MAXLIFE ATF

[Drew7a]

I am generally a fan of Maxlife ATF, and use in in Aisin transmissions and Honda transmissions with great results.

I decided to take it one step further, and this summer I tried in on a velvet drive marine transmission that calls for DEXIII. The transmission immediately started slipping,
engaging and disengaging. I immediately drained the maxlife fluid and relaced with an old bottle of DEXIII I had laying around and trans works flawlessly.

Why would Maxlife ATF cause this slippage? Viscosity? The bottle states use where DEXIII is called for.

I was going to replaced my PS fluid in my toyota with maxlife as it calls for DEXIII, but now am concerned.

 

[kschachn]

I am generally a fan of Maxlife ATF, and use in in Aisin transmissions and Honda transmissions with great results.

I decided to take it one step further, and this summer I tried in on a velvet drive marine transmission that calls for DEXIII. The transmission immediately started slipping,
engaging and disengaging. I immediately drained the maxlife fluid and relaced with an old bottle of DEXIII I had laying around and trans works flawlessly.

Why would Maxlife ATF cause this slippage? Viscosity? The bottle states use where DEXIII is called for.

I was going to replaced my PS fluid in my toyota with maxlife as it calls for DEXIII, but now am concerned.

Honest answer? It wouldn’t. If you experienced those symptoms it was due to something else.

 

[Drew7a]

Honest answer? It wouldn’t. If you experienced those symptoms it was due to something else.
[/QUOTE
It ran flawlessly before maxlife and
Why would draining the maxlife
immediately solve the problem and it ran flawlessly all summer.

 

[kschachn]

That’s quite the mystery.

 

[Graham Piccinini]

Maxlife is lower viscosity than DEXIII. Maybe that was it... As far as Maxlife in P/S goes - use with confidence. I have it in P/S of all my Toyota/Lexus vehicles and all run great. Fixed/reduced small leaks in P/S as well. Quieted one noisy P/S pump as well.

 

[beechcraftted]

I have had several velvet drives apart. They are fairly simple inside, consisting of a gerotor front pump and a F and R clutch pack. It only develops a very low 100 psi. Also a fan of Maxlife, it should work fine, did you confirm fluid level ?

 

[mattwithcats]

Maxlife is Dexron VI, which is lower viscosity than Dexron III...

Use Valvoline Dex/Merc, which is Dexron III...

Valvoline™ DEX/MERC ATF : Product Catalog - Valvoline™

Valvoline™ DEX/MERC ATF is an automatic transmission fluid formulated with premium base stocks and advanced additive technology to meet the challenging demands of an automatic transmission environment. Find this and other Valvoline brand products you need for your atf.

www.valvoline.com

I suggest a TES-295 fluid, which is synthetic Dexron III...

On-Highway Fluids

Allison Transmission approved fluids are tested to meet our stringent requirements, which ensure maximum transmission durability with minimal downtime.

www.allisontransmission.com

 

[mattwithcats]

Wikipedia
“Dexron VI is of a slightly lower viscosity when new compared to the prior Dexron fluids (a maximum of 6.4 cSt at 100 °C for Dexron VI and 7.5 cSt for Dexron III), but the allowed viscosity loss from shearing of the ATF during use is lower for Dexron VI, resulting in the same lowest allowed final viscosity for both Dexron III and VI (5.5 cSt) in test.[21] In reality most of the DEXRON-III fluids typically sheared to about 4.2 cSt in use. The lower, more stable viscosity improved pumping efficiency within the transmission and fluid stability over life. Since Dexron VI is not allowed to thin out (lower its viscosity) as much as Dexron III during use, it requires the use of higher-quality, more shear-stable (less prone to thinning while in use) formulations.”

 

[mattwithcats]

TES-295 is heavy truck transmission fluid, CST is 7.3...

PdsDetailsPage

Mobil Delvac Synthetic ATF is a fully synthetic fluid recommended by Allison Transmission, Inc. and approved against the Allison TES-295 and TES-468 Specifications.

www.mobil.com

 

[Ovalnut]

I was concerned with the lower maxlife viscosity for a Matic K application. I went with Transmax IMV instead, its 7.4 i believe. Works well so far

 

[JMJNet]

I would not worry about using it in a Toyota P/S.

I am not sure why it caused trouble in your marine velvet transmission.

 

[kschachn]

I would not worry about using it in a Toyota P/S.

I am not sure why it caused trouble in your marine velvet transmission.

It did not. That’s one thing I’m sure of in this thread.

 

[HyundaiAbuser]

im using maxlife in my tiburon p/s system and it smoothed out the steering when its real cold.

 

[demarpaint]

Assuming the level was correct, I have a feeling the transmission has some issues, which might become more pronounced shortly.

 

[Tones]

For plain old Dex III, I would use Mobil 1 ATF.

 

[Drew7a]

Maxlife is Dexron VI, which is lower viscosity than Dexron III...

Use Valvoline Dex/Merc, which is Dexron III...

Valvoline™ DEX/MERC ATF : Product Catalog - Valvoline™

Valvoline™ DEX/MERC ATF is an automatic transmission fluid formulated with premium base stocks and advanced additive technology to meet the challenging demands of an automatic transmission environment. Find this and other Valvoline brand products you need for your atf.

www.valvoline.com

I suggest a TES-295 fluid, which is synthetic Dexron III...

On-Highway Fluids

Allison Transmission approved fluids are tested to meet our stringent requirements, which ensure maximum transmission durability with minimal downtime.

www.allisontransmission.com

I will try that for next season. Thx

 

[Drew7a]

I have had several velvet drives apart. They are fairly simple inside, consisting of a gerotor front pump and a F and R clutch pack. It only develops a very low 100 psi. Also a fan of Maxlife, it should work fine, did you confirm fluid level ?

Agree they are simple and the unit has been bullet proof. Always change the fluid every season, this past season I decided why not use maxlife in it as well. The fluid was correct, and the issues started immediately. Put boat back on lift changed to dex III smooth and normal.

 

[Drew7a]

It did not. That’s one thing I’m sure of in this thread.

Maxlife was the only variable, once the variable was removed problem solved. Conclusion Maxlife and this particular velvet drive do not agree, why is the question. (Glazed clutch pack, viscosity,).

 

[kschachn]

Maxlife was the only variable, once the variable was removed problem solved. Conclusion Maxlife and this particular velvet drive do not agree, why is the question. (Glazed clutch pack, viscosity,).

Whenever anyone says that something in the real world is the "only variable", I know they don't know what they're talking about. That is never true.

Somehow I think there is something else going on here and it may not be mechanical.

 

[nascarnation]

If it was viscosity related, it's probable the new Valvoline was at least as viscous as the used Dex III.