My vehicle’s a ’00 Mitsubishi Pajero (Montero in the States), and I have quite a lengthy question regarding the type of ATF I should use. Over the years I’ve owned it (bought new), I used to trust the dealer to carry out my maintenance. This year, I decided I would take it to a trusted mechanic and supply my own parts/fluids – mainly because I wasn’t happy with their choice of lubricants. E.g. they still use 20W-50 motor oil, when 10W-30 makes the engine feel lighter and perform better – not forgetting to mention the gains in fuel economy.
The dealer’s choice of ATF was Gulf Dexron III, and my truck wasn’t too fund of it – if at all. Shifts were anything but smooth. The manual calls for “ATF Dexron II”, which I believe is no longer available and has been superseded/replaced by Dexron III.
Locally available products meeting this specification are all made in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Although people do use them with good results, I do not exactly trust the quality standards as much as I would with a European or American oil. The Gulf ATF was manufactured in the UAE for instance, and actually had a yellowish color to it.
After much research, I switched to Motorcraft Mercon and the shifts improved significantly. My next step was to treat my transmission with Auto-Rx, and the results were substantial! Not only did it smoothen out the shifting, but there was a significant improvement in acceleration. When the time came to flush the ATF after treatment, I did a complete flush using Motorcraft Mercon V.
Now, I’ve had some vibration issues with my engine for a while. Nobody was qualified enough to tell me what exactly was the problem (even the dealer), so I replaced various items – such as the emissions solenoid and engine idle resistor for instance. This was based on a so-called OBD-II reader a “professional” shop was using. They just plugged it in, revved the living daylights out of my engine and told me I need to replace the said parts. Others told me it was “normal”, when I know it isn’t. Now they reckon my MAP sensor is fubared. It got on my nerves, because nobody could figure out *** was causing it, and I just ignored it having thrown so much money at it.
Yesterday, I checked my maintenance records and noticed I’m due for an ATF flush in about 8,000 km (5,000 miles). As my transmission was already treated with ARX, I reckoned it wouldn’t hurt to add 45 ml (1.5 ounces) of ARX to the ATF until the 8,000 km mark. I thought nothing of it, but when I drove the truck afterwards there was a very noticeable difference. The light shudder that was there when waiting at a stop light (foot on brake, transmission in drive) almost disappeared and the sudden shifts went away. Also, when I shifted into reverse, I would have to wait a second or two before giving it a bit of gas – or else it would spin the rear wheels followed by a bang. Now that’s gone away too.
Speaking to the parts guy at the Mitsu dealer, I was told they now supply Mitsubishi’s own ATF – called Dia Queen SP-III. He said it has a more slippery formulation than that of Mercon V and said I should give it a try because it would help cure my shuddering problem. I know the new Monteros call for this, but older ones are fine with Dexron.
At the moment, I’m not sure if I should stick with Mercon V, or just go with the SP-III ATF. The SP-III is more costly, but if it will really help cure the shudder, then I will pay for it. If anybody has some experience with SP-III, or knows anything of its chemistry, I would appreciate it if you could enlighten me. Thank you.
The dealer’s choice of ATF was Gulf Dexron III, and my truck wasn’t too fund of it – if at all. Shifts were anything but smooth. The manual calls for “ATF Dexron II”, which I believe is no longer available and has been superseded/replaced by Dexron III.
Locally available products meeting this specification are all made in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Although people do use them with good results, I do not exactly trust the quality standards as much as I would with a European or American oil. The Gulf ATF was manufactured in the UAE for instance, and actually had a yellowish color to it.
After much research, I switched to Motorcraft Mercon and the shifts improved significantly. My next step was to treat my transmission with Auto-Rx, and the results were substantial! Not only did it smoothen out the shifting, but there was a significant improvement in acceleration. When the time came to flush the ATF after treatment, I did a complete flush using Motorcraft Mercon V.
Now, I’ve had some vibration issues with my engine for a while. Nobody was qualified enough to tell me what exactly was the problem (even the dealer), so I replaced various items – such as the emissions solenoid and engine idle resistor for instance. This was based on a so-called OBD-II reader a “professional” shop was using. They just plugged it in, revved the living daylights out of my engine and told me I need to replace the said parts. Others told me it was “normal”, when I know it isn’t. Now they reckon my MAP sensor is fubared. It got on my nerves, because nobody could figure out *** was causing it, and I just ignored it having thrown so much money at it.
Yesterday, I checked my maintenance records and noticed I’m due for an ATF flush in about 8,000 km (5,000 miles). As my transmission was already treated with ARX, I reckoned it wouldn’t hurt to add 45 ml (1.5 ounces) of ARX to the ATF until the 8,000 km mark. I thought nothing of it, but when I drove the truck afterwards there was a very noticeable difference. The light shudder that was there when waiting at a stop light (foot on brake, transmission in drive) almost disappeared and the sudden shifts went away. Also, when I shifted into reverse, I would have to wait a second or two before giving it a bit of gas – or else it would spin the rear wheels followed by a bang. Now that’s gone away too.
Speaking to the parts guy at the Mitsu dealer, I was told they now supply Mitsubishi’s own ATF – called Dia Queen SP-III. He said it has a more slippery formulation than that of Mercon V and said I should give it a try because it would help cure my shuddering problem. I know the new Monteros call for this, but older ones are fine with Dexron.
At the moment, I’m not sure if I should stick with Mercon V, or just go with the SP-III ATF. The SP-III is more costly, but if it will really help cure the shudder, then I will pay for it. If anybody has some experience with SP-III, or knows anything of its chemistry, I would appreciate it if you could enlighten me. Thank you.