Mercon LV fluid required for 2015 Taurus?

[neo3]

Since I recently bought a new-ish car (2015 Taurus) I now have the requirement for LV fluid, which I'd never heard of before. My question is, is this stuff really required for the transmission to work correctly, or is it mainly to improve gas mileage by some small amount? I will always take better wear protection over better mileage.

 

[StevieC]

OE's went (or are moving) to lower viscosity fluids for fuel economy but that said that doesn't mean you can or should go to a thicker fluid because they might have made changes to accommodate this lower viscosity fluid. If the manual doesn't specifically say Mercon-LV or Mercon V is ok to use then I would stick to the LV only. I believe either is ok though but I can't confirm this but I think I remember reading it somewhere on here that both were acceptable.

 

[Warstud]

Are you looking for a thicker fluid because the trans slips when the car is warmed up ?

 

[RyanY]

My $.02

I would just use Maxlife. If valvoline recommends it, it is good enough for me. And it's readily available and dirt cheap. Ditto for Pennzoil Platinum LV or Castrol Transmax. If you want the very best (i.e., longest lasting), use Amsoil or Redline. These are a bit more spendy though. I don't know whether the gas mileage varies between brands or viscosities, but these products seem to protect as well as any "thicker" fluids in all of the vehicles I have owned.

 

[tig1]

Even though M1 ATF does not have the LV spec I'm tempted to start using it in my 2017 Fusion with the 6F35 trans which calls for LV. My 2007 Fusion calls for FNR-5 ATF and all I have used in it has been M1 ATF( M1 doesn't have that spec either) and that trans shifts great, up and down with 231K. Stay Tuned!!!

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Most new cars use LV fluid, including your Taurus. Maxlife ATF is great stuff

 

[dogememe]

I just put Maxlife in my 6F35 that specs Mercon LV. Worked great!

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted by slacktide_bitog
Most new cars use LV fluid, including your Taurus. Maxlife ATF is great stuff

How can a fluid spec for both Mercon V and Mercon LV?

 

[Klutch9]

It's been awhile, so forgive me if this seems overly simplified... but fluids like MaxLife can be recommended for both thicker and thinner OEM fluids because of fluid characteristics. For example, older fluids like Mercon V and Dexron 3 start out somewhere in the 7 cSt range at 100 C, and can potentially shear down into the 5 cSt range at the end of life. Fluids like Mercon LV and Dexron 6 (also MaxLife) start out around 6 cSt, but hardly shear at all, and/or will shear no lower than the older, thicker fluids would. So basically MaxLife will always stay in proper viscosity range for either thicker or thinner fluid specification. This is partly why Dexron 6 is (completely?) backwards compatible with Dexron 3. I'd bet my money that Mercon LV would work in situations where Mercon V was also spec'd, but Ford hasn't said so yet.

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted by Klutch9
It's been awhile, so forgive me if this seems overly simplified... but fluids like MaxLife can be recommended for both thicker and thinner OEM fluids because of fluid characteristics. For example, older fluids like Mercon V and Dexron 3 start out somewhere in the 7 cSt range at 100 C, and can potentially shear down into the 5 cSt range at the end of life. Fluids like Mercon LV and Dexron 6 (also MaxLife) start out around 6 cSt, but hardly shear at all, and/or will shear no lower than the older, thicker fluids would. So basically MaxLife will always stay in proper viscosity range for either thicker or thinner fluid specification. This is partly why Dexron 6 is (completely?) backwards compatible with Dexron 3. I'd bet my money that Mercon LV would work in situations where Mercon V was also spec'd, but Ford hasn't said so yet.

This encourages me to go ahead and use M1 ATF . M1 ATF is 7.4 cST. Thanks for the explanation.

 

[Klutch9]

Originally Posted by tig1
Originally Posted by Klutch9
It's been awhile, so forgive me if this seems overly simplified... but fluids like MaxLife can be recommended for both thicker and thinner OEM fluids because of fluid characteristics. For example, older fluids like Mercon V and Dexron 3 start out somewhere in the 7 cSt range at 100 C, and can potentially shear down into the 5 cSt range at the end of life. Fluids like Mercon LV and Dexron 6 (also MaxLife) start out around 6 cSt, but hardly shear at all, and/or will shear no lower than the older, thicker fluids would. So basically MaxLife will always stay in proper viscosity range for either thicker or thinner fluid specification. This is partly why Dexron 6 is (completely?) backwards compatible with Dexron 3. I'd bet my money that Mercon LV would work in situations where Mercon V was also spec'd, but Ford hasn't said so yet.

This encourages me to go ahead and use M1 ATF . M1 ATF is 7.4 cST. Thanks for the explanation.


Tig, although a thinner fluid can and in many times does work in a situation where a thicker fluid was originally specified (as explained above), I don't think the other way around is recommended... i.e. a thicker fluid where a thinner one was recommended. I'm sure the M1 would eventually shear down to be in grade, but not for quite some time. Who knows, maybe your 6F35 will work fine with thicker fluid, but I certainly wouldn't try it, given how abysmal ours has been in our Fusion over the past 8 years. Maybe they DO need a thicker fluid!

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted by Klutch9
Originally Posted by tig1
Originally Posted by Klutch9
It's been awhile, so forgive me if this seems overly simplified... but fluids like MaxLife can be recommended for both thicker and thinner OEM fluids because of fluid characteristics. For example, older fluids like Mercon V and Dexron 3 start out somewhere in the 7 cSt range at 100 C, and can potentially shear down into the 5 cSt range at the end of life. Fluids like Mercon LV and Dexron 6 (also MaxLife) start out around 6 cSt, but hardly shear at all, and/or will shear no lower than the older, thicker fluids would. So basically MaxLife will always stay in proper viscosity range for either thicker or thinner fluid specification. This is partly why Dexron 6 is (completely?) backwards compatible with Dexron 3. I'd bet my money that Mercon LV would work in situations where Mercon V was also spec'd, but Ford hasn't said so yet.

This encourages me to go ahead and use M1 ATF . M1 ATF is 7.4 cST. Thanks for the explanation.


Tig, although a thinner fluid can and in many times does work in a situation where a thicker fluid was originally specified (as explained above), I don't think the other way around is recommended... i.e. a thicker fluid where a thinner one was recommended. I'm sure the M1 would eventually shear down to be in grade, but not for quite some time. Who knows, maybe your 6F35 will work fine with thicker fluid, but I certainly wouldn't try it, given how abysmal ours has been in our Fusion over the past 8 years. Maybe they DO need a thicker fluid!

Maybe the 2017 Fusin has had some internal changes that yours doesn't have, as this one shifts great, up and down.

 

[Klutch9]

Originally Posted by tig1
Originally Posted by Klutch9
Originally Posted by tig1
Originally Posted by Klutch9
It's been awhile, so forgive me if this seems overly simplified... but fluids like MaxLife can be recommended for both thicker and thinner OEM fluids because of fluid characteristics. For example, older fluids like Mercon V and Dexron 3 start out somewhere in the 7 cSt range at 100 C, and can potentially shear down into the 5 cSt range at the end of life. Fluids like Mercon LV and Dexron 6 (also MaxLife) start out around 6 cSt, but hardly shear at all, and/or will shear no lower than the older, thicker fluids would. So basically MaxLife will always stay in proper viscosity range for either thicker or thinner fluid specification. This is partly why Dexron 6 is (completely?) backwards compatible with Dexron 3. I'd bet my money that Mercon LV would work in situations where Mercon V was also spec'd, but Ford hasn't said so yet.

This encourages me to go ahead and use M1 ATF . M1 ATF is 7.4 cST. Thanks for the explanation.


Tig, although a thinner fluid can and in many times does work in a situation where a thicker fluid was originally specified (as explained above), I don't think the other way around is recommended... i.e. a thicker fluid where a thinner one was recommended. I'm sure the M1 would eventually shear down to be in grade, but not for quite some time. Who knows, maybe your 6F35 will work fine with thicker fluid, but I certainly wouldn't try it, given how abysmal ours has been in our Fusion over the past 8 years. Maybe they DO need a thicker fluid!

Maybe the 2017 Fusin has had some internal changes that yours doesn't have, as this one shifts great, up and down.


I think they've worked out most of the issues over the years. Ours was rebuilt twice under warranty. It's a hit or miss thing. Several friends have owned Fusions/Escapes with the same powertrain of the same vintage and have zero issues to speak of.

 

[Whimsey]

Our 2017 2.3 EcoBoost is heavier than the Fusion and Escape and Ford in there infinite wisdom put the same 6F35 in our Explorer. This doesn't give me warm and fuzzy feelings for longevity of the transmission, especially following Ford's call for 150,000 mile ATF changes. After several shorter term initial ATF changes I'll settle on a 15-20,000 mile change routine since it's real easy to do. As far as shifting it's been real good, no complaints. Much better than the 5 sp auto in our 2005 Explorer with the 4.6 V-8, even since it was new. I'm hopeful to get 200,000 miles+ out of this transmission as with our 2005, with the above mentioned care.

Whimsey

 

[tig1]

Klutch9,
A friend has a 2010 Fusion 2.5 and has had no problems(minor stuff only) with either the engine or trans.

 

[dogememe]

Regarding using thicker in an LV application, according to Royal Purple tech support, while the bottle says not too for warranty reasons, it should be safe to use Royal Purple Max ATF in the 6F35 on my Escape and it would supposedly perform fine (though I decided to save money and use Maxlife instead)