2004 F350 6.0. 294K Miles

Took the truck to a large Forddealer in town to have the tranny fluid changed with the hot exchange machine rather than a drain and fill. They changed transmission filter at the same time.
They used BG Products synthetic ATF 3124 for the refill. Now I know that Mercon SP is what is specified and have read that nothing else should be used. I questioned them thoroughly and three different people from service managers to mechanics all fold me that the BG Products was fully synthetic and covers or exceeds all of the Mercon, MerconV Mercon SP and Mercon LV specs and is what they use in all Ford transmissions.

I remain skeptical but would appreciate any input from the experts here and there are many. It was a dealership and a relatively large one here in Charlotte that works on diesels but I tend to trust this forum more than them

Thanks in advance Mark

 

My suggestion would be to get it in writing. I've seen a few dealers and mechanics start back stepping when asked to put something in writing.

 

I've been using Wolfshead brand, says meets or exceeds Mercon LV right on the bottle. Google search should show the spec.

 

I went to BG's website. Talk about a useless site! There is NO information about their transmission fluid, except that they suggest you should use it. It gives no information about the fluids. Your guess is as good as mine as to whether your trans will like this fluid or die from it.

 

These are the compatibility sheets that BG Products sent me for the 312 Fluid that went into my 6.0 transmission at the Ford Dealership




they seem to be a service provider for many auto dealerships of all makes BMW ford GM Honda etc providing not just the fluids but the exchange machines as well from what I can gather.

Mark Kovalsky I would much appreciate your thoughts having been so intricately involved in the development of this transmission. I never really understood the history of the Mercon brands and how they came about, Mercon, MerconV, Mercon SP, and Mercon LV. My brief understanding is that each was developed to solve various problems that were encountered during the design and after the transmissions had been in the field for a while and generally are not interchangeable so how has BG Products come up with something that "meets or exceeds the performance requirements of" all these fluids.

Thanks Mark

 

There are several fluids on the market that claim to be compatible with almost every MERCON product. I believe, but have NOT tested, that it is possible for a high quality synthetic to meet the specs for MERCON, MERCON V, MERCON SP, and MERCON LV.

The specs for both MERCON and MERCON V are not that tough for a synthetic to meet. MERCON SP and LV are harder, but certainly possible.

MERCON was the original, and that spec was discontinued in 2006. Ford no longer licenses anyone to produce that fluid. MERCON V was originally developed to fix a clutch shudder problem that appeared with a new type of torque converter clutch in the early 90's. MERCON V was reformulated in 2006 so that it could replace MERCON while still maintaining it's anti-shudder properties.

Starting with the 5R110 Ford moved to a lower viscosity fluid and MERCON SP came to be. MERCON LV came after I left Ford, and I don't know it's story.

 

Thanks Mark that was helpful

Is the transfer case as fussy about what you put in it as the transmission

Mark

 

I think so, but I don't know transfer cases very well.

 

I wonder if it could be rebotteled Valvoline max life?

 

Mark Kovalsky the Bismic of transmissions on the 6.0 forum!!

 

When I put the rebuilt Ford trans in mine about 18 Mo ago I had then drain
and refill the transfer case and to save any hassles I just used the Ford transfer
case fluid that they spec for the unit.

One thing about the t-case in the truck it's a pumped oil system. Yep it
has it's own pump to move the fluid around to the bearings and parts.

Gone are the days when any 90 Wt gear oil would do.



Sean <BR>

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