Was there much metal in it???? The picture does not show it...
New CVT oil ??
- Thread starter DadTim@No1
- Start date
Most of what you see is metal (the dark / black). The magnets will be covered in black, metal paste and the pan will probably be coated as well. Changing the fluid and filter does not bring back the filtering efficiency of the magnets.
FYI, I'll be wrapping up the fluid swap to Amsoil CTV fluid in my '21 Crosstrek (OEM calls for CVTF III) here soon. Car has almost 30K on it. I pulled the pan and cleaned the pan and the magnet. Also replaced the pickup strainer with a new one. Pan had a slight grey film on it and the magnet had some black paste on it. Was not horrible at all, but it was not spotless either. The magnet still had LOTS of capacity left yet. The pickup screen had very minor black-ish specks of something as well. I'll be doing 4 or 5 drain/refills, which should put me right around 90% Amsoil fluid. I actually have the 4th one draining right now and may do one more. I measured all the drains and made a spreadsheet computing roughly what I have for old vs new fluid per drain/refill. Four will give me ~88% Amsoil fluid while 5 will give me ~93%.
I'll be totally honest. I'm kinda nervous that I made the wrong decision by moving away from the OEM fluid. I won't be happy with Amsoil if I have any issues with this fluid and have to spend hundreds more $$$ to revert back to OEM.
I'll be totally honest. I'm kinda nervous that I made the wrong decision by moving away from the OEM fluid. I won't be happy with Amsoil if I have any issues with this fluid and have to spend hundreds more $$$ to revert back to OEM.
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Let me say a couple things, not sure if this will ease your mind.
I've been using this fluid and have sold A LOT of it the last 5+ years. Not one complaint of any variety. Let alone any serious issue. I know nothing scientific or statistically valid, but not ****ing either.
Do you have a definition of happiness? I mean if you mean simply no issue with the fluid you will be fine. Does this mean a Crosstek CVT won't fail for any reason? No of course not. Any mech item can break.
yeah, I just mean no issues with the fluid causing goofy shifting, shuddering, etc.
Sounds like you did a good job, congrats. When I did mine (Nissan) I added an extra five magnets or so. It's due for a cleaning & inspection. Very happy with my first year of Amsoil CVT fluid!
I would check for any TSBs that are related to your car / tranny. In my case there was a few firmware updates for the TCU (transmission ECM) that will likely save the CVT from early failure but only Nissan has access to those details. A CVT (or AT) can be easily be adjusted, fixed or destroyed based on the code that controls it.
Understood. Thanks.
So you’re calling HPL’s CVT fluid a “generic” fluid to use at our own risk? Even though Dave has publicly stated he fully stands behind said fluid’s applicability to all forms of Subaru’s CVT fluids?
Correct! That's exactly what I'm saying!
So far so good! Buttoned it up yesterday and then did the CVT relearn process and took it for a drive. Also took it for another drive this morning when it was colder out (30's). If anything, it seems to "shift" smoother, especially at very slow speeds (like right before coming to a stop) where it was always a bit jerky.
What got me doubting my choice was running across these two links. Granted it's not the same vehicle or CVT, but it is a Subaru. No idea the validity of his claims.
https://www.ascentforums.com/threads/cvt-fluid-soa748v0300.8520/page-3
What got me doubting my choice was running across these two links. Granted it's not the same vehicle or CVT, but it is a Subaru. No idea the validity of his claims.
https://www.ascentforums.com/threads/cvt-fluid-soa748v0300.8520/page-3
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I suppose anything is possible. Are those CVTs known for failures?
I can’t even wrap my head around what might be going on there. Almost seems like someone put Amsoil CVT fluid in an already exploded CVT. Hard to say. Nothing scientific
Exactly. Just seems like confirmation bias blame games. Not necessarily proof of any kind; as usual correlation doesn't necessarily equal causation.
If curious/interested. Here's the video the guy above is referring to and who is the one who supposedly destroyed the transmission.
All I'm finding is that one Robert guy claiming all of this. I'm curious to know what the facts are, regardless.
All I'm finding is that one Robert guy claiming all of this. I'm curious to know what the facts are, regardless.
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The crux of the issue with Subaru (and other mfgs) is that they often sell non-compatible, non-spec fluids which is counter the the aftermarket lubrication mfgs who sell compatible, in-spec fluids.
For instance, I should not use Nissan NS-2 fluid in a Subaru HT-CVT application but Valvoline Maxlife ATF will work great in both applications (and many others). Valvoline is also half the price or better.
In my experience over the last 20+ years of using multi-ATF and multi-CVT fluids is, the OE fluids are for the fearful, the ignorant, and the early adopters.
Well then how come when I used Maxlif ATF in my Nissan, it shifted like crap afterward? Shift flare like crazy. When cold, it held on to the lower gears to much higher high rpm than it should, instead of shifting up?
Honestly, your post is insulting. Ignorant? Really? I worked for a major asian for 21 years, in their Engineering department. I'm ignorant?
Simple fact is a generic fluid may work fine, or it may not shift as well as it should. It's a gamble. If you want to gamble, go for it. For people that want to be conservative, or have had bad experiences previously, these are not ignorant people.
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I use Dexron licensed and approved driveline and tranny fluids in my ATS's. I'm sure others will work fine, but these are very good products. I dumped the original 11 year old fill from the front diff of the new-to-me 2014 ATS. Their diff fluid has an extremely long service life to mitigate the behaviour(s) of the majority of neglectful owners.
Now if I had a beater and I was trying to save every penny, definitely whatever cheapest is on the shelf because I suspect it will work just fine 9/10.
Now if I had a beater and I was trying to save every penny, definitely whatever cheapest is on the shelf because I suspect it will work just fine 9/10.
Did you follow the service manual and TSBs related to the transmission service? There are often resets / learning procedures to go through as part of the service. I did these and had no issue with any of the four aftermarket CVTF that I've tried so far. I also updated the TCU but that was after years of CVT service and inspection.
In the vast majority of cases, there is nothing special about your CVT that requires a special fluid. Most of the time CVTs are neglected and under serviced and suffer excessive wear and damage from lack of service. OE fluids are often not a benefit but they may be easier to acquire for some. In my experience, they come at a higher price than a better performing, more compatible, aftermarket fluid.