brown in the PS, not sure if it could not handle the heat or if it dissolved sludge, plan to put M1 in the PS next OCI

I do have a problem with flaring at the stop sign at the end of my road when cold but that showed up when I pulled the throttle body so I think it is in the TPS or kick down cable adjustment

Can’t remember for sure if that was before or after M1, but I think it was before.

in short, go M1 or go with any name brand dino and change it often, there are a lot of idea's for how in past threads.

 

[cary]

Any of the brand name synths will work fine in your tranny as long as they are Dextron III approved. Mobil 1 ATF meets these needs and Redline D4 ATF does also. I run Redline but, I can also get it for $6.25/quart.

Note the primary benifits of synths in an automatic is that they will make for more consistant shifts in very cold weather during warmup and can last longer. Also, if you do run the truck hard , they will tolerate higher temps before breaking down and varnishing. In the real world it is highly unlikely you will get the tranny hot enough for this to occur. Finally, you can run synths for longer intervals. As Raven Tai said, mineral ATF changed regularly works just fine and won't harm anything.

 

[concretejungle]

I feel real comfortable using M1 stuff since they are the ones who pioneered synthetics.

 

[cary]

I believe that Synthetics were pioneered by the Germans in the 1930's and the first API approved synth on the market was Amsoil. However, Mobil 1 definetely has the most R&D $ and research behind them and is the best deal in Synthetics going. I am a believer in Redline's Gear and ATF oils given their track record with MTL and diff life in race cars. That said, if I had to pay $8 a quart for it, I would use Mobil 1 ATF instead.

 

[landtoy80]

<<<In the real world it is highly unlikely you will get the tranny hot enough for this to occur.>>>
Well, when I cooked my t-case, it was sooooo hot it took 3 to 4 hrs to cool enough to unlock the VC.
I would of took longer but I hosed it with water to cool it after the 3 hr.

 

[pcruiser80]

I run Redline synthetics in the front/rear diffs and tcase. I use mineral-based oil in the transmission and change it at 30k miles. I'm nervous about putting synthetic oil in an automatic tranny with 151k miles on it without knowing the service history. (I bought it used)

My theory is that running synthetic will loosen up varnish and stuff in an old tranny similar to the power-flush. I may be wrong but that's my story and I'm sticking to it! I would also be concerned about the older seals on a high mileage tranny weeping more synthetic fluid than mineral.

Powell

 

[ryankalel]

I recently switched my ATF to synthetic using the tranny cooler fluid exchange method. The tranny shifts much smoother and I can hardly tell when it shifts into overdrive. I used the M1. I have about 120K miles. I think I spent close to $100 to exchangeeverything. Considering that I priced a tranny flush at the local shops for $135++ with regular ATF I saved at least $35 doing it myself.

 

[landtoy80]

I run Redline synthetics in the front/rear diffs and tcase. I use mineral-based oil in the transmission and change it at 30k miles. I'm nervous about putting synthetic oil in an automatic tranny with 151k miles on it without knowing the service history. (I bought it used)

My theory is that running synthetic will loosen up varnish and stuff in an old tranny similar to the power-flush. I may be wrong but that's my story and I'm sticking to it! I would also be concerned about the older seals on a high mileage tranny weeping more synthetic fluid than mineral.

Powell

Dito, I was worried about it too.
BUT I have yet to talk to anyone at said its "not ok to do so".
I have talked to a couple tranny shops and they said it ok to do so.

 

[bjowett]

I run Amsoil Dexron 2 in my 93, put it in there ar 136k, no leaks at 140k. D2 is a little thinner than the later D3 versions.... Toyota specs D2, so D2 it receives.

 

[fzj80kidpen]

Syn Atf ?

I have an old 87 Cressida (also inline 6) in addition to my 96 fzj80.
The cressida has 192K miles on it and the other day when I went to go to work it acted up. Somehow it got stuck in 2nd gear. I could not manually put into 1st and it would not shift up when in D. Just P, R, 2nd.
Frustrated I returned home. Called around and got some $ #. Turns out the local stealership charged the same as everyone else to flush the tranny. What else could I do? So I took it in and it drove fine. Shift perfect, paid $100 for the tranny flush. While there I snooped around the back and noticed that they use Kendall ATF and oil. Evident by the the big barrell all over. While there one of the guys starts talking to me and volunteers up some info. He says that they have only seen one vehicles transmission just completely come apart after a flush job. This dealership has 30 bays full all the time with 2 flush stations. Again I did not ask the tech just volunteered up the info.
Cressida still shifting good.

FJZ80Kidpen

 

[concretejungle]

Just for additional input, i changed out my dino tranny fluid to M1 synthetic and i've noticed a smoother shift. Changed it at approx. 130,000 miles. No leaks as of yet and it's at 160,000.

 

[carolina_cruiser]

I recently changed (not flushed, just ~6 qts) my ATF with Redline. Shifting seems a little smoother, but I expect better results after future changes / dilutions.

I went with Redline purely out of brand loyatly. My MR2 had problems with the synchros when I bought it at 120K mi. A few thousand miles after switching to Redline MTL those problems were completely gone and the gearbox is still going strong at well over 200K. I know SCCA racers who swear by the stuff.