Early Ford A4LD Trans -- ATF

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ford4wd08

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Hi all,

I just dropped and replaced the front seal in my '85 Ford Bronco II transmission.

It has the first year A4LD transmission in it.

I believe it specs Dex II ATF for it.

I picked up a jug of Super Tech High Mileage ATF for it last night.

I plan on starting with this fluid, but my question is with the requirements of Dex II I assuming not being so stringent, will I benefit from using newer speced fluid?

My options would be to use the Valvoline Dex/Merc, Valvoline Maxlife, or Super Tech ATF's.

It is difficult for me to wrap my head around Maxlife covering so many different ATF's, I am thinking maybe simple is better for this trans.

I plan on doing a pan drop and filter change every 30,000 miles.

It has a factory cooler, but I might upgrade it to a size bigger.

I appreciate any feedback.
 
Officially , I think DEXRON 6 is the only licensed GM spec for DEXRON .

DEXRON 6 is suppose to be backwards comparable .

Were it me , I would try to find some DEXRON III new / old stock .

Best of luck to you , :)
 
Originally Posted by WyrTwister
Officially , I think DEXRON 6 is the only licensed GM spec for DEXRON .

DEXRON 6 is suppose to be backwards comparable .

Were it me , I would try to find some DEXRON III new / old stock .

Best of luck to you , :)


Thank you for the advice, it's funny for me to have to try and source Dex fluid for my Ford!
 
It will be fine
smile.gif
 
What is the difference in Dex II and Dex III?

I think not long after my trans came out they transitioned to Mercon for all the A4LD's.
 
The additive package didn't change, just the base oils. Dex 3 has longer change intervals and better low temperature fluidity than Dex 2. Dex 2 is an outdated fluid that goes back to 1973. If you wanted you could find some old dex2 cans on eBay, but I'd use any Dex/Merc before using half a century old cans of inferior tranny fluid.
 
Originally Posted by ford4wd08
What is the difference in Dex II and Dex III?

There is more than one dexron II as outlined on Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEXRON

Whether all of that is exactly correct or not I don't know, but it should give a good idea.

dexron III is fully backwards compatible with dexron II, and dexron VI is the correct fluid for your transmission. Everything about dexron VI is superior to the prior fluids including higher shear stability, better oxidation resistance and lower wear. I've been using it in my old BMW for over 150,000 miles now and it has worked fine.
 
Look again. Your A4LD was probably spec'd for Mercon. Mercon V replaced Mercon (which was interchangeable with Dex III) and is perfectly acceptable. I use Mercon V in vehicles that required the now not available Dex III.

Here it is straight from Ford:

https://www.motorcraft.com/content/dam/ford-motorcraft/en_us/motorcraft_global/products/chemicals_and_lubricants/transmission_fluids/L%C3%ADquidos%20de%20transmisi%C3%B3n-fluidchart.pdf
 
Originally Posted by ka9mnx
Look again. Your A4LD was probably spec'd for Mercon. Mercon V replaced Mercon (which was interchangeable with Dex III) and is perfectly acceptable. I use Mercon V in vehicles that required the now not available Dex III.

Here it is straight from Ford:

https://www.motorcraft.com/content/dam/ford-motorcraft/en_us/motorcraft_global/products/chemicals_and_lubricants/transmission_fluids/L%C3%ADquidos%20de%20transmisi%C3%B3n-fluidchart.pdf


The dipstick clearly states Dex II as this was the first year for the A4LD. Mercon came out in 86 i believe.
 
Originally Posted by Jetsfan421
Originally Posted by Snagglefoot
Castrol Transmax Dex/Merc would be a good choice.

This guy gets it...

Why use a multi-vehicle, likely non-synthetic when you can buy the proper dexron VI which is a synthetic? That makes no sense.

If you don't want to use the correct fluid then buy Maxilfe, that would be a better choice than the Castrol Transmax.
 
Not all dex VI is synthetic. Maxlife would probably be a better option for extended drain intervals, but the op states 30k. Any cheap Dex/Merc would suffice. Costs would also be cheaper, I can get gallons of Dex/Merc for like $10 at Rural King.
 
I'm just trying to keep a decent fluid in it.

Later Transmission like this called for straight Mercon, I would think you would stick with that fluid line vs Dex even though I assume they are very similar.
 
Woah, so much confusion in this thread. Let's back up a little here... The dipstick says Dex II, likely because, as someone else mentioned, Mercon didn't exist yet. As soon as Mercon existed, Ford DID spec Mercon for the A4LD, as well as pretty much all of their transmissions. Dexron is a registered trademark of GM, Mercon is a registered trademark of Ford. Dexron III (which superseded Dexron II in the early 90s) is the same thing as regular Mercon. Ford and GM literally had different names for the same fluid. That's why you see many bottles of ATF that say "Dexron III/Mercon" or "Dex III/Merc" for short. Dex III/Mercon is about as generic of an ATF spec you can get, and probably just about any multi-vehicle or generic ATF will work just fine.

Now, both the Dexron III spec and Mercon specs are obsolete, and if you were to go to a Ford dealer and ask for Mercon, the parts guy would tell you it doesn't exist and that Mercon V supersedes it. Ditto for a GM dealer and they'd tell you Dexron VI supersedes Dex III. That doesn't mean that "Dex III/Merc" fluids don't exist (just go to any parts store and you'll find plenty of it). It just means that they're not "officially licensed" fluids. (In other words, Ford and GM haven't tested those fluids to make sure they meet their specifications and put their seal of approval on them.) If you want a current-spec fluid that Ford approves of, I'd go with an officially-licensed Mercon V fluid (look for the words "officially licensed" on the bottle; not all Mercon V is licensed!) If you have confidence that the oil company makes a good product without Ford looking over their shoulder, keeping them in check, then use a "Dex/Merc" fluid.

My mom is still driving an old '94 Explorer with the A4LD. Mercon is (was) the spec for it. I use Valvoline Maxlife in it. It has 225k miles and still shifts perfectly. Never had any problems with that transmission. I did the last fluid change at around 150k miles, so it's a little overdue for another change. I'll be doing another fluid change on it soon and I'll be using Maxlife again.
 
Originally Posted by exranger06
Woah, so much confusion in this thread. Let's back up a little here... The dipstick says Dex II, likely because, as someone else mentioned, Mercon didn't exist yet. As soon as Mercon existed, Ford DID spec Mercon for the A4LD, as well as pretty much all of their transmissions. Dexron is a registered trademark of GM, Mercon is a registered trademark of Ford. Dexron III (which superseded Dexron II in the early 90s) is the same thing as regular Mercon. Ford and GM literally had different names for the same fluid. That's why you see many bottles of ATF that say "Dexron III/Mercon" or "Dex III/Merc" for short. Dex III/Mercon is about as generic of an ATF spec you can get, and probably just about any multi-vehicle or generic ATF will work just fine.

Now, both the Dexron III spec and Mercon specs are obsolete, and if you were to go to a Ford dealer and ask for Mercon, the parts guy would tell you it doesn't exist and that Mercon V supersedes it. Ditto for a GM dealer and they'd tell you Dexron VI supersedes Dex III. That doesn't mean that "Dex III/Merc" fluids don't exist (just go to any parts store and you'll find plenty of it). It just means that they're not "officially licensed" fluids. (In other words, Ford and GM haven't tested those fluids to make sure they meet their specifications and put their seal of approval on them.) If you want a current-spec fluid that Ford approves of, I'd go with an officially-licensed Mercon V fluid (look for the words "officially licensed" on the bottle; not all Mercon V is licensed!) If you have confidence that the oil company makes a good product without Ford looking over their shoulder, keeping them in check, then use a "Dex/Merc" fluid.

My mom is still driving an old '94 Explorer with the A4LD. Mercon is (was) the spec for it. I use Valvoline Maxlife in it. It has 225k miles and still shifts perfectly. Never had any problems with that transmission. I did the last fluid change at around 150k miles, so it's a little overdue for another change. I'll be doing another fluid change on it soon and I'll be using Maxlife again.


Or, just use dexron VI which is the proper replacement for a dexron II fluid as marked on his dipstick.
 
Originally Posted by Jetsfan421
Not all dex VI is synthetic. Maxlife would probably be a better option for extended drain intervals, but the op states 30k. Any cheap Dex/Merc would suffice. Costs would also be cheaper, I can get gallons of Dex/Merc for like $10 at Rural King.

Correct, sorry I forgot that some were not fully synthetic. I was wrong.
 
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