Please tell me which synthetic fluids to use.

[97WillowXLT]

97 xlt 4-door.

I'm going to drop the transmission pan, replace the filter, and I'd like to go synthetic... Which brand/kind should I get? IIRC, it takes 3 quarts to fill up right?

I also will be replacing the rear end fluid with synthetic... same thing here, what brand/kind should I get, and how much does it take to fill it up... anything else I should do while doing this? I'm not going to do the front... I only use 4x4 2-3 times a year at most... hardly ever; it sees no strain.

Thanks guys.

 

[aldive]

If you want to replace all of the ATF, in addition to the pan drop, be sure you do a flush. I use Amsoil ATF.

For your rear, I also recommend Amsoil.

Good luck ....

 

[briwayjones]

Amsoil, Royal Purple or Mobil 1.

 

[UtahX]

M1 or Amsoil that I would go with. I believe it takes 12 in the tranny, for a flush 16.

 

[97WillowXLT]

Thanks guys...

for the ATF, What type is it, i.e. mercon ii, dexron 5, or what? Thanks.

For the rearend.. same thing, what weight or whatever?

 

[celly]

Amsoil has an excellent application guide. Try their site (amsoil.com).

 

[JohnnyO]

Thanks guys...
for the ATF, What type is it, i.e. mercon ii, dexron 5, or what? Thanks.
For the rearend.. same thing, what weight or whatever?

Probably Mercon V for the tranny, but I don't know for sure. Mobil 1 ATF was only recently given Mercon V specs so make sure you get the newer bottles and check the labels first. Mobil 1 says it's okay for Mercon and Mercon V both, so you won't go wrong with that. The transfer case calls for plain Mercon and I have Mobil 1 ATF in there.
On my Sport Trac I have conflicting info in the owners' manual, on one page it says 80w-90 for the rear and on another it says 75w-140. I have Mobil 1 75w-90 in the front axle and 75w-140 in the rear.

 

[97WillowXLT]

yup, it's merconV... says so right on the dipstick (and i feel like one right now)...

Hopefully going to get around to doing the flush of the transmission this week... I'm set on mobil 1 due to it being widely available.. but i may go amsoil because their site is so helpful. $6 a quart x 16 for a flush, ahhhhhh, but hopefully I'll get a 20% discount from a friend and knock that out....

Thanks for the amsoil link, it has an EXCELLENT product guide.

For my SOHC:

Automatic Transmission.....MA5[1]
Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid
Differential, Front .....GL-5
75W-90
Severe Gear 75W-90
SAE 75W-90 Synthetic Gear Lube
Controlled Slip Differential, Rear .....GL-5*[2]
80W-90
Severe Gear 75W-90
Standard Differential, Rear .....GL-5[3]
75W-140
Severe Gear 75W-140
SAE 80W-140 Synthetic Gear Lube
Transfer Case,Full-Time 4WD.....MA
Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid
Transfer Case,Warrner 4405.....MA
Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid
Fluids
Power Steering Fluid.....MA
Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid
Brake Fluid.....HBH
Clutch Fluid.....HBH

1. Use Mercon V, part no. XT-5-QM. Do not use regular Mercon.
Ford Motor Co. recommends the use of Mercon V in AODE/
4R70W TRANSs which experience vibration & shudder
under light to moderate acceleration above 35 mph or
TRANS fluid brakedown.When changing to Mercon V
drain all TRANS fluid including torque converter
Cooler & cooler lines.


A few questions....

1: it has "standard differential" and "controlled slip differential" as if 2 versions were available... i assume the standard is an open differential, and the controlled slip is an LSD, right? Assuming that, is there a way to figure out which one i have besides a burnout which i don't prefer?

2: shouldn't my transmission already have mercon V in it, so i don't need drain the torque converter? how i've traditionally done it was drop the pan and drain it when replacing the filter, or if i were just flushing it, i'd drop a line from the tranny cooler, run the vehicle let in park, let it spit out a gallon, fill it up with new, and keep doing that until all of it was new...

3: What's my transmission code? It's a 97 xlt 4 door 4x4 sohc.

Guide me please!!!

Thanks.

 

[aldive]

Look on driver's door for differential code.

 

[97WillowXLT]

Is it a certain digit in the VIN or what? I'm going outside in a minute then i'll see if it's anything obvious... Thanks for your help aldive.

 

[tktrain]

I just finished up putting Mobil 1 into everything in my X over the weekend. The transfer case needed the change the most, the ATF fluid had gotten kind of nasty looking.

Oh what a joy it was pouring quart after quart of $6 ATF into the 4R70W, 13 plus total, or about $84 worth of fluid just for the tranny. The filter looked pretty darned good. The magnet in the transmission pan had about a 1/16 inch layer of extremely fine deposits on it that where as black a pitch and stained my hands like ink. I have been using 5W-30 M1 in the engine since it had about 500 miles on it.

The biggest difference between the fluids that I noticed was that the original front differential fluid, while it looked good, was much thicker looking than the 75W-90 synthetic, at least at 40 degrees.

Everything seems much smoother and quieter now, and the transmission shifts much more crisply and distinctly, but not as harshly. It's a bit hard to describe. I have a B&M shift improver switch spliced into the PCM transmission pressure control leads and set to position #2 out of 3.

 

[JDraper]

I'll poke my 2 cents in.

For those wanting to go to full synthetics, but unsure which brand to by...They all will perform about the same!! Buy the one that's on sale at the time. Some will say Amsoil is the best, some Mobil 1, some Royal Purple. IT WON'T MAKE A DIFFERENCE for 99.9% of the people out there.

Do not be fooled by gimmicks (extended life oil for example) or marketing. Also make sure that if you want full synthetic fluids, that the fluid you are buying is FULL synthetic, not a synthetic blend. Some of the fluids on the market say they are synthetic, but are really a blend. Castrol and Quaker State come to mind...

Just FYI, I'm currently running Mobil 1 in most of my vehicles, and Royal Purple tranny fluid in my Mach 1 because that's what I got the best pricing on.

 

[tktrain]

JDraper: I love the Pink Floyd line from Time in your signature, I've been quoting that one for about 30 years now. Sorry for the off subject post, it's not a hijack attempt.

 

[JDraper]

JDraper: I love the Pink Floyd line from Time in your signature, I've been quoting that one for about 30 years now. Sorry for the off subject post, it's not a hijack attempt.

I've had a LOT of people comment about the sig...It tells you how enduring and classic DSOTM really is...

 

[tnmk]

"Do not be fooled by gimmicks (extended life oil for example) or marketing. Also make sure that if you want full synthetic fluids, that the fluid you are buying is FULL synthetic, not a synthetic blend. Some of the fluids on the market say they are synthetic, but are really a blend. Castrol and Quaker State come to mind." From Jdraper

I wouldn't consider "extended life" to be a gimmick. The numbers speak for themselves on this issue. If you go to bobistheoilguy.com you will find a ton of documentation on this subject, most of which is from regular joes like you and I. From the things I've read on there, Amsoil usually has the better numbers. So $ for $, If it lasts longer than something that's on sale, the better bet imho is the longer life oil. But he is right about the full synthetic deal. According to the site I just mentioned there are actually very few "true" full synthetics out there. As I understand even Mobil One is questionable right now. This is all according to the site I mentioned. Many of the people there are scientists and what not and really know what they are talking about.

 

[JDraper]

I was talking about the gimmicks you see like Quaker State and Castrol offering "extended life" oils, and "4x4" oils, not full synthetics. All full synthetics will perform about the same, and far better than any non-full synthetic.

For those of you who are old enough to remember, when Mobil 1 synthetic first came out, it was touted as a "liftetime oil". Once they realized that they would make a lot more money if they changed it to "extended life" (i.e. more oil changes), they dropped the "lifetime oil" claim like a hot potato. Money talks .

 

[aldive]

I have run 20k miles on Amsoil with excellent UOAs. I feel that I could easily go 50k.

I also use bypass filtration.