2005 suburu outback tranny fluid?

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Recently purchased vehicle, tran fluid looks a bit dark I'm gonna change. I bought a Haynes service manual today, I guess starting in 2005 suburu outback calls for their own brand ATF type-HP. Is this the only option? Wow, very pricey, must be synthetic?
 
There are fluids that say they "meet or exceed" the ATF-HP, but none of them are verified by Subaru.


I'd use Subaru ATF-HP if it were my Outback.
 
Originally Posted By: GSCJR
Valvoline MaxLife ATF Dex/Merc will work

I love this stuff. Amazon has three gallons for $66.
 
Looks like I can get the oem ATF-HP on amazon for 6 bucks a quart free shipping. Dealer around here wants 8.
Thanks for the suggestions.
 
Use Subaru fluid and sleep well at night. You only have to change it so often, so why not just put in the right stuff?
 
I used off-the-shelf syn lubes in my 97. I think back then it was Dyson Syngear II. I don't see it around any more... cold shifts were a little notchy but as soon as it was warm it was an improvement. Syn fluids all around the driveline and there was a ~1mpg average increase. back then I drove 450 miles/week, so that little bit was very welcome. The 97 MT had a heavier "feel" than the newer models-- they have likely changed syncro designs since then. Still, I don't think there is anything special about the oem fluid. IIRC, they had the same thing back then.
 
Originally Posted By: Bandito440
Originally Posted By: GSCJR
Valvoline MaxLife ATF Dex/Merc will work

I love this stuff. Amazon has three gallons for $66.


That's not a deal. I buy Maxlife ATF around here for $16/gallon...that's every day prices.
 
My dad has an '07 Forester ATX bought a couple years ago.
Just did a 3x drain/fill a couple months ago for him.
After researching the [censored] out of it, I was going to go with Maxlife from WallyWorld, except they didn't stock it in the gallons locally. So we went with Supertech and a bottle of Lubeguard red from NAPA. Shifts way better than before (who knows if it was ever serviced - I did it around 130k). Many people had no problems with ML or Supertech when reading through the message boards.

Either way you go you should be fine. If you're going to do multiple drain/fills, $6/qt adds up quickly, though. May as well do the diffs while you're at it - M1 or the Supertech blend both came highly recommended for easy to find locally lubes, FYI.
 
Originally Posted By: Phishin
Originally Posted By: Bandito440
Originally Posted By: GSCJR
Valvoline MaxLife ATF Dex/Merc will work

I love this stuff. Amazon has three gallons for $66.


That's not a deal. I buy Maxlife ATF around here for $16/gallon...that's every day prices.


Agreed, the local Walmart has 4 quart jugs for $16.97 here in my area and 1 quart bottles for $4.97 each.
 
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