I called my local dealership and they were only charging $8 bucks a quart, so make sure you at least check with your local dealership first.

Stewart

 

Thanks Stewart, but I will skip the 60 mile drive roundtrip to the pill pushing Jones-West Ford dealership in Reno.

 

Ouch.

Stewart

 

We're used to car dealers giving us a tough pill to swallow... but this is taking it a little far.

 

I went looking for their website... you know, fordpills.com, fordpillsgiant.com, something along those lines

Turns out, Ford Pills actually exist... as a laxative.

Ford Pills Drug Information, Indications & Other Medicaments on Catalog.md


A different kind of "cleanout" at the dealer in Reno, but ironically related.

 

I don't recommend it for the transfer case. And I am an advocate of Mobil1.

That is based on Ford's recommendation to not use MERCON V in the transfer case. Why? I have no idea. I know less about transfer cases than most of you. I've never been inside one. I have zero experience with them.

 

My guess is that point of resistance against using the XL-12 fluid is that this fluid isn't synthetic, and some people, myself included, would like to use a synthetic lubricant in the infrequently serviced transfer case.

The XL-12 is formulated per Ford's ESP-M2C166-H specification, with the last revision date in August 2004. A search for this specification finds other DexronIII/Mercon transmissions fluids that say things like "may be used for service fill where Ford ESP-M2C166-H is recommended." This sentence (example taken from Valvoline, but others, like Royal Purple SynchroMax, are similar) is the tricky language trap that Mark warned about earlier. It does not say "meets ESP-M2C166-H specification". It instead says "may be used where ESP-M2C166-H is recommended."

Well, the ESP-M2C166-H specification was last updated in August 2004, and was superseded by WSS-M2C938-A in 2007, marking the end of the line for Mercon. But we all knew that. What we don't know is where to get a synthetic fluid that meets the expired spec, but doesn't meet the current spec for Mercon V.

There used to be such a synthetic fluid, made by Motorcraft, marketed as Synthetic Mercon, part number XT-2-QSM. I have a case of it, and I will be using it in the transfer case from now on. I had planned on using it in my transmission, but it doesn't appear to be available anymore. The few Ford parts sites that do list it, automatically substitute the part number in the cart with the superseded part number of XT-5-QSM. That's not going to work. That's Mercon V.

XT-2-QSM was extremely expensive stuff... I've seen historical prices range from $15 to $23 per quart. I bought my case back when Ford issued a TSB stating that this fluid would solve a stall issue in extremely cold temperatures, and at the same time issued another TSB advising to NOT, under any circumstances, use MerconV in the 4R100. This was back in 2001. By 2006, Ford changed their tune on the 4R100, but the song remains the same on the transfer case.

If anyone really wants synthetic in their transfer case, and can find a couple of dusty unsold bottles of XT-2-QSM somewhere, then that fluid would meet the Mercon ONLY spec.

 

If you really want to use synthetic fluid in your x-case but don't want to use ATF this might not be a bad option for you...

Valvoline? Multi-Vehicle Transfer Case Fluid : Product Catalog - Valvoline®

I have seen it for 8-12 bucks a quart.

Currently I am running Wally World Dex-Merc in mine. Never had an issue in 5 year but I might give this stuff a whirl next time I remember to change the fluid.

 

Why don't people just run what they tell you to run?

 

Well, in the case of the MT-82 in the 2011-14 Mustangs Ford called out this NASTY toxic smelling stuff that doesn't work as well as Redline MTL.

 

Usually I agree go with OEM recommendations... but FoMoCo did think a silicate based coolant was a good idea with a stacked plate oil cooler and external water cooled EGR cooler in the 6.0's.

I think most of us are just curious if there is any alternatives that will work.

 

I get that they have made mistakes in the past, but when they actually make a revision, there is usually a really really good reason that they have done it. In that particular case, I would take that recommendation pretty seriously. Maybe it's just me.

 

Reps for that find.

I know where you're coming from, but let's also remember Ford revised the fluid to Merc V too!

Stewart

 

I bought Amsoil Signature ATF for the transmission, which meets Ford Mercon LV specs. It's not for the transfer case, so I will get Motorcraft XL-12 or use some Amsoil Multi-Vehicle ATF suggested on the website for my '16 F-150 4WD, 3.5.

 

The Amsoil website suggests several of their products, depending on the configuration of the truck. They include the Ford recommendation for the transfer case and the transmissions too.