Mixing Lubegard Platinum with Lubegard Red

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Just serviced my 1993 Ford Taurus GL with the AXOD metric transmission. Transmission has 155,000 miles on it and last fluid change was at 90,000. Tranny issues are slipping and "jumping" into drive and reverse. Changed fluid and filter. Then, I drove the car several miles, pumped three quarts out with hand pump through filler tube, added three quarts, repeated, until I had removed and added 15 quarts of fluid. Added a bottle of "Lucas transmission fix," and drove for a week. Some improvement. Read about "Lubegard" products. Bought a bottle of Platinum, removed one quart of tranny fluid and added ten oz Lubegard and topped off with fresh tranny fluid, (Advanced Auto DexIII/M. Improvements noticed right away. Have been reading more about Lubegard and discovered the Red bottle is really a better application for my car.

Question. Tranny still slips a little and still "jumps" a little bit. Can I add a bottle of Lubegard Red to my tranny along with the Lubegard Platinum? The Platinum seems to be working well with the Lucas Transmission fix, (or in spite of it). I would really like to try the Red but do not want to create an "unholy mixture" in my transmission. Trying to put off a rebuild as long as possible.

Thanks for the info - Glenn.
 
You are not going to know what you really have in there. I would extract all I could get out, and start fresh with the Mercon plus Lubegard Red. An alternative is to extract it all out and refill with Merc + Motorcraft Friction Modifier, available at Ford dealers, and my dealer told me that they put this Motorcraft product in all auto transmissions they service.
 
Yes. The platinum is red with a friction modifier to make dex III act like a highly friction modified fluid. So your just adding more red.
 
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You are not going to know what you really have in there. I would extract all I could get out, and start fresh with the Mercon plus Lubegard Red. An alternative is to extract it all out and refill with Merc + Motorcraft Friction Modifier, available at Ford dealers, and my dealer told me that they put this Motorcraft product in all auto transmissions they service.


For sure. You have so much OTC additive junk in there you don't have a good starting point for comparison.

Had you posted before you added this stuff, I think you would have gotten some advice on not using the Lucas. No one is sure what is in it and what it's long term effects might be.

Adding Lubeguard Platinum just increases the friction modifier content and could increase slipping.

If your tranny has internal problems, there is no after market fluid you can add that will cure it.

One of the first things one can do is to change the fluid and filter in an attempt to clean the valves in the valve body. Maybe add something like Amsoil flush and then drive for maybe 50 miles, but I prefer a fluid change in order to clean the internals slowly.
 
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Good idea, dump the mix and use the OEM additive. It's always better to try and use an OEM tranny fluid thickner if one is available before using any other product. The OP did the right thing with a couple of dump and fills before using the additive, as half the time just doing that solves the problem. Hope the tranny lasts a while longer, but don't be surprised if it does not.
 
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It's always better to try and use an OEM tranny fluid thickner if one is available before using any other product.


Wrong. Using a thickener solves nothing.
 
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YIKES!!! Lucas is really, really thick! It literally took ten minutes to pour in one bottle. Honestly, when I first started to pour, I thought I had gotten gear oil by mistake. I did a google search and discovered that it's suppose to be that thick. Some time ago I flushed out the power steering pump on the same car using Marvel Mystery Oil and then used Lucas Power Steering pump fix. It had been making the typical Ford Power steering pump noises and had a shutter when turning. After the Lucas, it works like new with hardly any noise. Hence the reason I wanted to use the Lucas in my tranny as it had worked so well in my power steering pump. I was afraid to use any kind of tranny flush, (Trans X or Seafoam) as when I dropped the pan to the tranny, it had a good layer of "grey clay" on the bottom. My fear was it might knock some major stuff loose and start clogging.
 
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Hence the reason I wanted to use the Lucas in my tranny as it had worked so well in my power steering pump.


Here we have two different systems with two different cause and effects. A power steering system is simply a hydraulic pump with a powered rack.

An AT is a hydraulic system with the addition of clutches/pressure plates and bands with an automatic control system which needs a specific viscosity of fluid with the proper dynamic friction modification chemistry. What is the Lucas doing to both?

If you drop the pan simply clean the pan with a solvent to get rid of the crud.

The new fluid may remove most of the surface stuff but what I think you have is varnishing of the valving and pistons which the fluid may not remove it until more damage is done.
 
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I have a 1992 Taurus LX, has 244k on the motor, and I'm assuming the tranny is the same. I am the 2nd owner, and put probably 50k on the car.
when I got it, it was (and kinda still is) in pretty beat up shape, the tranny slipped consistantly.
I know not to EVER use a lucas product, not even if I was going to bring it to the junkyard on its last run.
I put 1 bottle of LG Red in and within 40miles the shifting smoothed out and I began driving the car like it was stolen.
Every 15k I siphoned out what I could from the pan and put another bottle of LG Red in. Nobody would ever know the tranny needs to be retired, like a long time ago!! It shifts smooth and maybe once in a rare occassion of climbing a hill it'll shutter for a second, but it goes away quickly.

for you p/s pump, Ford pumps of that era were designed to not have a tight shaft tolerance, so you get the classic Ford p/s whine. putting a thick fluid in (it's supposed to have type F or Mercon) like the lucas sludge will quiet the pump down because the thicker oil takes up the looseness that was purposely designed in there.
 
@ Molakule - not trying to argue but really trying to understand - if any of the internal pumps are worn, (which I'm sure they are) wouldn't the thicker fluids take up the slack so to speak?
 
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@ Molakule - not trying to argue but really trying to understand - if any of the internal pumps are worn, (which I'm sure they are) wouldn't the thicker fluids take up the slack so to speak?


NP. Not really because if your pump is worn, the leakage around the pump components won't raise the internal pressures. All fluid pumps have a small percentage of leakage when new but this leakage increases as the pump(s) wear.

An ATF is designed for a fluid with a set of specific dynamic friction modifiers and narrow fluid viscosity specs. Dumping in a thickener with unknown friction characteristics can only make things worse.

If a tranny cleaner doesn't work to remove the varnish, then you may have go to a transmission shop and have them tap into the pressure taps and see what the pressures really are.
 
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In transmissions with problems such as slipping, there are usually a number of issues:

1. Valves in valve body are varnished and don't move with the proper timing,

2. Low presuure due to worn pumps,

3. Actuators (pistons) are varnished and don't move with the proper timing,

4. worn clutch/pressure plate packs,

5. electrically activated solenoids are malfunctioning.

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If a tranny cleaner doesn't work to remove the varnish, then you may have go to a transmission shop and have them tap into the pressure taps and see what the pressures really are.


Just to add you need clean, virgin fluid in there without any additives for this test.
 
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