2006 Saab 92X 4EAT fluid question

[superflytnt69]

Hello this is my first post

I have a problem thats a bit long winded but here goes:

I recently bought from a friend a 2006 Saab 92X Linear with a 4speed auto 4EAT. It had 66000km. Build date on the car was 04/2006. For those unfamiliar with the 92X its just a rebadged Subaru Impreza from Fuji industries in Japan.

The transmission fluid looked kinda clear to yellowish like engine oil so I thought I should get it flushed. I brought it to Mr.Lube and they told me it needed Castrol Multi-Vehicle ATF. I checked my owners manual and it said Dexron III. After a short conversation with the tech at the Mr.Lube we determined that although his manual showed the 2005 92X 4EAT to use Dexron III the 2006 was the Castrol multi ATF.

But since my owners manual that came with the car said DEXRON III thats what went into the car.

I drove home and the trany seemed to shift OK. I didnt really remember what it felt like before as I had just bought the car a few days before.

When I got home I looked on the GM/SAAB website and low and behold the 2006 owners manual on the website said to use Castrol Transmax J or IDEMITSU ATF. I was confused for a second till I realized that the manual that I had from my car was a 2005 not a 2006!!! The car was shipped with the wrong one apparently...

I looked up Subaru imprezas and apparently there was some change from 2005 to 2006.

So I looked into this ATF problem and found Castrol Multi-vehicle import fluid at walmart that is suppose to be compatible and correct for my car and I pulled out about 3 Litres of the new DEXRON in the tranny through that drain plug that the 4EAT has and added the Castrol MV ATF. So my plan was to do this a few times as I change the engine oil to hopefully get most of the DEXRON out and have the Castrol in over the next few months.

Well now that its getting colder it seems like the first few 2-3rd shifts have a surge right at the shift point. I think someone in a post called it a flare shift??? Anyways its a bit better once the temps of the ATF warm up.

My questions is does anyone know what I should be using and is my DEXRON mixup a big issue...like i said i cant really remember if this shifting is normal for my car...everything else feels fine.

And what about getting the tranny flushed with Subaru's own tranny fluid? They have two and I think one is for 2005 and older and one is for 2006 and newer. The HP one I think is the one for my car. The older one was DEXRON and the newer one isnt???

Any advice?

Thanks

 

[unDummy]

The Castrol Import or Highmileage is a good choice, as is Maxlife, Mobil1, Amsoil, Redline, Royalpurple, Eneos....

Since you require an HFM ATF and do not have it, you NOW need to add a bottle of fluid converter, like Smartblend Titanium or Lubegard Platinum...... Or, go back and get it flushed with the Import ATF. The fluid converter saves you a little money and buys you time to do the 4-5 drain/refills to get a majority of the better ATF in there.

Going to an older spec causes big issues. If you listened to the shop, you would've gotten the right fluid. And, the better fluid would've been compatible with the older spec anyway. The older DexIII is not compatible with the newer spec.

 

[superflytnt69]

Originally Posted By: unDummy

Since you require an HFM ATF and do not have it, you NOW need to add a bottle of fluid converter, like Smartblend Titanium or Lubegard Platinum...... Or, go back and get it flushed with the Import ATF. The fluid converter saves you a little money and buys you time to do the 4-5 drain/refills to get a majority of the better ATF in there.


OK I'll look into buying this fluid converter. I'm not sure where I can buy this in ontario canada but I'll try a few parts stores and see what i can find. thanks alot for the help you sound like you know ATFs...

So the bottom line is that Subaru HP is a highly friction modified ATF and that Dexron III isnt and thats why in 2006 everything changed spec???

And are these friction modifiers all the same if I can find a different brand up here in canada?

Is the castrol multi-vehicle fluid better than the Subaru HP? And would Mr.Lube even know the difference between the castrol multi import verses the castrol multi domestic? Walmart carried both when i bought a couple jugs...not sure what mrlube wanted to sell me...real shame about the owners manual being the wrong year.