The 3 best replacements for T-IV are Amsoil ATF, Schaeffer's 204 and Red Line D4, not neccessarily in that order. But all are excellent products far and above T-IV.
Best replacement for OEM Toyota Type IV
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Redline D4 has worked very well in my camry for going on 25K. Much better shifting than with the T-IV. You would be hard pressed to find a better ATF.
" SUITABLE FOR" means to me that it is OK but, not the best option. The only other ATF that is the same and approved for T-IV use is Mobil #3309 although Castrol MV states it is spec-ed for T-IV.
I have used the Castrol MV fluid in my old RX 300. It was the only fluid that shifted the best in that transmission. And I had tried Amsoil,Mobil,Toyota type-IV,and even the Castrol High millage fluid. Only the MV worked best in that car.
Originally Posted By: lexus114
I have used the Castrol MV fluid in my old RX 300. It was the only fluid that shifted the best in that transmission. And I had tried Amsoil,Mobil,Toyota type-IV,and even the Castrol High millage fluid. Only the MV worked best in that car.
You and I seemed to have the same 1-2 shift quality(or lack of) in our '01 RX's. Prior to you trading to a newer version of the RX, I remember that you had also tried CarQuest Syn ATF. IIRC, you liked it at first. How about by the time you traded, was your opinion the same? Im still reluctant to try anything other than Toyota T-IV but would love to try Castro Import Multi-Vehicle.
I have used the Castrol MV fluid in my old RX 300. It was the only fluid that shifted the best in that transmission. And I had tried Amsoil,Mobil,Toyota type-IV,and even the Castrol High millage fluid. Only the MV worked best in that car.
You and I seemed to have the same 1-2 shift quality(or lack of) in our '01 RX's. Prior to you trading to a newer version of the RX, I remember that you had also tried CarQuest Syn ATF. IIRC, you liked it at first. How about by the time you traded, was your opinion the same? Im still reluctant to try anything other than Toyota T-IV but would love to try Castro Import Multi-Vehicle.
Oh,you mean the Wolf`s Head Universal Fluid? Yep,I forgot about that,it worked very well also. Seems to be in the same quality as the Mobil 1 ATF. PS,my 5speed trans in the 330 isnt much better (from 1st to 2nd gear)
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my opinion.. Mobil 3309 is the best replacement then Mobil 1 ATF
the t-iv fluid just doesn't last longer than 30k.
the t-iv fluid just doesn't last longer than 30k.
Originally Posted By: lexus114
Oh,you mean the Wolf`s Head Universal Fluid? Yep,I forgot about that,it worked very well also. Seems to be in the same quality as the Mobil 1 ATF. PS,my 5speed trans in the 330 isnt much better (from 1st to 2nd gear)
Yeah, that the one!
Oh,you mean the Wolf`s Head Universal Fluid? Yep,I forgot about that,it worked very well also. Seems to be in the same quality as the Mobil 1 ATF. PS,my 5speed trans in the 330 isnt much better (from 1st to 2nd gear)
Yeah, that the one!
Originally Posted By: EricF
my opinion.. Mobil 3309 is the best replacement then Mobil 1 ATF
You realise that T-IV and 3309 are the same fluid, right?
my opinion.. Mobil 3309 is the best replacement then Mobil 1 ATF
You realise that T-IV and 3309 are the same fluid, right?
Originally Posted By: RF Overlord
Originally Posted By: EricF
my opinion.. Mobil 3309 is the best replacement then Mobil 1 ATF
You realise that T-IV and 3309 are the same fluid, right?
I was going to say that,but I didnt want to come off as being anal or something.
Originally Posted By: EricF
my opinion.. Mobil 3309 is the best replacement then Mobil 1 ATF
You realise that T-IV and 3309 are the same fluid, right?
I was going to say that,but I didnt want to come off as being anal or something.
Mobil make two ATFs. One is #3309(T-IV) and is specific for AISIN transmissions. The other Mobil is a One-size-fits-all.
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AzFireGuy79 did you flush or just drain and refill a few times when you switched to the D4?
I have a 05 Camry 3.0 V6 with 50k miles. I have drained and refill with T-IV approx. every 15k.
I am wanting to change to the D4 but I don't really want to do a flush. Do you think just drain and fill with D4 at approx. every 10k would be OK and get any benefit? I plan on keeping this car to the most everything is shot.......
Also how has the Redline 5w30 done in you Camry? Any UOA?
I have a 05 Camry 3.0 V6 with 50k miles. I have drained and refill with T-IV approx. every 15k.
I am wanting to change to the D4 but I don't really want to do a flush. Do you think just drain and fill with D4 at approx. every 10k would be OK and get any benefit? I plan on keeping this car to the most everything is shot.......
Also how has the Redline 5w30 done in you Camry? Any UOA?
Bebop, yes you will get a benefit by doing drain and refills every 10k. The best way to get the most out of these transmissions is to over-maintain them.
If you really don't want to learn how to do a flush, then 2 or 3 back to back drain and refills is the next best thing. But doing a flush through the cooler line is an easy project, and there are several tutorials on here about it.
Not speaking for azfireguy, but I can tell you he loves Red Line products, as do many others on this board.
If you really don't want to learn how to do a flush, then 2 or 3 back to back drain and refills is the next best thing. But doing a flush through the cooler line is an easy project, and there are several tutorials on here about it.
Not speaking for azfireguy, but I can tell you he loves Red Line products, as do many others on this board.
3309 is junk no better then when it is called T-IV. Mobil 1 ATF is far better in opinion. The main reason for M1 is that is is localy available and Dad likes it. It is also about $2 cheaper where I live then AMsoil,Redline or Royal Purple per-quart and does a good job.I prefer Redline for all gear lubes and atf's because I think they are the best hands down in that arean. WHen it comes to engine oil price is a big player for me but not when talking gear lubes or atf's etc......You do not change them often so the money is well spent if it holds up and does the job.
In addition to low wear and oxidation resistance shift quality mean a lot to me. Having rebuilt more then a few transmissions I am very picky today about what I use. Staying far far ahead of oxidation is so very important to me in any transmission fluid. I think it is just as important as low wear number's!
In addition to low wear and oxidation resistance shift quality mean a lot to me. Having rebuilt more then a few transmissions I am very picky today about what I use. Staying far far ahead of oxidation is so very important to me in any transmission fluid. I think it is just as important as low wear number's!
I should prob. add that any thing close to DexIII in viscosity with good oxidation resistance will work well. THis is why D4,Maxlife,Mobil 1 ATF and a host of other's all do so well. THe best bang for the buck is prob. Maxlife it isnormaly good for 30K-50K miles with reguard to oxidation resistance heat determineing which on you get 30K v.s. 50K!
Hello,
Any updates on the list of Honda T-IV fluid equivalents?? It's looking like Valvoline MaxLife is a leader in the bang-for-buck category.
I have a co-worker with a Toyota Highlander that is coming up on 100,000 miles and she is the second owner. She has no idea if the fluid has ever been changed ... and if it was, it was at least half the vehicle's life ago.
I told her a thorough (drop-the-pan) drain and refill would be a very good idea. Skip the exotic flushing service (BG or other) and just get some new fluid in there.
Thoughts?
Any updates on the list of Honda T-IV fluid equivalents?? It's looking like Valvoline MaxLife is a leader in the bang-for-buck category.
I have a co-worker with a Toyota Highlander that is coming up on 100,000 miles and she is the second owner. She has no idea if the fluid has ever been changed ... and if it was, it was at least half the vehicle's life ago.
I told her a thorough (drop-the-pan) drain and refill would be a very good idea. Skip the exotic flushing service (BG or other) and just get some new fluid in there.
Thoughts?
Although this post is quite old, I don't mind it being resurected!
The 1-2 shift in my 01 Lexus RX-300 are unacceptable when cold. Even on summer days in the 80-90 deg days. When the engine is first started, mirrors, seats and belts adjusted B/4 taking off, the 1-2 shift seems not only lazy but confused. After that, most of the shifts seem pretty normal as the vehicle warms up. Driven slowly on that first start up, the 1-2 shift seem OK but, just a tiny bit(and I mean tiny bit, 1/4 throttle) of throttle tip-in and it acts like I mentioned.
I can't even remember anymore just how many times the ATF has been changed(close to annually, drain/refill only). So that would be about 7 or 8 times. Mostly T-IV but, I have used Mobil 1 and just recently, Castrol IMV at 66,000 miles. I think it's the transmission! And yeah, that's right, only 66K. The only reason that the ATF has been changed so many times is because all of the claims of transmission failure. I can't even beleive that the transmission screen/filter is filed/dirty/blocked, although I have never dropped the ATF pan. Maybe I should.
I change the oil/filter 2X/year(about every 3K + for the same reason), Sludging! Using only oils(syn/dino, mix my own)held in high reguard here at BITOG. Generaly Purolator filters, sometimes WIX/NAPA.
The 1-2 shift in my 01 Lexus RX-300 are unacceptable when cold. Even on summer days in the 80-90 deg days. When the engine is first started, mirrors, seats and belts adjusted B/4 taking off, the 1-2 shift seems not only lazy but confused. After that, most of the shifts seem pretty normal as the vehicle warms up. Driven slowly on that first start up, the 1-2 shift seem OK but, just a tiny bit(and I mean tiny bit, 1/4 throttle) of throttle tip-in and it acts like I mentioned.
I can't even remember anymore just how many times the ATF has been changed(close to annually, drain/refill only). So that would be about 7 or 8 times. Mostly T-IV but, I have used Mobil 1 and just recently, Castrol IMV at 66,000 miles. I think it's the transmission! And yeah, that's right, only 66K. The only reason that the ATF has been changed so many times is because all of the claims of transmission failure. I can't even beleive that the transmission screen/filter is filed/dirty/blocked, although I have never dropped the ATF pan. Maybe I should.
I change the oil/filter 2X/year(about every 3K + for the same reason), Sludging! Using only oils(syn/dino, mix my own)held in high reguard here at BITOG. Generaly Purolator filters, sometimes WIX/NAPA.
No, there haven't really been any significant updates to the "list". T-IV is a fairly old spec and there's nothing really all that special about it. Toyota used to just relabel Dexron with a "T" (T-II, T-III) but then when DexIII was getting long the tooth, they got together with Mobil to make a new fluid, T-IV (Mobil 3309) that, for whatever reason, GM wasn't on board with and didn't get co-labeled in the Dexron series. (The current Dexron IV is totally different.) Anyway, people think it's special, and sometimes get in heated arguments over it. It's really just an average friction modified fluid with longer life than DexIII. What's special is that you can't find bottles of it easily either because Toyota/Mobil won't license it or because they want a lot of money to do so and nobody will pay for it. As a result, all the fluids that are compatible will say "recommended" for T-IV or JASO 3309 etc etc. Then people get heated about the differences between "recommended" and "truly licensed" etc. The bottom line is that it's not a hard spec to meet and many modern fluids meet or exceeded similar specs and have similar friction characterists. In choosing a fluid, I would look for something of similar viscosity like many of the multi-vehicles or MerconV and then compare the prices to T-IV from the dealer. DexIV and the newer Maxlife formulations, though they may work just fine, are a little thin compared to T-IV/3309. I ran WalMart Supertech MerconV for a year in a transmission speced for T-IV and didn't notice the slightest difference. The MerconV said "recommended" for T-IV on it and I need some cheap fluid for quick pan drain. Then, months later, I flushed the whole system with Amsoil and it continues to shift beautifully to this day.
One more voice saying to get any top quality fluid that is "recommended" for T-IV/3309. I'd get Mobil 1 for its ease of availability, or Schaeffer or Red Line for their top quality.
For Bror, try three or four drains and refills with one of the recommended fluids...maybe not as good and pricey as Red Line nor as cheap and blended to barely meet the spec at the lowest possible cost as SuperTech.
For Bror, try three or four drains and refills with one of the recommended fluids...maybe not as good and pricey as Red Line nor as cheap and blended to barely meet the spec at the lowest possible cost as SuperTech.
I would go with Redline D4 synthetic first and Amsoil Universal Synthetic ATF second. Both are rated as suitable for replacement of T IV. I used the OEM T IV for the first 150,000 miles in a '93 Lexus because back then nothing besides the OEM was rated as an equivalent or suitable replacement. Result was transmission failure at 150,000 which should not have happened given the way I drive and changed the fluid. My reason for D4 as choice 1 is the GL4 level of gear protection it provides which I believe would translate to better wear protection, especially in a transaxle where the AT fluid is serving both as transmission fluid and differential lubricant. To the best of my knowledge, RL D4 is the only ATF rated at a GL4 level of gear protection.
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