2017 Chevy Tahoe 4x4 6L80E transmission Dexron VI ATF synthetic Group III mineral oil?

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Hello all

I was wondering what people on this oil specialty forum think about ATFs which advertise Full Synthetic ATF, but have petroleum/mineral base oils in them, group III?

For example, Valvoline Full Synthetic Dexron VI ATF SDS sheet shows it has mineral oil and petroleum distillates in it. see attachment screen shots of the SDS from Valvoline's SDS website: https://www.valvoline.com/our-products/sds

It does say ACDelco, but its on Valvoline's website. (also, side question, does this mean Valvoline's D-VI ATF is relabeled ACDelco?)

And my follow up question is, if I wanted to upgrade to a "real" full synthetic ATF, made for Dexron VI applications, but not necessarily "approved/licensed" Dexron VI, but definitely recommended with no problems, which should I go with? I've used a lot of Redline. I've used some Royal Purple. But Valvoline Dexron VI ATF is so cheap compared with Redline D6, $5 vs $20 a quart.

The reason is for high temp towing applications where a better full synthetic Group V ATF may resist varnish build up better than the Group III ATFs with mineral oils/etc.

Thanks
 

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Dex VI is good, either mineral or synth. If you can get it approved synth, then go for that. Although Maxlife is great, there are plenty of licensed Dex VI available, and there's no guess work or worry.

 
Your post is fundamentally another "Is a Group III base stock a real synthetic?" question. That has been discussed and hashed out lots of times on here, maybe search for some existing threads.
 
Here’s a real good fluid for a decent price
 

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Potentially a syn oil may give a higher temp rating , that being said a syn oil won't keep the parts from breaking of a filter from clogging.
 
hey @kstanf150, that Mobil 1 ATF LV HP fluid is not backwards compatible with Dexron VI, according to wikipedia:

"The rear panel label of early containers of this fluid incorrectly state that this fluid is backward compatible with previous Dexron ATF, it is not. The label was corrected on later bottles of the fluid."


Also the HP started off with Group IV base, then moved back to Group III+ base. anyway, thanks for the input, and thanks for the confirmation that licensed Dexron VI is still good fluid. Just curious about this. I'll probably just stick with Licensed Valvoline Dexron VI ATF since its cheaper, and getting all the old fluid out of the trans system and putting Redline D6 would be a challenge anyway ... since, I would think any left over non-Group V fluid would defeat the purpose of reducing varnish build up at higher temps like 220 F (not higher, I know trans damage happens higher)

I know MaxLife is great. I would just want a licensed fluid if possible, since its a newer 2017 with warranty. I would sacrifice that for Redline D6 since its high quality, but like someone said Dexron VI is still good fluid.

Sorry to rehash the Group III atf debate. I was asking more along the lines of a recommended fluid upgrade... but the group III topic does have a little to do with my main question... thanks take care
 
yep I see that, but its not sold by amazon. I'm sort of wary* of buying from 3rd party sellers sometimes.

What kind of bothers me is that Valvoline's SDS listed ACDelco. So, are they relabeling the ACDelco you just listed? Kind of a bummer. Valvoline is about $30 a gallon, ACDelco is $20 a gallon... but same exact stuff? =(
 
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yep I see that, but its not sold by amazon. I'm sort of weary of buying from 3rd party sellers sometimes.

What kind of bothers me is that Valvoline's SDS listed ACDelco. So, are they relabeling the ACDelco you just listed? Kind of a bummer. Valvoline is about $30 a gallon, ACDelco is $20 a gallon... but same exact stuff? =(
It's sold by the "ACDelcoStore" on Amazon, which is where you end up if you start at GM's Delco site and wish to buy online.
 
no its not actually its sold by:

TruTrans see attachment
 

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yep I see that, but its not sold by amazon. I'm sort of weary of buying from 3rd party sellers sometimes.

What kind of bothers me is that Valvoline's SDS listed ACDelco. So, are they relabeling the ACDelco you just listed? Kind of a bummer. Valvoline is about $30 a gallon, ACDelco is $20 a gallon... but same exact stuff? =(
No need to overthink it. Super tech has Dex VI for $6.60 a qrt. This way you'll get exactly what you need, without perseverating over it. So you pay $8 more over Maxlife, but you can spend 10 hours researching. Your choice.
 
That is likely their marketing agent. It is sold by the AC Delco Store. This exact page is where you are redirected to when navigating from the GM site.

But if you are still fearful then I'd suggest purchasing it elsewhere and paying more.
 
its funny you guys chime in as if I am having a heart attack over it. as if i'm trying to rehash a religious oil war. I'm just asking around, curious. I'm not overthinking it, just curious. Yes I do spend time researching various things, but I'm fine with that, since I learn a lot along the way... and I actually end up being able to solve problems that professional mechanics of 20+ years could not figure out (even dealers).
 
hey @kstanf150, that Mobil 1 ATF LV HP fluid is not backwards compatible with Dexron VI, according to wikipedia:

"The rear panel label of early containers of this fluid incorrectly state that this fluid is backward compatible with previous Dexron ATF, it is not. The label was corrected on later bottles of the fluid."


Also the HP started off with Group IV base, then moved back to Group III+ base. anyway, thanks for the input, and thanks for the confirmation that licensed Dexron VI is still good fluid. Just curious about this. I'll probably just stick with Licensed Valvoline Dexron VI ATF since its cheaper, and getting all the old fluid out of the trans system and putting Redline D6 would be a challenge anyway ... since, I would think any left over non-Group V fluid would defeat the purpose of reducing varnish build up at higher temps like 220 F (not higher, I know trans damage happens higher)

I know MaxLife is great. I would just want a licensed fluid if possible, since its a newer 2017 with warranty. I would sacrifice that for Redline D6 since its high quality, but like someone said Dexron VI is still good fluid.

Sorry to rehash the Group III atf debate. I was asking more along the lines of a recommended fluid upgrade... but the group III topic does have a little to do with my main question... thanks take care
My personal experience with the Mobil 1 HP fluid is that it works and works very well. The company I work for owns a fleet of GM vehicles and this fluid was used in our 2017 Caddy that was having shudder and vibration issues.
The Cadillac dealer serviced the tranny with this fluid and was covered under warranty as it states on the back of the bottle.
 
so you are saying ACDelco GM store uses this company to sell its products:

I was saying that if you start off at GM's Delco Store on the web and navigate to buying online, one of the links is to Amazon and it takes you to that page.

I have a sensitive BS detector and that isn't setting it off for me. But like I mentioned if it does for you then you should go elsewhere. But I don't know how more direct it could be if you get there from the official GM site.
 
Our local parts store up here sells GM Dex VI in the blue jug. I have over 210,000 miles on my 6L90 using it, changing every 50,000 miles, but now doing a 4 quart siphon and replacement once per year.
 
I don't think you understand how amazon works. Amazon's ACDelco Dexron VI fluid web page can have various sellers selling the product. Normally Amazon itself will be selling the product on that same page as one of the sellers. When amazon runs out, other sellers are first on the list to sell. The page doesn't normally change but who has stock to sell does change. That is just the default page for amazon ACDelco Dexron VI fluid. Anyone can sell the same fluid. My beef was with 3rd party sellers, for example because they charge return shipping which can be a lot. If amazon itself was offering its stock ACDelco Dexron VI on that page, I would not be hesitating to buy it at $20 a gallon over Valvoline. Its not that its BS. that's the default web page for the product on amazon. ACDelco store just links to the default web page, which can have tens and hundreds of sellers of the same product. TruTrans may well be a great seller. All I said was that "I am wary*" of buying from 3rd party sellers. I do it though. I just prefer Amazon's own stock, since they are reliable and have free returns, etc.
 
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