Sythetic Tranny fluid?

[kleetus]

Has anybody switched to sythetic tranny fluid yet? I looked at mobil 1's tranny fluid, but I can't see anywhere where it meets the Mercon V rating. I have a hard time believing it doesn't, but... Red Line does, but at like 10 bucks a quart, that's a little steep to swap out 13 or 15 quarts or whatever the number is we hold...

Any suggestions?

 

[formerknown]

Mercon V will do you just fine, and is already a sem-synthetic. To be honest, I've heard that Mobil 1 synthetic tranny fluid isn't that great and is a waste of money. A trusted friend and tranny expert tells me that Mercon V will do you just fine performance wise...

 

[l-m tech]

Mercon V will do you just fine, and is already a sem-synthetic. To be honest, I've heard that Mobil 1 synthetic tranny fluid isn't that great and is a waste of money. A trusted friend and tranny expert tells me that Mercon V will do you just fine performance wise...

evillally is right.the synthetic from modil 1 is not needed.the extra money you spent could buy you your favorite beverage and a pizza for when you are changing it.

 

[ONEBADMK8]

Valvoline Mercon V blend works best in all our experiences.

 

[Dartastic]

Ive owned 9 vehicles, all Fords, and had the tranny rebuilt in 2 of them. A 78 Bronco with a C6 and a 74 Bronco with a C4. I think fluid is a non issue. IMHO.

 

[purelux]

The mobil atf that is out now is not mercon V comatible. I use amsoil but redline says theirs is V compatible as well. The main problem to trannies is heat. Though synthetic is more resilliant to heat and wear and if your pounding on the ar is definatly a good idea as well as or a extra or external tranny cooler. In my car a 98 tc the car shifts quicker and smoother than before and no the fluid wasn't burnt or worn out or anything. Actual mercon V is a bit pricy but a say valvoline or whatnot thats compatible is not too bad $$ wise.

 

[kleetus]

I was kinda curious about that. Unless I misread what the others posted, sounds like they are running non Merc V fluid. Now seeing that this is what Ford wants in it, I'm wondering what they are running and how it's shifting. These things are tempermental enough as it is...

The older stuff I don't think cares to be honest... C4 and C6? I think they would run on vegetable oil if you tried hard enough, they were tough! With the advent of electronically shifted trannies, I think the spec on the fluid has become more stringent. If for nothing else, for longer warranty intervals.

I plan to install a stout cooler, as soon as I can figure out where it will fit...

 

[Dartastic]

I was kinda curious about that. Unless I misread what the others posted, sounds like they are running non Merc V fluid. Now seeing that this is what Ford wants in it, I'm wondering what they are running and how it's shifting. These things are tempermental enough as it is...

The older stuff I don't think cares to be honest... C4 and C6? I think they would run on vegetable oil if you tried hard enough, they were tough! With the advent of electronically shifted trannies, I think the spec on the fluid has become more stringent. If for nothing else, for longer warranty intervals.

I plan to install a stout cooler, as soon as I can figure out where it will fit...

My other cars
74 Ford Elite
85 Mustang GT 5 spd
88 Convertible GT
89 Convertible GT
95 Mark VIII
2001 Windstar
2004 Lincoln LS

The more I think about it I guess you are right. Minivan only has 50k or so. Mark VIII had over 130k when I got rid of it.

 

[purelux]

Many are running non mercon V fluid, but it is still mercon V compatible. Meaning it protects/works as well or better than the actual mercon V fluid.

 

[Dutch]

Ive owned 9 vehicles, all Fords, and had the tranny rebuilt in 2 of them. A 78 Bronco with a C6 and a 74 Bronco with a C4. I think fluid is a non issue. IMHO.

That's funny, I've owned 4 Ford products with RWD and automatic transmissions, and 3 of them needed a total of 4 tranny rebuilds. '77 Granada at ~70k and ~150k miles, '90 Crown Vic at 100k miles, and '00 Mustang at 12k miles.

I'm so paranoid about the tranny in my Lincoln I'm changing the fluid every 20k miles and never using overdrive in town.

EDIT: As far as the type of fluid, you can use regular cheap tranny fluid if you use special friction modifier. It saves alot of money - that's what I ran in my Mustang without trouble after I had the tranny rebuilt.

 

[kleetus]

How can non mercon V fluid be better than Mercon V? If you look at the spec for V fluid it's better in almost every way. I think the only thing that's off is the low end temperature that it's usable at, but it's like -45 or something strange.