All;

Am thinking of changing to synthetic ATF in my '88 F-250 with a C-6. At up to $10/quart times 13 quarts it's a lot of money. I understand you can expect lower ATF temperature, reduced wear, etc. Anybody out there that can let me know if it's worth it? What brands have you used? Results? Cost? Any and all comments are appreciated.

Thanks, Paul

 

hmmm, i could be wrong here, but i dont think you are going to need anything near 13 quarts. where did you see that you would need 13 quarts? the only reason im saying this is because when i first chnaged the fluid in my c-6 (a 79), my haynes said it needed a certain number of "pints" which i converted and came up with 13 quarts. i went to the store and bought 13 quarts but when i started filling it back up, it only took something like 5-6 if i remeber right. anyway, maybe i did something wrong and didnt get it all drained out.

as for the type of fluid, i would just get the cheap store brand...a lot of times its just a little more than a quart of oil. true, ive never used any of the really expensive stuff like the B&M Trick Shift...so i dont know how much or if it would help, i just know that ive always used to no name stuff and never had any problems.

 

whoops, i didnt read your post very clearly the first time. the word "synthetic" sorta slipped right through my mind. ya that stuff can get expensive, and sorry i have no experience with it.

 

I use Mobil 1 in my trans , its no where near $10 /Qt . Id say if you do a lot of towing , hauling then it wouldnt hurt . If the truck sees limited heavy use ,Id just use regular trans fluid , change it & the filter on a regular sched . A trans cooler makes all the difference in the world to an auto trans , if you dont already have one .A cooler in my opinion will do more than investing in a synthetic fluid .

 

All C6 transmissions take 12 quarts of fluid, depending on which pan is used.

Most people just pull the pan and drain that fluid, which in most cases is about 4-5 quarts of fluid. Many people don't drain the torque converter, which is an additional 7-8 quarts.

So when you drain the pan and refill with 4 quarts of fluid, you are mixing 4 quarts of new fresh fluid with 8 quarts of old dirty fluid in the converter. Not much of a fluid change is it? If you don't drain the converter, you're wasting money and fluid.

All Ford transmissions (I'm not sure about the AODs) have a drain plug on the converter, so you should take advantage of it and get a complete fluid change.

Also be sure to check your owner's manual and install the proper fluid. Earlier models use Type F, Later models use Mercon fluid. If you use the wrong fluid, it will probably cause problems.

I think changing to synthetic fluid in an older transmission may be asking for problems. A cooler would be well worth the expense.

 

For the money, you can invest in an external tranny cooler that will help more than the synthetic. I'm a firm believer in synthetic though and you can purchase it for a lot less than $10 a quart. Mobil 1 has an ATF synthetic for about $5 and one of the best on the market is Redline for about $8 a quart.

'82 F150 2WD w/351W (orig 300 I6)
Slik

 

Thanks for all the replies. Sounds like the synthetic isn't worth the cost and may cause other problems with an old transmission. I change the fluid regularly, and drain the torque converter at each change.

I believe my truck has a factory external cooler, mounted in front of the radiator, right side, it's about 12" x 14" or so. Is it worth it to change to an aftermarket cooler or is the factory one OK?

Thanks, Paul