98 V70 non-turbo automatic trans fluid change

[98v70dad]

Cheap Wal-Mart brand Dex IV, once you get it changed over to nice and pink do a complete drain and fill (see the posts about pulling the top line to the trans cooler) every 30k.

I just stopped by the biggest Walmart near my house. They had two possibilities for me. First was the Walmart branded Super-Tech for Dex-III at around $12 per gallon. Is this what you mean by the cheap Walmart brand?

The second option was Valvoline ATF Dex/Merc at about $16 per gallon. The bottle says it meets all Dex-III and subsequent Dex standards. I don't know if this would do or not. The bottle claims that it will.

I have a couple of reservations. First is the super tech stuff. It is amazingly affordable, but usually a good deal means something is up. The cost in ATF fluid (and/or engine oil) is the additives and the additives are often what keeps the performance good for a long time. Something that meets spec new in the bottle but no longer meets the spec 6 months later in the car because they saved about $4 per gallon by leaving out the expensive additive package is false economy. I am a little afraid of the super-tech product for that reason. If people have used it and had great service with it I wouldn't hesitate to use it. Please comment.

My second reservation is the Valvoline product. I like valvoline products and use them in most of my vehicles. However, using a product that satisfies a spec (dex-III) that is twice removed from that spec and was never specified for your car is stretching it a bit. So, I'm a little afraid to use the valvoline product also. Any comments are welcomed!

[Ozark Lee]

Theoretically all of the Dexron formulations past Dex-III through Dex-V are backwards compatible. I ran into a situation with Dex-VI where it was specifically not recommended for use in my Chevy transfer case and that it should be Dex-III only or a couple of quarts of $10.00 / quart GM stuff that is only labeled with a part number, not a Dexron statement at all. That leads me to believe that there are perhaps some backwards compatibility issues after all but the warning only came out after Dex-VI was introduced. Up through Dex-V they never said not to use it.

That said, I have never had any issues with the Valvoline Dexron from Walmart ion any of the Volvos The only time I used the Supertech stuff was when I had a bad leak and I needed to top off everyday until I could fix the leak. It worked OK but it wasn't in there very long.

...Lee

[98v70dad]

Theoretically all of the Dexron formulations past Dex-III through Dex-V are backwards compatible. I ran into a situation with Dex-VI where it was specifically not recommended for use in my Chevy transfer case and that it should be Dex-III only or a couple of quarts of $10.00 / quart GM stuff that is only labeled with a part number, not a Dexron statement at all. That leads me to believe that there are perhaps some backwards compatibility issues after all but the warning only came out after Dex-VI was introduced. Up through Dex-V they never said not to use it.

That said, I have never had any issues with the Valvoline Dexron from Walmart ion any of the Volvos The only time I used the Supertech stuff was when I had a bad leak and I needed to top off everyday until I could fix the leak. It worked OK but it wasn't in there very long.

...Lee

The valvoline stuff they had at walmart was called dex/merc and it claimed to meet Dex-III and ALL subsequent...sort of like a universal. I'm leery of it for that reason. If they had a Dex-IV that said it also met Dex-III I wouldn't have any hesitation to use it.

[erikv11]

I use the SuperTech Dex III, not Dex IV like I posted. I've never had any trouble with it. I do understand there is a wide range of products w/different additive packs, oil discussions get opinionated very quickly. I basically decided on it a long time ago and it is all I have ever used. I really don't pound on the transmission especially hard, if I did then I might spend a little more for the trans fluid in the turbo vehicles.

[Ozark Lee]

The valvoline stuff they had at walmart was called dex/merc and it claimed to meet Dex-III and ALL subsequent...sort of like a universal. I'm leery of it for that reason. If they had a Dex-IV that said it also met Dex-III I wouldn't have any hesitation to use it.

That is a pretty bold statement. I hasten back to investor conference calls where the perfunctory warnings were made that things might be "forward looking" and should not be construed as a guarantee of future success. I'm a bit surprised that the label made it through the legal department at either Valvoline or Walmart.

...Lee

[98v70dad]

I use the SuperTech Dex III, not Dex IV like I posted. I've never had any trouble with it. I do understand there is a wide range of products w/different additive packs, oil discussions get opinionated very quickly. I basically decided on it a long time ago and it is all I have ever used. I really don't pound on the transmission especially hard, if I did then I might spend a little more for the trans fluid in the turbo vehicles.

I just drive this car to and from work, although daily that adds up to over 70 miles. Years ago I would have just bought something that claimed compatibility and put it in. However, when I substituted valvoline aft (claimed to be compatible and approved) for genuine hyundai and the shifting situation changed from super smooth to very crisp and abrupt I learned that adequate and optimal aren't the same thing. I'm being a little more careful this time.

[98v70dad]

Anybody have thoughts about high mileage compared to regular ATF?

I've never used a high mileage anything EXCEPT for oil in in a Camry that had a bunch of oil leaks. It was a temporary fix until I got the leaking gaskets replaced.

[98v70dad]

Theoretically all of the Dexron formulations past Dex-III through Dex-V are backwards compatible. I ran into a situation with Dex-VI where it was specifically not recommended for use in my Chevy transfer case and that it should be Dex-III only or a couple of quarts of $10.00 / quart GM stuff that is only labeled with a part number, not a Dexron statement at all. That leads me to believe that there are perhaps some backwards compatibility issues after all but the warning only came out after Dex-VI was introduced. Up through Dex-V they never said not to use it.

That said, I have never had any issues with the Valvoline Dexron from Walmart ion any of the Volvos The only time I used the Supertech stuff was when I had a bad leak and I needed to top off everyday until I could fix the leak. It worked OK but it wasn't in there very long.

...Lee

I've been shopping around and what is available in gallon jugs at a good price is fairly limited. Walmart has a valvoline product labeled dex/merc. Is that stuff ok for my 98 v70? My preference would be valvoline dex-vi but I don't think I've seen that in gallon jugs here.

[98v70dad]

Thanks folks. I appreciate the comments. Discussions of fluids and substitutions can get heated and that's counterproductive in my opinion. I did not mean to post a question that would erupt into disagreements.

a) I just wanted some validation of the Dex/Merc or Dex-VI (there is no Dex-IV) choice I made. I finally found the 98 V70 owners manual and it says to use ATF Dexron IIE/III and Mercon. Therefore I expect that a product labelled Dex/Merc that claimeds to mee all of those specs is acceptable. Nobody confirmed that they use it and have no problems with it though .... thats what I wanted to know. b) I also questioned the use of high mileage ATF versus regular ATF and didn't get any responses there either. That info would also be helpful if anyone has an opinion.

I need to buy something tonight and Castrol and Valvoline Dex/merc is the only thing I found in gallon jugs readily available here in Atlanta for a reasonable price. They were both about $16 per gallon. I am cheap and don't intend to pay upwards of $8 per bottle for something else unless its absolutely necessary.

Dex-III is no longer licensed by GM so you can buy something that says it meets the spec, but it may or may not and nobody is really checking. I would trust Valvoline or Castrol if they make a product that claims to meet or exceed the Dex-III specification but maybe not a store brand. Just my opinion. If anyone would care to comment on the two questions (labelled a) and b) ) I asked in this last post I would appreciate it

[erikv11]

Since you are still working on this one ....

I just drive this car to and from work, although daily that adds up to over 70 miles. Years ago I would have just bought something that claimed compatibility and put it in. However, when I substituted valvoline aft (claimed to be compatible and approved) for genuine hyundai and the shifting situation changed from super smooth to very crisp and abrupt I learned that adequate and optimal aren't the same thing. I'm being a little more careful this time.

So the Valvoline was crappy (or incompatible) in this case?

With Supertech you're not trying out a new transmission fluid, it is used by many long time members across many forums (but not Lee), the experiment has already been done and repeated many times over many years. And your car is an NA with only 124,000 miles so you don't really even need to worry about previous abuse (yes, even though the fluid may never have been changed - pretty much all my Volvos started that way at ≥100k). With regular changes you are basically guaranteed to have zero fluid-related problems for another 100k, maybe more.

If that 70 miles per day includes a lot of highway miles, that is a super easy day for the transmission. Much less wear on the transmission that 30 city miles per day.

Granted I would think more carefully about a turbo vehicle that sees spirited driving but for me this one is automatic: buy the cheap stuff that is easy to get and move on. I either buy gallons from Walmart or more recently cases of quarts from Sam's Club (this house brand is not marked Supertech, it is $2 per bottle), they are both cheap, reliable and plentiful.