Fluid for zf 8hp70

[Gero]

Just picked this up at wally mart for 32bucks a jug. I bought 2 just incase. It's the right thing for our 8speeds right?

 

[Burla]

Mopar zf, or lifeguard 8 is all that I know are the correct fluid, the pao base of those will serve you well in Ontario. Way better product for hot and cold then that maxlife. You drive a specialized transmission and that is a very very generic fluid, one size fits all type of thing. You see the base oil chart and why pao is so desirable and more expensive..

Second line versus the first line, that lifeguard 8 will save you money over mopar. Just because some guys use that fluid doesn't make it right for everyone in every place, just an opinion there bud. That zf lifeguard 8 will buy you at least 20f degrees both hot and cold performance, protect that tranny.

 

[PoMansRam]

I understand and respect the preference to use OEM or ZF fluids, but I don't think it's fair to say you HAVE to use them. I don't know what the formula of Maxlife is, other than it's marketed as a synthetic fluid and I'm not disputing what Burla suggests.

I personally wouldn't sweat using Maxlife ATF in my 8HP70. There's members here who use it. I know you can't believe everything you see on the innerwebs, but there's many u-toob videos with 8HP70 and 45 owners doing fluid changes using Maxlife ATF as well.

You'll also read of members here who have paid for dealer fluid changes and the dealer used aftermarket formulations in them such as BG fluids.

Of course you'll also see videos where people say you have to use OEM fluids in them with no substantiated reason why.

Fact is, I haven't read of one blowing up from using Maxlife.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Weighing the cost of the transmission against the cost of ZF fluid... I'll use the good stuff.

Betting a $5000 transmission against a couple hundred dollars for fluid every 6 years or so... by my math, the ZF fluid is worth it.

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

 

[Gero]

Very interesting! I'm not really due for another 20,000miles (only 40xxx miles on the truck). I'll hold off and see if anyone has any issues with using maxlife. zf lifeguard is 45bucks a quart plus 13% taxes here so thats 360bucks for 7q plus the pan. I don't think I'll be using the ppe pan because of the exhaust modification and the heater also defeats the purpose. I'm not interested in bypassing it either due to the extreme cold up here.

The odyssey which calls for honda dw1 also takes maxlife. Lots of good feedback on the interweb from other users too. Maybe this stuff is ok for our hemi crankcase

 

[Burla]

Very interesting! I'm not really due for another 20,000miles (only 40xxx miles on the truck). I'll hold off and see if anyone has any issues with using maxlife. zf lifeguard is 45bucks a quart plus 13% taxes here so thats 360bucks for 7q plus the pan. I don't think I'll be using the ppe pan because of the exhaust modification and the heater also defeats the purpose. I'm not interested in bypassing it either due to the extreme cold up here.

The odyssey which calls for honda dw1 also takes maxlife. Lots of good feedback on the interweb from other users too. Maybe this stuff is ok for our hemi crankcase

playing devils advocate, they do recommend it for the zf, here's the pdf.

So I would ask, what is the coldest it gets, and what is the hottest the temp gets?

 

[Burla]

Actually when I take a first look at zf fluid, I wonder what is the pao content, it looks no better then maxlife

You learn something new every day, and I hadn't looked before, and it seams like nobody else did either. Pour point zf fluid -42c, similar to maxlife, but a real pao fluid like redline d6 pour point -60f. Thanks Gero for having me take a second look at this, seams as if lifeguard fluid is not that impressive of a poa formula, I bet low %. So year use that maxlife, or d6 is you want better cold and hot performance.

This is from redline's oem page for d6 their transmission fluid, they do recommend it for the zf..

ZF Lifeguard 6/6 PLUS 8
ZF6/8

 

[PoMansRam]

I've seen Maxlife ATF specs a bunch of times over the years, but I don't think I've seen it compared side by side to ZF fluid and definitely never compared to Mopar fluid.

I know I've used it in Honda, Hyundai, Toyota and Isuzu applications where people would freak out and say use OEM only even though Maxlife is "suitable for use" in those specific applications. I've used it in domestics too.

I would never advocate using maxlife ATF if your make/model isn't listed for use on the bottle.

To me, the only potential issue I see in using maxlife ATF in your Ram ZF8 is it's dyed the standard red color, where the ZF fluid is more of an amber liquid. Greenish-amber maybe? So if you are under some type of warranty, have a transmission issue and red fluid drains out, I'd imagine things are going to get difficult. Out of warranty and the sky is the limit.

That's why for me, I won't do my first pan and fluid replacement until 60K miles.

 

[Burla]

I've seen Maxlife ATF specs a bunch of times over the years, but I don't think I've seen it compared side by side to ZF fluid and definitely never compared to Mopar fluid.

I know I've used it in Honda, Hyundai, Toyota and Isuzu applications where people would freak out and say use OEM only even though Maxlife is "suitable for use" in those specific applications. I've used it in domestics too.

I would never advocate using maxlife ATF if your make/model isn't listed for use on the bottle.

To me, the only potential issue I see in using maxlife ATF in your Ram ZF8 is it's dyed the standard red color, where the ZF fluid is more of an amber liquid. Greenish-amber maybe? So if you are under some type of warranty, have a transmission issue and red fluid drains out, I'd imagine things are going to get difficult. Out of warranty and the sky is the limit.

That's why for me, I won't do my first pan and fluid replacement until 60K miles.

I posted a thread on it, you were right for sure man. I wish I would have looked for this before now, I likely would have if I owned a ZF. Kind of eye opening stuff, thanks guys for having me look it up. The issue is mopar fluid is so hard to get specs on, I still don't know where to get that. Seams like zf fluids are in the same camp of RP, gimicky. There are real options though, see other threads.

 

[ScLeCo]

Really? You can't find ZF lifeguard 8 fluid for less than $45 a quart?

About 772,000 results (0.52 seconds)

ZF Industries S67109031201 ZF Lifeguard Fluid 8
5.0 out of 5 stars 18

$19.66
FREE Shipping

 

[Burla]

Really? You can't find ZF lifeguard 8 fluid for less than $45 a quart?

About 772,000 results (0.52 seconds)

ZF Industries S67109031201 ZF Lifeguard Fluid 8
5.0 out of 5 stars 18

$19.66
FREE Shipping

CANADA

 

[Gero]

Really? You can't find ZF lifeguard 8 fluid for less than $45 a quart?

About 772,000 results (0.52 seconds)

ZF Industries S67109031201 ZF Lifeguard Fluid 8
5.0 out of 5 stars 18

$19.66
FREE Shipping

Yep. Canadians get hose. Amazon.ca sells it for 73bucks a quart plus taxes but shipping is free. 45bucks is a local shop and that's the cheapest I've sourced so far. American retailers can't ship oil due to it being a hazardous material.

Here in eastern Ontario, we see -31f to 102f. I'll be out of warranty in 20,000miles so the colour doesn't matter. I shook the maxlife bottle and at -3, it sounds thin like water. D6 seems like a good alternative. Does anybody know what color D6 is?

 

[ScLeCo]

Yep. Canadians get hose. Amazon.ca sells it for 73bucks a quart plus taxes but shipping is free. 45bucks is a local shop and that's the cheapest I've sourced so far. American retailers can't ship oil due to it being a hazardous material.

Here in eastern Ontario, we see -31f to 102f. I'll be out of warranty in 20,000miles so the colour doesn't matter. I shook the maxlife bottle and at -3, it sounds thin like water. D6 seems like a good alternative. Does anybody know what color D6 is?

That sucks!

 

[Burla]

Yep. Canadians get hose. Amazon.ca sells it for 73bucks a quart plus taxes but shipping is free. 45bucks is a local shop and that's the cheapest I've sourced so far. American retailers can't ship oil due to it being a hazardous material.

Here in eastern Ontario, we see -31f to 102f. I'll be out of warranty in 20,000miles so the colour doesn't matter. I shook the maxlife bottle and at -3, it sounds thin like water. D6 seems like a good alternative. Does anybody know what color D6 is?

It's red, but also very thin, those modern transmissions take thin fluids. See other thread if you want to consider other options, but the maxlife is nearly identical in base fluid to zf lifegard, what we don't know are additive levels, sometimes that does matter as far as protecting plastic items in transmissions. If you opt for d6, you can email dave from redline and ask him about additive levels.

 

[PoMansRam]

The only price I've ever seen online for genuine OEM Mopar 8&9 speed ATF, which is what the Ram ZF8s really call for is $20/quart USD.

Like I say, If I was doing a pan drop and fluid change while under warranty, I'd gladly pay the $100-120 for fluid. Once out of warranty, I'm using what I choose.

 

[ChevySlayer69]

Amsoil recommends their OE Fuel-Efficient Synthetic ATF for the ZF 8 speed and viscosity looks closer to the ZF fluid than maxlife... and a gallon is under $40 USD

 

[MRFREEZE57]

a 12 quart case of redline d6 can be had on amazon for 128 bucks which comes out to about 10 and a half per quart, just received a case last week and am going to do a change with it. am betting the redline is far superior to the mopar fluid.

 

[Hemi1978]

I've seen Maxlife ATF specs a bunch of times over the years, but I don't think I've seen it compared side by side to ZF fluid and definitely never compared to Mopar fluid.

I know I've used it in Honda, Hyundai, Toyota and Isuzu applications where people would freak out and say use OEM only even though Maxlife is "suitable for use" in those specific applications. I've used it in domestics too.

I would never advocate using maxlife ATF if your make/model isn't listed for use on the bottle.

To me, the only potential issue I see in using maxlife ATF in your Ram ZF8 is it's dyed the standard red color, where the ZF fluid is more of an amber liquid. Greenish-amber maybe? So if you are under some type of warranty, have a transmission issue and red fluid drains out, I'd imagine things are going to get difficult. Out of warranty and the sky is the limit.

That's why for me, I won't do my first pan and fluid replacement until 60K miles.

Just FYI... you mention you've never seen a side by side comparison of lifegaurd 8 or mopar... to be clear mopar 8&9 speed IS lifegaurd 8.. you'll never be able to find "specs" on mopar fluid because its rebranded lifegaurd 8 fluid... identical in everyway.