Posted on 05/01/2011 10:49:54 AM PDT by Signalman
What if the owner's manual is wrong? I had an 88 Dodge Dakota and had always learned to change the tranny fluid every 30,000 miles. The owner's manual stated to use Mopar ATF+ Type 7176 or Dextron II. Well the local parts store didn't carry Type 7176 so I put in Dextron II.
Just over 70,000 miles (can you say after warranty?) the tranny went out. Had it rebuilt and it died again at 98,000 miles. Shortly after that, the guy at the parts store looked it up on his computer and there it was:
Mopar Type 7176
Dextron II
WARNING! Use of Dextron II in this (Chrysler 904) transmission can cause premature failure of the torque converter.
If it caused the tranny to fail, WHY DID THE MANUAL STATE IS COULD BE USED??????
Hey thanks for the favorite quotes link!
I saved it in my “favorites” and I am sure I will use it often. Looks very useful and fun.
Cheers!
Cool.
hey Kansas, how did you go about getting them to claim responsibility? the regional director keeps trying to claim their dexron with additive is a sufficient alt to jws3309 which we of course know, is not.
I told them that I would hurt their business far more than the cost of my transmission, if they did not make it right.
This is an awesome article about sealed transmissions and fluid, yet people are talking about changing oil, lol come on there are plenty of articles on that. I haven’t found any good advice on sealed trans until I talked to a chrysler guy today then happened to stumble on this.
Sealed transmission do not need the fluid changed unless you’re towing or change it every 60k. Even if the fluid is a little dirty, that’s all the more reason not to change. It means the trans has settled in and somehow it uses the contamination to fill.. something idk.
I drive a dodge magnum, 160k, has sealed trans and hasn’t given me one problem. I was trying to figure out if I should change it or not but the chrysler guy and this article gives good reasons not to. I was very glad to stumble across this
I spent 25 years developing HD automatics at Allison.
Fresh fluid is always your friend.
I will agree it’s important that it be done correctly.
We referred to the typical dealer transmission flush as “wallet flush”
18 months of quiet... but here goes...
I just bot a Mercedes E320 Wagon in Sacramento California, drove it to a bunch of junkyards on Rt 99, filled it with old dusty Cheby Teeruk parts and Corvair parts.
I decided before I left for home to change the very dark tranny oil. I know all the arguments, but my belief is that folks change the oil when a problem creeps up, so they surmise the fresh oil led to a failure. I never believed there were scrubbing bubbles breaking loose sludge.
So I dumped the mud, and drained the TC as well, got 7 qts out in total. I used FEBI made in Germany oil from NAPA, $9 a qt + tx. I was advised to use Valvoline Max Life at $7 a qt, but I splurged on the FEBI.
I had a 3,000 mile drive home... So what do you guys think happened?
Never heard of FEBI, but I assume it’s made to be compatible with vehicles of the Fatherland.
Looked them up, I see they’re part of Bilstein.
Yup, FEBI is like Mother’s milk for a baby. I figured if NAPA says to use it, and it’s made in Germany... And I wonder what the real diff is between all the various formulas?
Back in my youth, FORD spec oil had less slipperiness to make up for harder clutch-disc friction material. so if one was to use GM fluid, the shifts would be slightly harder, IMO a good thing!
I didn’t detect any change in the shift quality, and we made it 3,000 miles home, most of the time cruising at 80mph w 3 step bumpers strapped to the roof!
I may try sell the car, and I may change the oil again. Now I have an eBay dipstick, better than the speedo cable my friend found on the ground in a junkyard to check the oil!
Online chatter said the tranny is VERY sensitive to oil level, a few ounces either way could affect the tranny. BS, I took it to the Merc dealer in Palm springs, and his stick showed 1 qt low. I added 1 more qt when I filled it, so much for every ounce meaning something.
I vidded the entire trip, it’s all on ytube CORVAIRWILD
Great story man! Will check out the vids.
You probably don’t keep your cars for mare than 100K miles. Some of us nurse them along for 200K or more so we know a lot about the “racket”.
From what I’m reading, the trans (rather than the engine) is now often the first major component to fail at high miles, leading to vehicle scrappage.
Changing every 50,000 miles or so is a good practice, especially if you can do it yourself, not very expensive.
The no dip stick thing is killing me. The manufactures are saying drive your car for 100K then scrap it. Planned obsolescence. I have given up on AT’s even though I like them, when I buy used car/truck a get a stick shift. Yes new clutches are expensive but it is a known cost with a lot of lead time.
“If it caused the tranny to fail, WHY DID THE MANUAL STATE IS COULD BE USED??????”
Manuals are often updated. You must always check with the manufacturer for errata sheets before making such decisions.
Case in point: The BMW manual states the rear shaft drive fluid in their motorcycles never needs to be changed. The errata says it must be changed and checked for leaks every 6,000 miles. Failure to do so voids the warranty.
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