This month’s tech tip is about transmission fluid!
I know it’s not real exciting, but it is very important. I don’t have a lot of room so I can’t cover every possible combination but the common ones we deal with today are GM and Ford 6+ speed automatics. GM’s brand is Dexron, Ford’s is Mercon. GM offers Dexron 3, 6 and HP while Ford has Mercon Type F, V, LV and ULV.
The more letters and higher numbers are basically going to be newer standards. GM’s Dexron 3 was the most common fluid on the market and it worked in pretty much everything until they came out with the Dexron 6 fluid. It’s a synthetic base and was originally developed to use in Allison transmissions behind the Duramax diesels. It’s lower viscosity but still thick enough to work with older transmissions too. It worked in just about everything.
Ford on the other hand has Type F which was their common fluid until 1996 when they introduced Mercon V. The V worked in almost everything. Then they came out with LV which means Low Viscosity. It came out with the 6F and 6R series transmissions and dates back to 2008. Almost everything Ford sold used it until we get into the 8-10 speed transmissions we have today which use ULV – Ultra Low Viscosity.
Up until LV and HP hit the market the fluids were usually interchangeable or at least backwards compatible but that’s not the case anymore. Always consult your service manual and if something calls for HP LV or ULV make sure whatever fluid you use actually reads those specs on the label. As far as I know there aren’t any multi vehicle fluids that vehicle manufacturers have approved for the latest HP and ULV specs. Just because the fluid manufacturer says it works doesn’t mean the transmission manufacturer agrees.
— Brandy Patton
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