Please make ATF recommendations for VW Tiptronic

[BobW44]

ATF maintenance is a overdue on my 03 passat 5spd tiptronic (aka 01V) . As the car was purchased used at 60K and now 72K, the trany fluid is probably the original factory fill; probably overdue for a change.
I am, of course, open to suggestions, but I'm thinking I can accomplish a nearly-entire fluid flush by performing a few drain-and-fill's over the course of a few days. I also would replace the filter but haven't decided when in the sequence of drain-and-fills to perform that step.

I've scoured the internet for suggestions, recommendations, veats ,etc with quite a myriad of results.

The Bentley manual says to use synthetic atf: VW G-052-162-A2
ZF says to use Esso-LT71141
Valvoline's letter of 7-June-2004 says its Mercon-V is ok for a lot of things (including BMV's with LT71441 and Honda ATF-Z1 except cvt's but does not even list VW's)Coastal's multi-vehicle synthetic blend shows ZF approved on its label.
I also see ATF-4 being mentioned in the threads with WM's Super-tech being quite popular.

Being value-conscious and not brand-loyal, I'm looking for the least expensive solution that meets the performance specs.

Any comments on my drain-and-fill approach ?

Any suggestions for ATF?

 

[hate2work]

Your drain and refill approach is a good one. Between them you want to drive it enough to get a good mix before the next drain.

As far as cheap fluids that would work, I'm not sure about that. Amsoil says their universal syn fluid is compatible with the O1V transmission, but I can tell you it's not cheap.

If you plan on keeping this car, you might consider using something other than the cheapest thing you can find. With only 72k on it, I'm guessing you could go for another 100k with proper maintenance.

Oh, and welcome to bitog

 

[The Critic]

You can flush the transmission. If you go to TDIClub, there is one technician (oilhammer) who has a flush machine that is able to flush the ZF units. Perhaps he can tell you which lines he uses to hook up the machine, so you can do the same in yourself.

A lot of people have had success with the various multi-vehicle ATFs that claim Esso LT71141 compatibility. They are not OEM approved, but they seem to work fine.

 

[Ken2]

Red Line recommends their D4 ATF
http://www.redlineoil.com/pdf/3.pdf
But contact Red Line to confirm.
http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/product/RedLineOilATFD4/Gear_Oil_And_Transmission_Oil

There are no low cost fluids that meet the spec. There might be some that are close enough to work well...or maybe not.