Question about Valvoline Maxlife Dexron III

[Rtstrider]

My question is, what makes it special? I use it and have noticed smoother shifting, but why? I know that's a dumb question...Also is it a semi synthetic or is it just regular atf?

 

[Rtstrider]

bump

 

[KBFXDLI]

It's Dexron......maybe a more robust additive package but still Dexron

 

[Rtstrider]

Well I put the lucas transmission fix in there also, seemed to help shifiting smooth out quite a bit also, is that a no no?

 

[KBFXDLI]

If it works why not. That Lucas additive is probably a friction modifier like lubeguard. That is probably what is smoothing it out.

 

[Rtstrider]

Alright, I thought I heard somewhere that it was bad stuff, and it gummed up or maybe that was just the Oil Stabilizer (I'm talking about the Lucas stuff)

 

[D Bone]

I have the Lucas transmission fix in my '99 Dakota. My transmission was starting to slip real bad, so in a last ditch effort, I tried the Lucas product. I figured "What the h#ll"?

That was 17 months and 15,000 miles ago! My transmission shifts just like new, and it hasn't slipped yet, not once. I don't know how, what, or why it works, it just works. I'm sure some day I'll have to rebuild my transmission, but at least I'm postponing it as long as possible.

 

[nicholas]

hey guys,
I had a 95 escort 4 door, and at 170,000kms the 2nd to 3rd gear change was slipping very badly.
I dropped the pan, changed the filter, and added 1 bottle of the lucas transmission stuff, In about 30kms, the slip was completly gone.....,
I sold the car with 250,000kms on it, and it shifted fine...

I think its better than a last ditch effort product.

 

[unDummy]

New fluid tends to shift smoother.

1st reason is because you replaced sheared ATF with new thicker fluid.
2nd reason is that some, like the Maxlife, are HFM'd for multivehicle usage.

Maxlife doesn't mention 'synthetic' on the bottle or datasheet.

Lucas, IMO, simple bumps the vicosity back up. It might also condition the seals to prevent internal PSI loss. Its pretty sticky/tacky and might actual become the seal. I've never seen any mention of friction modifiers concerning Lucas products. But, it protects gears(AW/EP) and prevents foaming so there might be some other additives in the snot.

Anyone that has transmission issues should debug the issue. Simply adding anything and calling it a fix is borderline bull. Try a full ATF flush, filter change, magnet/pan cleaning, cooler cleaning, ECU/TCU scan..... prior to expecting miracles from 'bottle rebuilds'.