Recommendations for trans fluid??

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So I finally found the reference to not using Type F transmission fluid. It wasn’t in the Torqueflite Transmission Handbook after all but it was in the Chrysler Performance Upgrades Book by Frank Adkins.


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I am not going nock that article as I am no engineer, years of service with type F and great results though!

Dextron always seemed to burn or darken on my early builds, and replacement was often. Type F has performed better for me.
 
I don't understand why this gets this complicated every time. It's so stupid.
 
Yeah I never imagined there would be so many posts, it was supposed to be a simple question!!!!!

The answer is very simple, but people like to complicate it by trying to show their intelligence. "I" would simply just run Dexron III and be done with it. Remember the KISS rule?
 
The answer is very simple, but people like to complicate it by trying to show their intelligence. "I" would simply just run Dexron III and be done with it. Remember the KISS rule?
Oh I thought it was that everyone who wasn’t working that day HAD to say
“Something “
 
what ever the latest dextron is that is compatible with the old dextron III.. no need for that type F any more.

Yeah well.....Horse, lead water....all that. lol
 
Torco HiVis ATF.

I know it's good stuff. It's likely the best, but I don't think the average guy here wants to spend 21 bucks a quart on transmission fluid. "Hello, mortgage company? I can't make my payment this month. I had to change my transmission fluid"
 
I know it's good stuff. It's likely the best, but I don't think the average guy here wants to spend 21 bucks a quart on transmission fluid. "Hello, mortgage company? I can't make my payment this month. I had to change my transmission fluid"
I have to ask the OP what exactly is he unsure of or curious about regarding trans fluid? Some sort of performance gain, or an extra month or a few miles more out of the trans long after it’s been sold and his grandchildren are entering retirement age??:lol: It’s not like a “what is the best motor oil” discussion or like you’re going to have a faster car or noticeable improvement in transmission performance. IMO it’s just another topic overthought via the internet. Any correct type fluid will work perfectly. Pour it in and forget about it, like the air for your tires! If Dollar General or Family Dollar actually carried dexron hell I’d buy it from there! Clean filter, properly adjusted bands etc Fluid at correct level or not is the issue, not the fluid itself.
 
I always run valvoline dex/merc. Never an issue. You can run type f too, it won't hurt anything. Some guys run dex/merc with a quart or two of type f mixed in with no issues. These old trans are not picky on fluid like a newer trans. I've ran them on pure 30 weight motor oil in a pinch with zero issues. Literally pick the cheapest, quality brand and call it good. Just service and adjust it when it needs it.
 
I don't understand why this gets this complicated every time. It's so stupid.
It's the nature of hot roddering to look for improvements.
When the main goal is strictly 1/4 mile racing, there's all sorts of little tricks (some of which seemed to work).
From that heritage a lot of people uncounciously get caught up in thinking
a) It (supposedly) worked for drag racing, therefore it must be better for my a street rod.
and/or
b) We are smarter and more knowledgable than the ________ at the factory.

The snip from Adkins pretty much lays out the differences. If a snappier shift is wanted, an ATF w/o friction modifiers can be used. The cost will be shorter life and posibly noticible delay in the release. Otherwise use an ATF claiming to be equivalent of Dexron I, II, or III.
 
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I know it's good stuff. It's likely the best, but I don't think the average guy here wants to spend 21 bucks a quart on transmission fluid. "Hello, mortgage company? I can't make my payment this month. I had to change my transmission fluid"


Yep, it’s expensive as all get out. Have a case of it in the shop right now for this taking WAY TOO LONG 340 Duster project.

I just mentioned it for the freaks like me who spend money like water on oil just because. It’s an acquired taste for sure.

BTW and FWIW, I haven’t used this particular formula of Torco ATF. At some point they came out with this HiVis ATF and a LoVis ATF and they got rid of the stuff I’ve used. So we will see if this stuff is as good or better than what they had before.

I don’t do a lot of automatic stuff, but in 2009 or 2010 I had a customer go from whatever he was using to Torco that was available at that time and he picked up a tenth with it. He got called out on it so he bought another case of Torco and then went back to what he had. Lost the tenth. Went back to the Torco stuff and the tenth came back.

Then he bought engine oil and gear lube too.
 
Torco HiVis ATF.

I remember taking my car back to my trans guy to remove and fix the mistake his guy made, putting the wrong shaft in the a-995 gear set I gave him to put in. When he saw the fancy blue trans fluid I put in, he just laughed and poured it down the drain. He said simply, “trans fluid is trans fluid, you don’t need that ****”. He should know, he’s been doing transmissions for almost 50 years, and everybody in my area goes to him, or went to him. He just retired and went off the grid. He never was much for people!
 
I remember taking my car back to my trans guy to remove and fix the mistake his guy made, putting the wrong shaft in the a-995 gear set I gave him to put in. When he saw the fancy blue trans fluid I put in, he just laughed and poured it down the drain. He said simply, “trans fluid is trans fluid, you don’t need that ****”. He should know, he’s been doing transmissions for almost 50 years, and everybody in my area goes to him, or went to him. He just retired and went off the grid. He never was much for people!
Yup, all the old school builders around here laugh at everyone wasting money on something that makes no difference. But thats cars for you.
 
Huh. So in the field testing means nothing. I sure wouldn’t spend money on oil. It’s just like 1965 today.
Show me actual data that our old loose tolerance transmissions do better with super expensive fluids. I never said trans fluid hasn't changed since 1965. Its come leaps and bounds. Even cheap modern fluid is way better than anything they had back then. But again it's moot, modern fluids are designed for boxes with modern tolerances and materials. I bet you I could take two 904s freshly built, one filled with dex/merc and one with atf +4 and install them in two cars. I'd let you test drive and I'd guarantee you wouldn't be able to tell me which is which.
 
Show me actual data that our old loose tolerance transmissions do better with super expensive fluids. I never said trans fluid hasn't changed since 1965. Its come leaps and bounds. Even cheap modern fluid is way better than anything they had back then. But again it's moot, modern fluids are designed for boxes with modern tolerances and materials. I bet you I could take two 904s freshly built, one filled with dex/merc and one with atf +4 and install them in two cars. I'd let you test drive and I'd guarantee you wouldn't be able to tell me which is which.


Yep, you’re right. Move along.
 
Nope. I’m not going to waste my time with a narrow minded myopic individual.

I didn’t post my reply for people like you. That’s why I said move along.
I'm narrowed minded from mine own experiences? I asked you for actual data and you provided none. A lot of people think something is better is purely speculation and base on pure opinion. It's also placebo, the human mind can't always precieve something as different and its in their own head. I do not believe I'm the one that has a narrow mind here, so please grow up and stop being so immature. Do you have evidence or not?
Ohh and to add that you haven't even used the fluid you recommended. Only the stuff they don't sell anymore. Yeah te the guy to use something you don't even know if it works right for his application.... Jesus christ on a skillet, it's getting dumb around here.
 
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Nope. I’m not going to waste my time with a narrow minded myopic individual.

I didn’t post my reply for people like you. That’s why I said move along.

I've no doubt Torco has its advantages. Oils are kinda like converters in that they have come light years ahead of where they once were. That said, I got better things to spend money on.

Now......were I racing for money and points, I would be using the best lubricants money could by. Period.
 
I've no doubt Torco has its advantages. Oils are kinda like converters in that they have come light years ahead of where they once were. That said, I got better things to spend money on.

Now......were I racing for money and points, I would be using the best lubricants money could by. Period.
That's all I was trying to get at too, I'm not spending thousands and thousands of dollars at official race cars with money on the line either. There's a time and place for high-end lubes where the conditions are extreme. Most people here probably aren't at the high end of that scale.
 
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