AT fluid change questions

[harrydog]

All my life I've owned almost nothing but manual transmission cars. Now I have a new Subaru with an AT and I'm not sure what I should do maintenance wise.
I have less than 5K miles on the car and I have some questions regarding fluid changes.

1) I'd like to use synthetic fluid and I'd like to use the best available. Are there any recommendations? The owners manual says to use only Subaru fluid or Castrol Transmax J or Pennzoil ATF-J and that using a non-specified fluid could result in damage. They also say that the fluid doesn't need to be changed unless the vehicle is operated under severe conditions. Then it should be changed at 15K intervals.

2) The manual states that the transmission filter is a maintenance free part and only needs to be replaced if it is damaged so is it really necessary to change it?

3) If I begin changing the fluid by draining and refilling (not dropping the pan) at 10K or 15K miles and then do it annually, when will I need to have the pan dropped and a full system flush done? I'd like to avoid that as long as possible.

This car will see mostly highway miles.

 

[MolaKule]

At 5k miles I would drain the pan and refill and do this every 10k miles thereafter.

What year and transmission of Subaru? Our crystal balls need a new battery!

My experience is that if the fluid is kept clean, no particulates will clog the filter.

 

[unDummy]

My experience with Jatco boxes is that a drain/refill every year OR ~7.5k miles will do plenty for an eternal transmission life. You should never need to drop the pan to replace the filter(usually a bug screen in Jatco's). But, you should drop the pan every 100k for magnet cleaning if equipped. When the pan is off, its good to replace the filter anyway along with its o-ring seal(if equipped won't last forever).

Nissan also specs Transmax-J for use in their JATCO automatics that require Nissan Matic-J or Idemitsu ATF HP.
Jatco is also a supplier to Sube.

Besides the dealer sourced fluids:
http://www.idemitsu-usa.com/item.asp?n=2840-042&d=19&b=1
https://www.valvoline-technology.co...85256ae300727d2b85256fb3001008b0?OpenDocument
http://www.pzlqs.com/Tech/Pdsheet/D...df/MultiVehicleAutomaticTransmissionFluid.pdf
http://www.penrite.com.au/nextpage.php?navlink=db/bulletinview.php&id=35
http://www.penrite.com.au/pispdf/ATFMHP.pdf

[ January 16, 2006, 03:26 PM: Message edited by: unDummy ]

 

[harrydog]

MolaKule -
It's a 2006 3.0R with the 5 speed auto.
unDummy -
Thanks for the links.

 

[harrydog]

I found this on one of the Subaru forums.


"The factory fill is semi-synthetic. Indemitsu.
Also subsitute Castrol Transmax-J (not available retail in US)
Pennzoil ATF-J (good luck finding it)
Nissan J-spec is same
J-spec is the only stuff that belongs in the JATCO 5EAT transmission. There've been postings on Nissan boards where one guy used other than in his 5speed JATCO and after 5,000 excellent running miles the coatings on his clutches etc dissolved//fried and he was toast. A new Titan I believe. The Nissan owners are paranoid about using the wrong fluid generally, and keep trying to get others to "try" or "test" non-spec fluids in their in-warranty transmissions. I haven't read of anyone taking the chance except for the case mentioned."


I was hoping to use a quality full synthetic ATF but it sounds like that may not be a good idea. Since the Pennzoil ATF-J is apparently hard to find I guess I'm stuck buying the Subaru ATF from the dealer.

 

[unDummy]

Post or IM the link to the above so-called toasted Titan transmission!