What Type Of Tranny Flud?

97' CTD

97' CTD

FeFiFo-FoFeFeFi
Joined
Jun 4, 2007
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Well I have my converter and VB from Dave that I ordered through Garrett at PDP and my billet shafts yada yada, (I plan) to tear out my old stuff tomorrow and get the cores sent back Tues.

My question is: what kind of fluid to run? Has anyone ran the racing type synthetic fluid from Redline or Royal Purple? What have the auto gurus found to work best?

Thanks aton,
Brandon
 
Schaeffer's synthetic ATF, it's not as "slippy" as other brand synthetic ATF and handles heat exceptionally well. I've had way less trans issues since I switched.
 
I use dexron/mercon with Lubeguard friction modifier in the black bottle.

I was going to try Red Line since they are local to me and a friend works there, but Sun Coast advised against running synthetic.
 
royal purple max atf has treated me well so far. but if you are gonna drive it every day,, valvoline atf+4 is synthetic and a lot cheaper. at 6 bucks a qt its not quite the bargain
 
I have been running amsoil ATF and am very pleased. Tranny is on its 4th season, with no issues. I have changed the filter several times during VB changes, and Torque convertor changes, but have reused the fluid. This last summer during a 2 minute plus spool up the fluid wasn't burnt smelling, but it was a little brown, I drained the pan and put new fluid back in it. So far so good.
 
i run Royal Purple in my truck and i love it,my truck is a daily driver, thats why i chose to go with synthetic fluid in my engine, trans and diff.
 
Either Amsoil like dan was talking about or run Ford fluid with a couple of quarts of motor oil in it, ford fluid is grabby on clutches.

Jim
 
Jim Fulmer said:
Either Amsoil like dan was talking about or run Ford fluid with a couple of quarts of motor oil in it, ford fluid is grabby on clutches.

Jim
Click to expand...

amsoil gets my vote. Have it in my tranny diffs and motor oil. spend the money on good tranny fluid its worth it.
 
My tranny guy told me valvoline max life dex/ mer.It has additives he likes.Smells like cat piss.When i had a suncoast they said no synthetic.
 
If you ask Dave what fluid to run in his trannys, he'll tell to run whatever is red.
He does recommend a black bottle of Lube-Guard though.
 
Bobcat698 said:
If you ask Dave what fluid to run in his trannys, he'll tell to run whatever is red.
He does recommend a black bottle of Lube-Guard though.
Click to expand...

That's what he told me when I was fishing for an answer from him on what he wanted to see being used.


I've run just about every kind of hydraulic oil and tranny fluid in these torqueflites. My truck currently has type F in it, but will probably switch back to HyGard this spring.
 
Enterprise Engine built my tran, using all parts
from Dave. They told me not to use any
synthetic fluid. Buy Mopar just as good as any.
 
Hey in all the transmissions I own and have rebuilt (auto's) I have always ran hydraulic fluid. Nothing special, just the better grade from TSC. You can buy in bulk there, so it's cheaper. I then add a couple quarts of ATF for color, so it's easier to read on the stick. Hydraulic fluid has a better heat/breakdown standard than atf, holds better under pressure. I cannot comment on the high dollar synthetic trans fluids though. I have ran lots of atf+4 and some pennzoil synthetic, and it seems to be fine. When I used to race oldsmobiles i used tthe "Hurst Hot Shift" and it was pretty much hydraulic fluid. That's when i tried 100% hydrulic fluid and haven't looked back since.
I'm not a trans genius on these diesel's though, so this is just my findings. They sure do take a punishment, I know that!!
thanks,
mike
 
Blueboy said:
Enterprise Engine built my tran, using all parts
from Dave. They told me not to use any
synthetic fluid. Buy Mopar just as good as any.
Click to expand...

To the best of my knowledge, Mopar ATF+4 is synthetic.

rockjeep73 said:
Dexron/mercon in mine, I was told that ATF+4 is to slippery.
Click to expand...

From what I've been told, ATF+4 is less slippery than Dexron/ Mercon III.


I've mentioned it before in a transmission oil thread, but if you look outside of the diesel performance transmission world most of the people are not running anything with the word Dexron in the name. I haven't really figured out why so many people/builders recommend using it, or ATF+4 for that matter.

Some of the biggest baddest 'glide builders are recommending running hydraulic jack oil. These are going in turbo cars with brakes, and the environment doesn't get much more harsh than that.
 
AGCO Powerfluid 411...It's Dexron 3 and Mercon rated, and my builder just shrugged his shoulders and poured it in...no problems yet.

I figure if it's good enough for our $250K machines, it's good enough for my truck!

Chris
 
One thing to think about not only are we looking for clutch bite we need to look for lubrication. All of the planetaries need lube to save the gears and the spacers between them. For longevity of the geartrain 5w-20 would be good, but not sure of the clutches in a high HP application.
 
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