Synthetic Oil

[MontanaHandyman]

Question for you guys: I've got 65k on my zf8, was thinking of swapping out a few quarts just becuz I'm OCD when it comes to vehicle fluids. I'm under the maxcare lifetime warranty, so I'm assuming if I swap any out, I've gotta stick with the factory atf? (the service manager says it's "lifetime"...whose lifetime they're talking about is beyond me!)

 

[Wild one]

I would not do multi drains unless it needed it, try one and see if you correct slipping.

I hear many guys loving d6 in zf8 and think there isnt an issue, then we get these posts and I feel bad about it. I wont ever suggest d6 for zf8, I'll just stay out of it and at least mention there has been some issues if asked.

If you watch that video that was posted about the freeze factor,at the end he was bragging about how buttery smooth the shifts were with Amsoil in the ZF he'd done the change on.That right there scares the living **** out of me.Buttery smooth shifts and automatic transmissions don't go together in my opinion,lol. I'm not overly anxious to dump the factory fill on my ZF ,at least not yet,maybe once a few guys try it out in something with a bit of horsepower and the buttery smooth shifts don't turn into full blown tranny slip,i might give it a whirl,lol. BTW if it's cold enough to freeze your tranny fluid at -50,you sure as hell aren't shutting the damn thing off anyways,been there/done that in northern Canada when i was a kid,you only shut it off long enough to put fuel in it or check the oil,otherwise it wasn't going to start again,lol. Little tidbit propane quits flowing at -44 ,learned that one the hard way to,lol

 

[Burla]

If you watch that video that was posted about the freeze factor,at the end he was bragging about how buttery smooth the shifts were with Amsoil in the ZF he'd done the change on.T hat right there scares the living **** out of me.Buttery smooth and automatic don't go together in my opinion,lol. I'm not overly anxious to dump the factory fill on my ZF ,at least not yet,maybe once a few guys try it out in something with a bit of horsepower and the buttery smooth shifts don't turn into full blown tranny slip,i might give it a whirl,lol. BTW if it's cold enough to freeze your tranny fluid at -50,you sure as hell aren't shutting the damn thing off anyways,been there/done that in northern Canada when i was a kid,you only shut it off long enough to put fuel in it or check the oil,otherwise it wasn't going to start again,lol. Little tidbit propane quits flowing at -44 ,learned that one the hard way to,lol

I know right? My entire point on zf fluid is it isn't "special" enough to justify the price, not that maybe it is an equal choice or better to other options posted in zf thread. Maybe with the heater delete you guys have on the zf, a generic option will serve you better. It is a good point, maybe amsoil hasn't had known complaints because not enough people have ran it? No small point. If I didnt have the thermo delete, I'd want a real pao if possible, or if I lived in cold place I would want it, so I think it is worth a try. Like hemiman said, maybe it is the poe and not the pao causing the issue, but I'm not 100 d6 even has poe, I just don't know at this point. It is up to zf guys to figure it out, I am rfe, feel me?

 

[Burla]

Question for you guys: I've got 65k on my zf8, was thinking of swapping out a few quarts just becuz I'm OCD when it comes to vehicle fluids. I'm under the maxcare lifetime warranty, so I'm assuming if I swap any out, I've gotta stick with the factory atf? (the service manager says it's "lifetime"...whose lifetime they're talking about is beyond me!)

If you are ocd you need to review the process on zf fluid swap, it is no basic trans flush. If you can get a small bit of fluid out, if it is clear green, I'd pass on it. Even if it was dark green, I'd pass. I think if it were brown, I'd go to the trouble of a pan drop.

I'm not sure who uses nude clutches anymore, most seam to be black, so that will darken fluid. Go by smell as well.

 

[HEMIMANN]

it's d6 in zf8

And I have the crappy 545 paired with the crappy 3.55 gears, so I have a lot of range in 3 and 4 gear which leaves me with shudder when its bogging, low rpm shudder, it doesn't happen when its better rpm's. I havent heard this issue with 6 speeds.

Ah......yes, a number of issues were addressed with the 65RFE & 66RFE.

 

[MontanaHandyman]

Thanks Burla...good advice!

 

[HEMIMANN]

Mebbe we should swap out an Allison 1000?

 

[tidefan1967]

Anybody with the typical slow first shift on the Zf8 shouldn't worry, its completely normal. I'm not sure that it would completely go away regardless of what brand of fluid you used so I wouldn't read to much into it. As I recall VernDiesel was somewhere way past 500K on his Zf8 on nothing but 100K Valvoline Maxlife ATF changes, mostly towing pretty heavy and still going. I bet if you asked him his slips a little on that first shift too.

On another note I decided to burn through some of that Shell RGT 5W30 that I bought early last year and it was time for an oil change so I put that in along with a 10oz bottle of Lubeguard. Day before yesterday I cranked the truck like three times in an hour and on the last time I actually got a little start up tick for about 3-5 seconds. First time I had heard that in many miles (25K maybe) which is a testament to Redline. I did one quick QSUD 5W30 run early last year but was never really 100% comfortable with it so I went back to Redline after 3K. Might have been a fluke too since I had gone 750 miles already and it has been quiet otherwise. We already know that multiple starts in a short period of time really increases the odds of getting some start up tick so......anyway maybe I should follow Lubeguard's advice a little better and increase the ounces per quart some.

Let this be a lesson to those same people where every time there's a new oil thread say the same things: "what does the book say", "follow the manual", etc. If you run regular old OTC "synthetic" 5W20 you're going to get some Hemi tick from time to time and it is slowly killing your engine whether you want to believe it or not.

 

[Travis8352]

Anybody with the typical slow first shift on the Zf8 shouldn't worry, its completely normal. I'm not sure that it would completely go away regardless of what brand of fluid you used so I wouldn't read to much into it. As I recall VernDiesel was somewhere way past 500K on his Zf8 on nothing but 100K Valvoline Maxlife ATF changes, mostly towing pretty heavy and still going. I bet if you asked him his slips a little on that first shift too.

On another note I decided to burn through some of that Shell RGT 5W30 that I bought early last year and it was time for an oil change so I put that in along with a 10oz bottle of Lubeguard. Day before yesterday I cranked the truck like three times in an hour and on the last time I actually got a little start up tick for about 3-5 seconds. First time I had heard that in many miles (25K maybe) which is a testament to Redline. I did one quick QSUD 5W30 run early last year but was never really 100% comfortable with it so I went back to Redline after 3K. Might have been a fluke too since I had gone 750 miles already and it has been quiet otherwise. We already know that multiple starts in a short period of time really increases the odds of getting some start up tick so......anyway maybe I should follow Lubeguard's advice a little better and increase the ounces per quart some.

Let this be a lesson to those same people where every time there's a new oil thread say the same things: "what does the book say", "follow the manual", etc. If you run regular old OTC "synthetic" 5W20 you're going to get some Hemi tick from time to time and it is slowly killing your engine whether you want to believe it or not.

Im not worried about my zf8 shifts. Its done it since new and its by far the best auto trans ive ever driven

 

[Hemi395]

Since we're on the subject of trans fluid, might as well let you guys in on an experiment I've been doing. Back in November I decided to try Amsoil SS MVATF in my 65rfe. I had emailed them to get in writing that they recommended it in case my trans grenaded. They assured me it was OK so I had it in writing. I had previously used it in my tcase with great success but I had never really paid much attention to it besides the Easy Pack and how easy it was to fill the tcase with it. It has that unique ATF+4 smell to it too which surprised me seeing as it supposedly meets many oem specs. I put it next to so ATF+4 and C+ I had and they literally smell identical. Obviously not scientific but I figured I'd mention it.

So I did 2 drain and fills with a drive to operati g temp in between and waited for a shudder or check engine light or limp mode. Nothing. It shifts exactly the same as with C+ or ATF+4. I might even say it shifts *slightly* better under WOT than C+ but there could be many variables with that. Honestly I'm extremely shocked and impressed.

We have our first camping trip planed in a couple weeks so I'll definitely update on towing with it but as of right now I wouldn't hesitate to use Ss MVATF in your RFE or the Fuel Efficient ATF in your ZF8.

Like @Burla said, maybe we need to be less brand loyal and focus more on formula and performance. If towing with the MVATF is as good as C+ I'll likely use what C+ I have a stock of and switch over to MVATF as it's a bit cheaper than C+...

 

[HEMIMANN]

Im not worried about my zf8 shifts. Its done it since new and its by far the best auto trans ive ever driven

Say more - why is it the best auto trans you've ever driven?

After driving an Allison 1000 in my RV, I wish I could put that in everything. Talked to a guy on the development team 30 years ago - back when things were done right. Smooth shifts, perfect shift points, downhill braking, little change in operation with temp or time. Just outstanding.

 

[Travis8352]

Say more - why is it the best auto trans you've ever driven?

After driving an Allison 1000 in my RV, I wish I could put that in everything. Talked to a guy on the development team 30 years ago - back when things were done right. Smooth shifts, perfect shift points, downhill braking, little change in operation with temp or time. Just outstanding.

Of everything ive daily driven its the best. 2001 explorer, 2004 silverado 4l60e and 1995 cummins 47rh. I guess i should correct myself, the allison 2200hs in the freightliner mt55 aramark stepvan i drive for work is an absolute beast. Perfect shifts and downshifts when you want it to. A dream to drive

 

[HEMIMANN]

Of everything ive daily driven its the best. 2001 explorer, 2004 silverado 4l60e and 1995 cummins 47rh. I guess i should correct myself, the allison 2200hs in the freightliner mt55 aramark stepvan i drive for work is an absolute beast. Perfect shifts and downshifts when you want it to. A dream to drive

Don't worry - corporate America will "fix" Allison too, if they haven't already.

 

[tjfdesmo]

Mebbe we should swap out an Allison 1000?

Nope, but I'll take a real Allison, like the 9 speed they have been talking about. I lemon-lawed my last Chevy for a 1000 that they could not make work right. I learned a lot about the 1000 during that 12 month battle.

 

[MontanaHandyman]

Anybody with the typical slow first shift on the Zf8 shouldn't worry, its completely normal. I'm not sure that it would completely go away regardless of what brand of fluid you used so I wouldn't read to much into it. As I recall VernDiesel was somewhere way past 500K on his Zf8 on nothing but 100K Valvoline Maxlife ATF changes, mostly towing pretty heavy and still going. I bet if you asked him his slips a little on that first shift too.

On another note I decided to burn through some of that Shell RGT 5W30 that I bought early last year and it was time for an oil change so I put that in along with a 10oz bottle of Lubeguard. Day before yesterday I cranked the truck like three times in an hour and on the last time I actually got a little start up tick for about 3-5 seconds. First time I had heard that in many miles (25K maybe) which is a testament to Redline. I did one quick QSUD 5W30 run early last year but was never really 100% comfortable with it so I went back to Redline after 3K. Might have been a fluke too since I had gone 750 miles already and it has been quiet otherwise. We already know that multiple starts in a short period of time really increases the odds of getting some start up tick so......anyway maybe I should follow Lubeguard's advice a little better and increase the ounces per quart some.

Let this be a lesson to those same people where every time there's a new oil thread say the same things: "what does the book say", "follow the manual", etc. If you run regular old OTC "synthetic" 5W20 you're going to get some Hemi tick from time to time and it is slowly killing your engine whether you want to believe it or not.

Thanks tidefan...puts my mind at ease with the slow first to second shift!

 

[Travis8352]

Don't worry - corporate America will "fix" Allison too, if they haven't already.

Im sure they already have but i hope not. Will see how the allison 2200hs in the 2021 van were getting performs. The one i drive is an 06 and it shifts awesome

 

[U&A]

Since we're on the subject of trans fluid, might as well let you guys in on an experiment I've been doing. Back in November I decided to try Amsoil SS MVATF in my 65rfe. I had emailed them to get in writing that they recommended it in case my trans grenaded. They assured me it was OK so I had it in writing. I had previously used it in my tcase with great success but I had never really paid much attention to it besides the Easy Pack and how easy it was to fill the tcase with it. It has that unique ATF+4 smell to it too which surprised me seeing as it supposedly meets many oem specs. I put it next to so ATF+4 and C+ I had and they literally smell identical. Obviously not scientific but I figured I'd mention it.

So I did 2 drain and fills with a drive to operati g temp in between and waited for a shudder or check engine light or limp mode. Nothing. It shifts exactly the same as with C+ or ATF+4. I might even say it shifts *slightly* better under WOT than C+ but there could be many variables with that. Honestly I'm extremely shocked and impressed.

We have our first camping trip planed in a couple weeks so I'll definitely update on towing with it but as of right now I wouldn't hesitate to use Ss MVATF in your RFE or the Fuel Efficient ATF in your ZF8.

Like @Burla said, maybe we need to be less brand loyal and focus more on formula and performance. If towing with the MVATF is as good as C+ I'll likely use what C+ I have a stock of and switch over to MVATF as it's a bit cheaper than C+...

AWESOME COREY!

Thanks for doing that and im interested to hear how it goes.


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[Old Fart]

Redline on sale at Partsource in Canada. 45% off...$43.99 CND for US gallon

 

[U&A]

Redline on sale at Partsource in Canada. 45% off...$43.99 CND for US gallon

How much for a Canadian gallon?



[emoji16]
[emoji6]

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[Old Fart]

How much for a Canadian gallon?



[emoji16]
[emoji6]

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LOL...$52.82 CDN