AAMCO trans fluid and additive?

[mosinman]

Had the 5r55E serviced at AAMCO. Just the normal pan drop and filter change. Looking at the reciept, it said four quarts of DexronIII/Mercon. Asked the shop owner and he said that they use an approved additive in the Dex/Merc that meets MerconV specs. Said they use it in all cases that call for MerconV without problems. Should I worry about this?????
The owner is a real straightforward guy and they do good work. I don't think they would try to BS me over something so cheap and trivial, but I guess you never know these days.

 

[BillJ]

Lubegard

Lubegard makes some very good products which can make general ATF to be compatable to Mercon V.

Check out their site: http://www.lubegard.com/automotive/trans_atf_mv.html

You may want to ask what product they did use.

 

[BrooklynBay]

It is best to use Mercon V from the start. If they used Mercon III by accident, then the additive is used. Technically, they should always use Mercon V from the start on a 5R55E. I have a fluid application chart in my signature that shows a list of what type of fluid to use in each application.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Here is the link to the fluid application chart: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1348273&postcount=10

 

[Wrench]

Mercon V only

Well you now have a mixture of fluids in your tranny. Your trans has around 12 L of fluid in the system. You only changed a small portion of it. Mercon V is a synthetic blend and is the only recommended fluid for your trans.

 

[toy720]

I beleive i read somewhere that most tranny shops use dexronIII/mercon as a standard because its cheaper as a bulk and then use the additive?

 

[BrooklynBay]

That's the only reason they use it (cheaper), besides the fact that they would have to stock more than one type of fluid.

 

[mosinman]

I beleive i read somewhere that most tranny shops use dexronIII/mercon as a standard because its cheaper as a bulk and then use the additive?

I'm beginning to believe this may be correct. I put in a call to AAMCO's national customer service line. The person took all the info and told me one of their corporate techs would review it to see if this is normal and accepted AAMCO practice and get back to me. We shall see. At any rate I bought a few bottles of real MerconV. I can easily drain quart of ATF at a time with a rubber tube from the dipstick and then refill. Wont get all the stuff AAMCO put in, but will dilute it quite a bit- and put in new MerconV.

Thanks for the input.

 

[toy720]

I think you would be fine as long as they used the additive.

 

[Glacier991]

The use of Mercon III and the additive is an accepted practice. Is it as good as Mercon V? Well... friction property wise yes, longevity wise, maybe not. It is not going to hurt anything. I'd not get excited about it.

 

[mosinman]

MerconV

Thanks again everyone for all the help. After checking around, it does seem as though the additive to dexronIII/mercon is normal practice in many shops in order to meet MerconV spec on the cheap. I can't believe it is as good as MerconV, which is semi-synthetic, but I also don't believe those four quarts will cause any damage. Like glacier991 says, nothing to get excited about. I will post again when (or if) AAMCO's corporate office replies to my question.

 

[Wrench]

Get AAMCO's corporate office to put it in writing about the addition of additives. I know that ATF fluid is one of the finest petroleum lubricants we have but with todays demands and different materials used, it's hard to use a "one fits all mind set". If the fluid/additive that they put in meets M5000601 performance requirements then I guess it's up to you.

 

[mosinman]

Aamco

Well, never received any feedback from the corporate office. Instead, I got a phone call from the shop owner saying they had been contacted by the corporate office. The shop said the corporate office said I was unhappy with their service, and that the shop would be happy to dain my trans and fill it with real MerconV.
I never told the corporate office I was unhappy. My only purpose was to find out if DexronIII/Mercon with an additive was standard practice with AAMCO. This is still unanswered. So much for contacting the corporate office.

 

[rizzjc]

At least they offered a FULL refull with Mercon V, so why not take it?! That'll teach them to answer your question next time, instead of just throwing money at the problem, but you get piece of mind outa the deal!

 

[BrooklynBay]

They know that they used the wrong kind of fluid, so they offered to change it without making any legal issues, or getting bad publicity. The average person coming into them would not know the difference, so they have gotten away with it until now. They will not answer your question about it being a common practice, because this would imply that they are deceiving people that are not knowledgeable, or that the shop doesn't know which fluid to use. You could use their response against them, so they are afraid.