I have a 96 F250 4x4 automatic (140k miles) and am up for a transmission oil change. I was wondering if it is worth the extra money to use sythetic verses petrolium based. I use Rotella T synthetic in my engine and I love the results from easier starts to just the overall noise reduction and better fuel economy. What benifits will I recieve if I changed the tranny to a synthetic oil?

Thanks to all for your wisdom.
Jeff

 

The best benefit would be that you could sustain a higher temperature longer than striaght ATF without burning the fluid, since the synthetic has a higher temp threshold. Other than that, maybe a slightly lower operating temp.

 

I dont know auto transmissions very much, but if I went with synthetic over regular ATF, would it effect how smooth the tranny shifts or when it shifts? I definately feel a hard "double shift" in my truck, but from what I have read, that is pretty normal in these trucks.

 

I noticed a change in my shift points when changing from synthetic blend to straight ATF, but I was running dual-blend Mercon/Dextron 3/Mercon V. Turns out that is not the recommended fluid type for my truck. My shift point changes may be due to damage from the dual blend. Guess I won't know for sure until it craters.