Transfer box oil - Dexron11D or Dexron 111

Hi all,

I want to drain/refill the transfer box- ( 1998 P38 4.6 Auto )

Local supplier only has ATF Dexron 11 not ATF Dexron 11D as recommended in my manual. Any one know the difference ?

A search mentions Dexron 11 being replaced by Dexron 111 about 1995 - I have plenty of ATF Dexron 111 available. Anyone used the newer Dexron ?

Thanks

thort it was ep90 in the transfer box , but I am a classic man.

EP 90 for the final drive units in P38

I have read that one can go "higher" with the numbers but not lower. Dexron 111 instead of Dexron 11 but not the other way round.

Am interested to know if anyone has "changed up " and any issues that resulted

Dexron 111 equals or exceeds Dexron 11 specs. I suspect any damage from using this may show up after another 15 or more years of use. Dexron is correct for P38 transfer box. Note there are seperate level plugs in main and t/fer boxes.

The manual mentions Dexron 11 D - how does that differ from Dexron 11 ?

Dexron 3 supercedes 2 - it'll be fine...just like years ago Dot4 replaced Dot3 in brake fuid.....as already said it's ok to go Up, never down!

just ordinary aft dexton 2 is fine ,synthetic oils are dsesigned to last longer, car manufacturers are obsessed with extending service intervals ,good cheap oil as used by most in the trade changed often to remove contaminents is better than the highest priced synthetic left in a long time,although the correct viscosity can matter

My version of RAVE specifies Dexron III for what it's worth. The only thing I wouldn't do is replace III with II.

there is nothing inside box that makes choice critical

jamesmartin said:

there is nothing inside box that makes choice critical

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Maybe wrong, but thought you said the other day that it was not cross referencible and that Dexron III could eat oil seals. Make ya mind up.

not me

i dont think that was me

jamesmartin said:

i dont think that was me

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OK sorry thought it was. Can't understand all this don't mix mineral oil with synthetic oil. What do they mix fully synthetic oil with to get semi synthetic oil? As up to 2000 for sure, Land Rover were saying Dexron II or Dexron III as recommendation for transmission. Can't see it makes a difference apart from III being a little more advanced. And should be safe to mix either way. Although i suppose you would go for the latest spec given a choice.

For some reason the trade are dropping the use of dextron III like a hot potato, (Google it II vs III) when I worked for Mitsubishi they were also looking into it, there is something in dextron III that in the long term causes problems, we were told it was not compatible with certain seals and rubber components, its not recommended for older Gearboxes or power steering systems either...?

JellySpanners said:

For some reason the trade are dropping the use of dextron III like a hot potato, (Google it II vs III) when I worked for Mitsubishi they were also looking into it, there is something in dextron III that in the long term causes problems, we were told it was not compatible with certain seals and rubber components, its not recommended for older Gearboxes or power steering systems either...?

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Correct, after a little digging i would say stick with Dexron II. Dexron III appears to cause all sorts of problems. It's production licence was withdrawn in 2006 and it was replaced by Dexron VI. Whilst it appears to be ok for older boxes as are fitted to the P38 it is not suitable for newer designs and causes problems. What did you say you had in your knackered box Data?

wammers said:

Correct, after a little digging i would say stick with Dexron II. Dexron III appears to cause all sorts of problems. It's production licence was withdrawn in 2006 and it was replaced by Dexron VI. Whilst it appears to be ok for older boxes as are fitted to the P38 it is not suitable for newer designs and causes problems. What did you say you had in your knackered box Data?

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Very interesting, Dexron III cos that's what the book says. Looks like I'll be using Dexron II when I replace the box with my second hand one as it's a 96 which as you say specifies IID

Wel I have spent some time on Google and can find nothing specifially bad about Dexron III.
What I did find is that for electronically controlled auto boxes Dexron IIE should be used as a minimum spec not Dexron II. Dexron III is said to be a development of Dexron IIE which is itself an upgrade on IID. Dexron VI replaces all earlier versions of Dexron.
The GM licence for others to Produce Dexron III was withdrawn in 2006, no specification conformity can be guaranteed on any Dexron III produced after that date.
So far I have never seen Dexron VI available in any motor factor over here.

During early 2005 General Motors released a newly developed automatic transmission fluid (ATF) for the factory fill of all GM Powertrain stepped gear automatic transmissions. The new fluid provides significantly improved performance in terms of friction durability, viscosity stability, aeration and foam control and oxidation resistance. In addition, the fluid has the potential to enable improved fuel economy and extended drain intervals. Since the performance of the new fluid far exceeded that of the DEXRON®-III service-fill fluids available at the time it became necessary to upgrade the DEXRON® service-fill specification in order to ensure that similar fluids were available in the market for service situations. This latest upgrade to the service- fill specification is designated DEXRON®-VI.
Since General Motors introduced the first ATF service-fill specification in 1949 it has been periodically necessary to upgrade the specification. This upgrading process ensures that available service fill fluids are of an appropriate quality for use in transmissions that have been designed around the factory fill fluid performance. It should be noted that, as with previous upgrades, DEXRON®-VI fluids are designed to be backward compatible with earlier transmission hardware. More importantly, earlier type fluids are not forward compatible with transmission hardware that was designed to use DEXRON®-VI fluid, i.e. DEXRON®-III is not compatible with the most recently designed transmissions, and the use of these earlier type fluids could result in transmission damage. All current calibrations and certification tests are now conducted with DEXRON®-VI ATF. DEXRON®-III fluids should not be used for these applications where the owners manual recommends the use of DEXRON®-VI. GM does not license or support obsolete ATF specifications or the use of fluids that are being marketed against cancelled specifications.
All DEXRON®-III licenses expire at the end of 2006 and will not be renewed. Beyond that date GM will only support the use of DEXRON®-VI fluids for use in Hydra-Matic transmissions. Fluids sold in the market after that date bearing claims such as “suitable for use in DEXRON®-III applications” or similar wording should be avoided. DEXRON®-VI licensed fluids are fully backward compatible and can be used in all applications covered by earlier GM ATF specifications.

Well done with your internet search Datatek, I know certain manufacturers have stopped using dextron III and some warranty claims have been affected by its use, I dont know what ZF feel about Dextron III or what their current recomendations are, but having said that we started on about transfer box oil...?

JellySpanners said:

Well done with your internet search Datatek, I know certain manufacturers have stopped using dextron III and some warranty claims have been affected by its use, I dont know what ZF feel about Dextron III or what their current recomendations are, but having said that we started on about transfer box oil...?

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Yes but the issue was I thought compatability between III and earlier versions.
I can find nothing that suggests there are problems with Dexron III