I had my truck in the shop for the transmission overhaul and they put in Schaeffer 204SAT/B. I was told by another shop that this was not the right oil as it is only good for haevy towing but not for normal driving. The right oil would be Mercon SP. Should I now have this oil replaced?

 

I would. Also, Mercon SP has been replaced by Mercon LV (and they are "mixable").

 

Mark, the problem is that the transmission shop gives a 3 year warranty or 100k miles with (must flush and filters every 30k or every 3 years (with Schaeffers ATF)). So the question is does it do any harm to keep it and also keeping Schaeffer and have warranty or go by the book and loose warranty.

 

You already baught the warranty with the repair. Only problem might be if you are out of town and warranty is only covered at their repair facility. I would run it. Shaffer is a good product.

 

I agree with flamebuster - that the Schaeffer is a good product. The question is - "Is it the correct product?". I just don't like being the "pioneer" on these things.

It seems that you are probably locked into this shop's warranty. I wonder why they require the Schaeffer when the OEM fluid is also deemed to be required by Ford?

Knowing their restriction on the fluid now, I would stay with it and not worry about it. What's done is done. DSMMH is having good luck w/ his Royal Purple fluid, so you are probably just fine.

What went out on the transmission to require the overhaul in the first place? They are usually VERY stout.

 

Tow haul light came on, whenn shifting from 1 to 2 it went back to 1 and then to 3. Diag. P0751, P0766,P0771, P2700,P2703, P2704....Overhaul with replacement of torque converter and solenoids, all related seals, gaskets, related parts.
They told me that Schaeffer was the superior poduct, that's why they use it. The price is also higher.

 

Mark.......as you know I'm one of the "pioneers" in TS alternative ATF. My Royal Purple synthetic ATF is still doing great. Not even a hint of a problem. Since I got the SCT X3 with Eric's tunes, it is even better.

Paulkcbulm.......I would stay with the Schaeffer ATF in the TS rebuld. Like Mark said it is a "superior" product. I never bought into the Ford SP/LV "must use" theory for the TS. I continue to have outstanding results with RP synthetic ATF.

DSMMH

 

Thank you for your help. Is the 204SAT/B they put in the same as you have the experience with?

 

From Schaeffer's documentation, even the manufacturer doesn't recommend it:

"All Trans Supreme is not recommended for use in those passenger cars and light
duty trucks that specify the use of Ford Type F, Ford M2C33F, Ford Mercon®SP,
Automatic Transmission Fluid Type G, GM Dexron VI, Honda CVT, Honda
Genuine, Nissan Matic K, Nissan CVT type fluids or in dual clutch transmissions
(DCT) or continuously variable transmissions (CVT)."

Found that here: http://www.schaefferoil.com/datapdf/204SAT.pdf

 

I believe Schaeffer did it for the same reason Royal Purple did. If you use 204 SAT/B or Royal Purple synthetic ATF during the TS warranty period and have a failure, that gives Ford the excuse needed to not repair the TS under warranty. Therefore, Scahaeffer and RP will not recommend their ATF in the TS because the next person down on the lawsuit pecking order is the ATF manufacturer.

If your TS is out of warranty, as in my case when I switched, who cares. It was a decision I made and a cost I was willing to incur based on my experience and Royal Purple's technical staff input. And I highly value their opinion. Why would RP tell me to put their ATF in my TS if they knew it would cause it to fail? Not good for business.

DSMMH

 

It is really difficult to know what I should do now. I talked to the shop owner about Schaeffer not recommending it for transmission where manufacturer specifies Mercon SP.
Now he is willing to exchange the fluid to Mercon SP without cost if I do want it but he gives only warranty with Schaeffers as he is convinced it is the better oil and he has many trucks running without problem with it.

What should I do now?

 

Well, consider this. You're out of warranty, so if he wants to warranty it with the Schaeffer's in it, then maybe you should go for it. It probably is fine, Schaeffer's is good stuff. I'd get that warranty in writing though.

 

x-2 You paid for the warranty already. so I would just stay with the shaeffer.

 

Thank you all for your opinion and help. I will keep Schaeffer and warranty.

 

Good decision!

How about, every so often, updating us on your TS performance with the Schaeffer fluid.

A few of us have used ATF other then SP/LV. I don't believe any of us who have used a different fluid have had any problems or failures. If I'm mistaken, please chime in.

DSMMH