Thread: synthetic vs mineral in the auto

for the pan- no, to make refilling easier with a refilled diff oil 2.5l container, i moved the front one.

tats like my BA falcon was too. in essence it means there's no dipstick. i'd be willing to bet there are still drain and refill plugs on its sump/pan.

i believe "lifetime filled" means, lifetime of the warranty.

Originally Posted by simonr23

tats like my BA falcon was too. in essence it means there's no dipstick. i'd be willing to bet there are still drain and refill plugs on its sump/pan.

i believe "lifetime filled" means, lifetime of the warranty.

Our 97 ford doesn't have a drain plug. To do an oil change you have to drop the sump. Clean up the mess. There is a fill hole though so I guess you could just remove that and pick up the car and shake it to get the old stuff out.

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

I put in Transmax Z and the difference in shift quality was amazing.
yes, its expensive.
yes, its much better at dealing with heat.
yes, you can feel a difference afterwoods.

I will probably do as Simonr23 says and just rotate 5 new litres through it every 40 or so,,

And yes with snappier shifts it will wear your sprags and gear train faster.

Now as far as Castrol is concerned, unless your worried about extended service periods then stick with mineral while you can.

There is very little advantages in going to full synth unless your wallet is too heavy, semi's are a different story and a little more affordable.

They do state that some of the synth oils will take higher temps but this is the base oil they are talking about, the addatives (e.g. anti foaming agents, surfactants, detergents) will all still burn out at the same temps as it would with mineral.

The main reason for changing your trans juice is because of contamination.

Clutch material(mainly), chrome off bearings and sprags, metal off the gear train and water and mud/dirt if there has been a breach.

Standard Dextron 3 ATF is good for about 20,000kms under normal use and if your doing lots of towing then look at a more efficient trans oil cooler as when that light comes on, your oil is stuffed regardless of what you use.

Before I get flamed about this, I use Castrol oil analysis at $40 per test......do you......

The D1 trans pan drop is 4.5ltrs and from dry is 11ltrs including converter.

If changing your fluid, go and get a $45 filter as well and remove the pan and change the filter which is simple to do, and if your careful you wont even need to change the trans pan gasket.

It isnt much use changing the fluid without the filter as your then just dragging cleanish oil through a dirty filter which will work against having any improovement.

In short, full synth isnt really worth it, semi might be worth it if youve got a high stall, modded valve body or cluth packs or towing alot but in most applications your mineral Dex 3 is plenty good enough.

when that light comes on, your oil is stuffed regardless of what you use.

Mcrover..are you sure about this? Others?

What temp does the light come on Edddo?

Ive had mine pretty damn hot, didnt have a thermo gun to test the temp but I couldnt touch the pan and the light wasnt coming on and yes it does work and is wired up.

I believe the ZF auto in the disco needs a trans cooler capable of withstanding quite high pressure, this would then rule out the ones on the shelves at Repco/Supercheap i presume.
Where would i get a good aftermarket trans cooler for my D2?

Originally Posted by WildOne

I believe the ZF auto in the disco needs a trans cooler capable of withstanding quite high pressure, this would then rule out the ones on the shelves at Repco/Supercheap i presume.
Where would i get a good aftermarket trans cooler for my D2?

You are correct. They won't do.

Hey McRover as I said my box is highly custom. It can't cope with dextron 3. It is running a custom torque converter, custom heavy duty clutch packs and a custom valve spring setup. As quoted last time it was rebuilt. There is nothing more you can do except use a different box. It is also running aftermarket coolers and a seperate temp sensor and guage.
It was the rebuilders that told me not to run dextron 3 in mine but at the same time said it was what the ZF was designed to use when standard.