Transmission fluid poll

[Blueox]

Has anyone considered a poll on who uses a Ford only product versus those who use non-oem? Might be fun to find out if those that use other than Ford products have more transmission issues than those who use Ford fluid.

 

[sblake01]

I've owned several Ford vehicles over the years, at least 15 trucks/cars combined. I've never bought Ford transmission fluid. I always used fluid that met the spec for the particular vehicle. Generally the name brands, Valvoline, Mobil, Castrol, etc., never the store brand stuff. The only Ford I had trans problems with was my 1990 Ranger but I bought it that way.

Oh, and shouldn't that be "Klaatu Barada Nikto"? (If I remembering correctly from the movie.....)

 

[AllanD]

My brother was a Ford Dealer mechanic for decades and I have a dozen or so cases of MerconV that he left behind....

Fluid you have is better than anything you need to buy...

 

[4x4junkie]

Engine has had Valvoline conventional 10W-30 almost exclusively.

Have bounced back & forth a bit between Valvoline and Castrol for the trans fluid (Mercon).

Diffs have a Valvoline semi-synthetic in them ("Durablend" or something like that I think I recall).

No issues whatsoever (BII can be a little hard-shifting occasionally (clutch is fine), though I suspect someone put Mercon V into the M5OD that's in it now before my acquiring it).

Have 4 qts of Chevron "Mercon" (actual Mercon-branded fluid from before the licensing stupidity that took place in '07) sitting on hand that'll probably go into it next fluid change.

 

[bigmark303]

ive always used Advance Auto Parts name brand Mercon or Mercon V depending on application. I have two 5R55E transmissions with over 200,000 miles on them that have had no issues with the store brand fluid just about their entire life. Plenty of other Ford transmissions in the 23 Fords ive had just for personal use with no issues using the store brand fluid.

I change whats in the pan every 7,000-15,000 miles depending on the vehicles use. Usually 3-4qts worth. My fluid is always in great shape so that alone may contribute greatly to the fact ive never had a transmission fail me in any way besides some with mechanical flaws not fluid related.

Do to chemical regulations and governing control over any chemical production for safety reasons only a few companies actually legally produce any chemical. Oils are no different and only a select few companies have the rights to produce for sale. For the majority the oils bottled under different names are all from the same place and produced in the same vats. They are formulated to meet a certain chemical base standard. From that base standard certain resale (Valvoline, Rotella/Shell, Castrol, Penzoil, and all the ones we recognize) companies pay a bit more to have the oils further purified, detergents added, or other additives added to make the oils better than the base standard.

Certain name brands are far better than others for sure. The majority of Automaker brands are nothing more than the base standard oils packaged in that certain automakers bottle and priced well above the store brands that are of the same level oils.