AFT recommendation for Dodge Sprinter.

[savvy]

Hi men.

I see there are a lot of veterans here. After having been discharged from the Marine Corps ( honorably in 1972 - 0311 ground pounder, 9940 Vietnamese interpreter, and radioman, I was also a VERY high expert with an M14 ) where I won an all expense paid vacation for a year in the triple canopy of southeast Asia. I swore that I would never again join any group who would have me as a member : ) I've been monitoring this forum for possibly a year as a guest, and I feel it's time for me to join your group, and hopefully be welcome in the BITOG community. There is a lot of brain power floating around here, and in the past year I've learned more about oil than I ever expected ( or wanted ) to learn. All good stuff to be sure.

Let's get to the topic.

I have an 04 Dodge Sprinter which I purchased new. I have 17,000 miles on the van currently. Luckily I bought all of the Mobil 1 Truck & SUV that my local Wal-Mart stores had a few months ago~ thanks to the recommendations of some good people here. I bought 20 - 5 qt jugs before they quit selling it...... although they still sell T & SUV in quarts. Needless to say that I'm set for oil for the foreseeable future. I also add 1/2 oz per qt of VSOT to the T&SUV. With an oil pan heater ( E-TIP ) , a diesel fired Espar engine heater that turns on only when the engine is running and helps keep the engine at operating temps if needed, and a diesel fired Webasto coolant pre-heater which preheats the coolant to near operating temps before the engine is turned over............ my little 5 cylinder diesel seems very content in the coldest weather.

I don't know a lot about ATF. I'm wondering if anyone has knowledge about how robust my OEM fluid is. I would like a recommendation if possible, to improve the performance and reliability of the transmission by using something other than the OEM fluid. My ATF is MOPAR intended for ' Crossfire/Sprinter ' only. My manual states to use ATF approved to MB 236.10 and MB 236.12. Synthetic Dexron III may be substituted. I'm wondering if an TES-295 fluid would work, and if so, would it be an improvement ?! Possibly something from Mobil, Amsoil, or Redline ?! ........or leave it alone and change the fluid every 20,000-30,000. I believe Dodge's recommendation is to change the fluid @80,000 then never again.......this can't be a good thing.

I would also be willing to discuss various aspects of my Sprinter's performance with anyone who might be interested in purchasing one. I've been very happy with mine. I'm not a chemist, tribologist, or even a mechanic, so I doubt that I could offer any meaningful advice beyond my Sprinter experience.

You guys have a good forum here...........keep up the good work.
Thanks in advance of your help.

All the best.....
savvy

 

[The Critic]

Amsoil Universal ATF is the only ATF that I know of, that is recommended for use in MB 236.1 and Shell 3403 apps by Amsoil. I'd use this ATF as a replacement for the factory ATF and change the fluid thru a pan "drop", replace the filter, and refill every 30K. You may want to consider adding a drain plug to the pan, for easier draining as a filter change probably isn't necessary every 30K.

If I'm not mistaken, this transmission removes 5.3 out of the 8.2qts with each pan drain, so a good amount of fluid is replaced with each service.

When you order the Amsoil ATF, you may want to consider switching to Amsoil Severe Gear 75w-90 for the rear differential (or any synthetic 75w-90, though Amsoil is probably the cheapest when you order many items) and change the rear differential lube every 50,000 miles.

BTW, Truck and SUV 5w-40 is hard to beat for the money. Schaeffer's 15w-40 is also a good deal at $12/gal from the site sponsorer when you run out of your Truck and SUV stash.

quote:

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I would also be willing to discuss various aspects of my Sprinter's performance with anyone who might be interested in purchasing one.

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Send a PM to "Terry;" as I recall, he was interested in Sprinter vans a while back, don't know if he still is.

Mike

 

[savvy]

Hi Mike


Thanks for the reply. My pan has a plug, as does the converter. I guess I'm wondering if there is an advantage in using something other than OEM fill. I need some data to support a change to Amsoil or anything else.

BTW, the better ATF Amsoil is the TES-295 spec I believe.........I wouldn't consider the universal product as a replacement at this time.

I think the Severe Gear is probably an excellent product. I made a typo on my heading.......should have been ATF, not AFT.


Thanks for the welcome.
All the best......
Tom

 

[The Critic]

Since you're one of those few lucky people with a plug in the pan and the converter, it'd be a shame not to drain the entire system every 30K.

As you mentioned earlier, a synthetic Dexron III is a suitable fluid alternative, so theoretically, any synthetic Dexron III would work but probably isn’t optimal. However, I don’t know if the OEM ATF is of the same PAO composition of the Amsoil Universal ATF.

As far as the differences go, here’s a quote from Amsoil:

quote:

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How does Torque-Drive™ compare to AMSOIL Synthetic Transmission Fluid (ATF)?
Torque-Drive™ was created to satisfy the concerns of customers currently using TranSynd®, and it carries with it the confidence to be used for the intervals established by Allison. AMSOIL ATF is a more advanced product with universal applications such as Mercon V and ATF +4. AMSOIL does not recommend draining or switching to Torque-Drive™ unless the Allison customer intends on following the extended drain interval recommendations of Allison.

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In addition, if you look at the spec sheets, FWIW, the 4-ball wear scar for the Torque-Drive ATF is 0.45, while the 4-ball wear scar for the Universal ATF, under the same test, was only 0.40. Also, the Torque Drive ATF contains about 1/10 the amount of Calcium that the Universal ATF contains, and only contains 1/2 of the Phosphorus the Universal ATF contains, but the Torque Drive ATF has more Boron. You can find the amounts of B/Ca/P the Torque Drive ATF is supposed to contain in the data sheet on the website, and here’s an UOA of the Universal ATF:
Link

Lastly, I wouldn’t be so concerned about the Universal ATF causing any damage to the transmission. Even after the manufacturer’s warranty period, Amsoil covers any fluid-related damage caused by the usage of their ATF fluid. Although I'd still suggest changing draining the complete system (pan and converter) every 30,000 miles since its possible in this van, Amsoil only requires an ATF change every 60,000 miles under severe service, and 100,000 miles under normal service, or OEM specs, whichever is longer.

[ December 11, 2005, 11:41 PM: Message edited by: Michael Wan ]

 

[elfperformance]

ELFMATIC G3

Fluid for automatic transmissions and hydraulic systems. Recommended for all automatic transmissions and hydraulic systems for which the manufacturer recommends a DEXRON III fluid: automatic gearboxes couplers and convertors
power-assisted steering systems.

SPECIFICATIONS:
ALLISON C4 (N° 24742997)
BMW Group 24 - 3.0
FORD MERCON (N° M-970612)
GENERAL MOTORS DEXRON III (N° G-34079)
MERCEDES-BENZ 236.1/236.5
NISSAN
VOITH G 607 ZF TE-ML 02F, 03D, 04D, 14A, 17C