Tommorrow morning I am going to have the fellow who "fixed" my transmission replace the fluid he used with something new. He used Dexron 111 and the tranny dipstick says to use Mopar ATF+, he says they are equivalent. Is he right? I've had problems with what I think is TC shudder since the change.

He is going to flush and fill with Mercon 5. I had Mercon 5 in there for the last 30,000 miles with no apparent problems. He said it will be fine. Sounds like lots of folks on the DTR are pretty picky and would go with something different. How crucial is it to go get the Mopar. Is Mopar ATF+ different from ATF +3 or +4? My dipstick says + but the Dodge parts guy I talked to took my vin and said it needs ATF+4.

WHAT TO DO???

any reply before tommorrow at 7 on the West Coast would be welcome.
For more info on my troubles look for the thread on the RV?Towing list.

Thanks.

Val

 

All I can tell you is I've been using Dexron III plus Lube-Gard additive for 230k miles as recommended by most of the diesel tranny rebuilders.

 

Amsoil ATF, a little expensive but shifts beautifully.

 

The differance between ATF+3 and +4, is +4 has an extra slip ingrediant added to let the tc clutch slip into lock up and not chatter. ATF+4 is sold thru Dodge and is expensive.
After reading all your posts, it sounds like your tc is shot.
Why don't you just have a trans shop check it out before you do any more damage to it? If your bands are adjusted too tight it will ruin them ASAP.
An EZ and 33" tires will ruin a stock trans. If your truck has low miles you can get away with a tc and valve body upgrade if nothing else gets ruined.

 

Rick howwould I know if the bands are too tight. I gave the guy a sheet of paper with instructions on adjusting the bands. Shifting seems to be nice and smooth except for the 4th gear thing

Val

 

As I understand it, all modern ATFs use Dextron as a base and then add friction modifiers to achieve the desired results. ATF+3 is Dextron with +3 additive and so on.
The Dodge Manual says that ATF+4 is prefered but ATF+3 can be used and is compatible in a mix so either is acceptable.

In my case, I had a shop flush my trans and they use bulk Dextron and add a bottle of +3 additive. Well they sort of forgot the +3 and now I have a severly worn trans. Now I ask for the empty bottle of additive to assure me that they remember.

 

If the bands are too tight they won't release completly, they will drag and wear really fast. If they are very tight it won't shift right.

The wrong trans fluid won't immediatly ruin your trans, it may cause hard shifts and tc shudder, this is why +3 and +4 additives are added to let the trans shift smoother.

Changing the fluid isn't going to fix a bad tc!!

 

I have used Dexron III since I had it rebuilt without any problem at all.
Bill at DTT also used the same thing when I had it serviced there.

I am going to try Mercon V on my next change. It meets the DexronIII specs and I have been told it is a synthetic fluid althogh from what I have read I think it is a semi synthetic.

 

You don't need the +4 with an aftermarket tc, it's only to help stop tc shudder with the crappy factory tc.