904 Transmission Fluid Recommendation

[LH23H2R]

lol, I didn't think any one would remember the sperm whale oil.

Pepperidge Farms remembers .

Old slim jim pontiacs

HA !! The old Slim Jims , RotoMatics , TurboGlides , etc. , are such obscurities. I actually saw a Slim Jim at one of the shops I deliver parts to ;it was pulled from a '60 Bonneville according to its owner .

Now all the new stuff is better friction material, not old organic stuff. Any fluid will work. dextron3 is good, dextron4 is good, ford is good- the trans doesn't care anymore. It just wont's some lube to keep bands and clutches from sticking, and needs to run the valve body and converter.

That's something I'd never even considered : superior friction materials ! Good call :glasses7:.

 

[green1]

Read up; Paul Forte , Turbo Action, told me that, while getting a tour; what an operation.

 

[mopardude318]

wow. still going on..as mentioned, i use chevron atf-4. dont see how it is a waste of money since its the same price as any other trans fluid.

 

[Lonewolf3165]

Pepperidge Farms remembers .


HA !! The old Slim Jims , RotoMatics , TurboGlides , etc. , are such obscurities. I actually saw a Slim Jim at one of the shops I deliver parts to ;it was pulled from a '60 Bonneville according to its owner .


That's something I'd never even considered : superior friction materials ! Good call :glasses7:.

I too was impressed about your knowledge of the whale oils. Not too many people are aware of that.
I remember watching a guy put an old slim jim trans in an early 60s poncho & it was about the biggest heaviest looking thing I had seen! The thing felt like it weighed a ton when we helped him move it!

 

[gdonovan]

I've used type F in my cars for decades & like the way it shifts. NEVER had any problems.

I use nothing but Type F as MOPAR recommends for race applications.

Now if you throw a torque converter clutch or electronic controlled gearsets in the mix THAT is a different story. Most of the new ATF mixes have additives for those reasons.

 

[S.Rodney]

I know this thread hasn't been updated since 2012 but I got information that I think is relevant to this discussion.

One of the Dodge (FCA) dealership in Quebec City (JD Chrysler de Boischatel) is also a Mopar Service point. So, I contacted them to have their expertise (the Mopar service guys) and the director of their parts department owns a Dodge Dart 1974 like me.

I've asked the following: Knowing that the Dodge Dart 1974 owner's manual mentions "Dexron only" and that Chrysler switched from Dexron to ATF+4 in the 2000's what is Mopar's recommended fluid for a Torqueflite 904/727 ? (I've also mentionned that on some forums, such as this one, people claim that Type F has sharp shifts, that Dexron III destroys the TF or is the fluid of choice... that ATF+4 is superior, etc... lots of contradictory opinions).

His anwser (the original answer in French):

Bonjour M. Rodney

Ne vous méprenez pas, c’est de la Dexron II ou III qui va dans votre véhicule. Si vous en avez besoin, faites moi signe.
Ne mettez pas de ‘type F’ (votre véhicule n’est pas un Ford) ni de l’ATF+4 dans votre véhicule. L’ATF+4 existe depuis 2006 et à l’époque, les additifs dans l’huile à transmission étaient quasi inexistants et dans l’ATF+4, il y en a énormément. Vous allez user votre transmission prématurément!

Bien à vous.

The English traduction:

Greetings M. Rodney

Don't get misleaded, you need Dexron in your vehicle. If you need some, gimme a call. Do not use "Type F" (your vehicle isn't a Ford) nor ATF+4 in your car. the ATF+4 exists since 2006 and, back then, the additives in transmission fluids were near inexistant and, in ATF+4, there's lots of 'em. You'll wear your transmission prematurely.

Cheers,

I've made my own research on that topic and, after gathering all the needed info, will use Dexron-VI (full-synthetic) from licensed manufacturers. (Petro-Canada makes the original product for GM's own AC Delco).

So, look for a Dexron GM License number on the Dexron bottle you buy, you'll be 100% guaranteed the product is compliant with the actual spec, which is fully retrocompatible with previous Dexron specs.

 

[Lonewolf3165]

I know this thread hasn't been updated since 2012 but I got information that I think is relevant to this discussion.

One of the Dodge (FCA) dealership in Quebec City (JD Chrysler de Boischatel) is also a Mopar Service point. So, I contacted them to have their expertise (the Mopar service guys) and the director of their parts department owns a Dodge Dart 1974 like me.

I've asked the following: Knowing that the Dodge Dart 1974 owner's manual mentions "Dexron only" and that Chrysler switched from Dexron to ATF+4 in the 2000's what is Mopar's recommended fluid for a Torqueflite 904/727 ? (I've also mentionned that on some forums, such as this one, people claim that Type F has sharp shifts, that Dexron III destroys the TF or is the fluid of choice... that ATF+4 is superior, etc... lots of contradictory opinions).

His anwser (the original answer in French):



The English traduction:



I've made my own research on that topic and, after gathering all the needed info, will use Dexron-VI (full-synthetic) from licensed manufacturers. (Petro-Canada makes the original product for GM's own AC Delco).

So, look for a Dexron GM License number on the Dexron bottle you buy, you'll be 100% guaranteed the product is compliant with the actual spec, which is fully retrocompatible with previous Dexron specs.

The Dexron 6 is a full synthetic ATF that uses a certain quality base stock. If the ATF+4 is overkill then certainly the Dex 6 is! You won't prematurely wear out your transmission by using a synthetic ATF in a 904 or 727. However it really isn't necessary for anything but the most stressed applications because the older TF transmissions don't have as many gear sets stuffed into a smaller case like the newer vehicles so there isn't a much heat vs amount of fluid to cool them. You won't hurt it but it isn't giving you that much benefit for the cost.
As for the type F fluid being just for Fords that's bullshit. The transmission doesn't know if it's a Ford or a Chrysler. They use the same friction materials and steel gears. The reason why it's used in Chrysler and GM cars is because it doesn't have the friction modifiers(makes things more slippery) like the Dexron fluids do so you get quicker grabbing of clutches and bands which = quicker firmer shifts. Less slippage means less heat too.
The newer fluids (+4, Dex V, Dex VI etc) are designed for longer intervals between changes and because of the heat generated by the more modern transmissions with 4,5,6 7 speeds and up. Since most of the classic car owners tend to over-maintain our vehicles conventional Dexron III or type F is fine. The more expensive synthetics aren't needed.