Synthetic Oil

Oil of Choice

  • Castrol Syntec/Edge

    Votes: 233 8.4%
  • Royal Purple

    Votes: 325 11.7%
  • AMSOil

    Votes: 396 14.3%
  • Valvoline Synpower

    Votes: 160 5.8%
  • Mobil 1

    Votes: 992 35.9%
  • Other

    Votes: 660 23.9%

  • Total voters
    2,766

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Hemi395

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in SS amsoil has atf and atl, Corey you using atf SS eventhough it isnt atf4 Chrysler additive package?
I did use the ATF for over a year. It worked great, trans shifted perfecty and temps stayed normal. Only reason I went back to C+ was for the better cold flow. I read somewhere a while back that Amsoil ATF has 0 VIIs which is what interested me in trying it in the trans.

I have it in my tcase right now and it works fantastic with the BW 44-44.

Oh and it smells exactly like ATF4 FWIW...
 

Rod Knock

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I did use the ATF for over a year. It worked great, trans shifted perfecty and temps stayed normal. Only reason I went back to C+ was for the better cold flow. I read somewhere a while back that Amsoil ATF has 0 VIIs which is what interested me in trying it in the trans.

I have it in my tcase right now and it works fantastic with the BW 44-44.

Oh and it smells exactly like ATF4 FWIW...
How is the Red Line C+ compared to the AMSOIL ATF in your transmission, not transfer case?
 

Rod Knock

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Virtually the same in the trans. If I didn't change it myself to C+ I wouldn't be able to tell any thing had been changed...
That's a good sign. It means that the transmission is healthy.

How much fluid do you put in your transfer case when you change it? I put in 1.5 quarts AMSOIL ATF and then added 4 oz of Lubegard Platinum, and something is telling me that it could take even a bit more than that.
 

Hemi395

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Red Line ATF has better cold flow than Amsoil?

Could knock me over with a feather. Really curious, but not looking up specs tonight. Shot from hauling firewood in -6°F all day.
Amsoil ATF is 9755 CP at -40C and RL C+ is 3800 CP at -40C.
Pour Point for Amsoil is -63F and -76F for RL C+

Pour point doesn't interest me since I never see that kind of cold but the brookfield visc does because thats a huge difference which likely translates to a pretty big difference at 0F which I do see...
 

Hemi395

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That's a good sign. It means that the transmission is healthy.

How much fluid do you put in your transfer case when you change it? I put in 1.5 quarts AMSOIL ATF and then added 4 oz of Lubegard Platinum, and something is telling me that it could take even a bit more than that.
1.5 qts is all I've ever been able to get into the 44-44...

And thats good to know :cool:
 

Rod Knock

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1.5 qts is all I've ever been able to get into the 44-44...

And thats good to know :cool:
I put the back wheel on my custom-made wooden ramp and was able to get more in there. The reason why I'm asking is that when the fluid is flushing around the transfer case while I'm taking a turn going uphill it does a rough shift from 3rd to 2nd. That's not because of the transmission, it's the darn transfer case. Before, with the factory fill it was even worse. I think that these transfer cases take a bit more than 1.5 quarts. I will try 1.75 when I change it again, which will be when I do my valve cover. I'll check again then if it shifts rough.

By the way, if you want to go Red Line in the transfer case, get Red Line D4 for it. That's the correct fluid for your version of the BW44-44.
 

HEMIMANN

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1.5 qts is all I've ever been able to get into the 44-44...

And thats good to know :cool:

1.5 quarts in the BW44-46 too. I suppose it's the same case casting with different guts.

What's ATF vis @ 100°C?
 

HEMIMANN

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@Hemi395 - you got 65RFE tranny, yeh? I got 66RFE.

Mebbe I go with C+ next change? Been using regular 'ol Mopar Group III stuff since I change every 35k. Was concerned about additive compat since I only get 7.5 of 12 quarts ATF out per change. Don't know how Red Line additives play with Mopar additives.

BW44-46 Transfer Case takes damn near anything. These old chain boxes always came with any old ATF, and still do. Ram trying to spec Mopar Magic Mouse Milk is ridiculous. It's a friggin' inverved V belt chain like since forever!
 

Hemi395

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@Hemi395 - you got 65RFE tranny, yeh? I got 66RFE.

Mebbe I go with C+ next change? Been using regular 'ol Mopar Group III stuff since I change every 35k. Was concerned about additive compat since I only get 7.5 of 12 quarts ATF out per change. Don't know how Red Line additives play with Mopar additives.

BW44-46 Transfer Case takes damn near anything. These old chain boxes always came with any old ATF, and still do. Ram trying to spec Mopar Magic Mouse Milk is ridiculous. It's a friggin' inverved V belt chain like since forever!
Yessir 65RFE. I did my first change with Castrol Transmax ATF4 and then switched to C+. When I switched to C+ I put a MagHytec pan on. It only took about 7qts of C+ so it definitely mixed with the Transmax/OEM mixture that was already. Never had any issues with essentially 3 different types of ATF4 in it. One thing I did note was it shifted slightly better after doing the first pan drop with Transmax which was at 22k. I'm assuming thats because the break in metals were flushed out as well as the break in clutch wear?
 
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HEMIMANN

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Yessir 65RFE. I did my first change with Castrol Transmax ATF4 and then switched to C+. When I switched to C+ I put a MagHytec pan on. It only took about 7qts of C+ so it definitely mixed with the Transmax/OEM mixture that was already. Never had any issues with essentially 3 different types of ATF4 in it. One thing I did note was it shifted slightly better after getting doing the first pan drop with Transmax which was at 22k. I'm assuming thats because the break in metals were flushed out as well as the break in clutch wear?

Yup. Any 1st machine run where I've seen the filtration showed some metal fines. It's basically a final lapping and honing. Manufacturers would never spend the money to machine mating parts that finely - costs too much. On my tractor, I could see the metal shavings from the hydrostat on the pre-screen with the n*aked eye @ 1st oil change. Nothing after that.

Anyway, thx for sharing experience. I'll give C+ a try next change. The 8 speed guys are a different story. ZF is weird.
 

sirdumpsalot

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Good question. My owners manual calls for 75w140 and I don't have the lsd. But I've also seen it call for 75w90 in other places. I went with 75w140...
Did you ever get a good answer to this? Trying to do a diff fluid change for my 2017 1500 LSD, 3.55 but I can't find a good answer...
 

Hemi395

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Did you ever get a good answer to this? Trying to do a diff fluid change for my 2017 1500 LSD, 3.55 but I can't find a good answer...
Not really. Since my owners manual says 75w140 and websites like Amsoil and Redline call for 75w140 I just went with that to be safe....
 

Rod Knock

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The 1500 line-up calls for 75W-140 for the rear differential. I believe newer models call for 75W-90. I think it wouldn't be a problem to run 75W-110 in those, just to be safe.
 
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huntergreen

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Yup. Any 1st machine run where I've seen the filtration showed some metal fines. It's basically a final lapping and honing. Manufacturers would never spend the money to machine mating parts that finely - costs too much. On my tractor, I could see the metal shavings from the hydrostat on the pre-screen with the n*aked eye @ 1st oil change. Nothing after that.

Anyway, thx for sharing experience. I'll give C+ a try next change. The 8 speed guys are a different story. ZF is weird.
Can you define weird in regards t ZF fluid please ? Thanks
 

HEMIMANN

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Can you define weird in regards t ZF fluid please ? Thanks

ZF markets its own oil. There is a thread about this in ZF transmissions. The claim is ZF is for the most part "sealed for life" because it is just soooooo good, along with the lubricant, it just doesn't need changing! Which is 100% b*u*l*l*s*h*i*t for any of us that made a career in this industry. There was much discussion on what the oil actually is, with some spec comparisons and oil analysis leading to a conclusion of an ATF+4 that wasn't even all Group IV base oil. In other words, nothing more than Mopar ATF +4 for triple the profit.
 

Rod Knock

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ZF Lifeguard 8 fluid employs chemistry that predates 2008. They never changed it since then. Even Valvoline MaxLife is far more robust than ZF8 fluid, as many here use it successfully in their transmissions.

Valvoline tests Maxlife at 280F continuously for 60K miles in their lab every time there is a reformulation. That's the benchmark it has to pass. I have yet to see a ZF8 transmission fail on MaxLife.

I use AMSOIL ATL because I believe it to be even better than MaxLife. I reserve judgment on Red Line D6 because I haven't used it yet, however, I believe it's pretty good, though not as advanced as AMSOIL ATL.

However, one of the biggest Red Line customers are BMW enthusiasts, and they have ZF8 transmissions in their vehicles. Therefore, I believe that when it comes to the ZF8 transmissions, Red Line D6 is an excellent choice.

Just about any of the fluids I listed above is better by leaps and bounds than the Shell manufactured ZF Lifeguard 8 fluid.
 
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