gtstcactus

I've been planning to do a couple of drain & fills on the auto tranny in my 92 Windom/ES300...

Is there any real reason to not use Dexron II and go out an buy Dexron III?

I've got 15 litres of DII which I'd rather use instead of going and buying some DIII if it's ok to use...

Any thoughts on this?

PuReChaos

Doesnt the dip stick say dexron II? I mean I would use dexron III if it were my car but using dexron II wont hurt it if thats what it originally used.

gtstcactus

yeah it says dex II, I was just wondering if there was any reason to not use it since it has been superseded by dex III... I think dex iii is rated to be good for slightly higher temps, not sure how else it's improved..

I was kind of thinking seeing as I'm going to do a drain and fill 2-3 times I might as well use this dex ii.... On the final fill I might use some dex III

I need to do same for the power steering so I'll use some of this dex II in that also...

PFB

Dexron || is not sold anymore, it was superseded by Dexron III, which is fully backward compatible with Dexron || but has more benefits. ( do a google search)

The newest standard is now Dexron VI which again should be backward compatible with Dexron || and Dexron |||

Doing several drain and refills is a good idea, just do them at enough time/milage apart, so that you don't end up changing the complete fluid at the same time. This could be harmful to the tranny.

You should do the drain and refills at least 10,000-15,000 miles apart. And than the final one with either Dexron ||| or Dexron VI. Your choice.

Check the color and odor of the transmission fluid every 3,000 miles or so. If it stays nice and red, and has no burnet odor, you are ok. If it turns black or smells burnet, than change it more often than the 10,000-15,000 miles I mentioned.

Whatever you do, DO NOT DO A FLUSH

Phil

tomf

Good luck finding certified Dexron II and Dexron III. They are no longer licensed. You can buy transmission fluid that is compatible with Dexron III but you wont' find any that says it's Dexron III. For example, Supertech sold by Walmart, says for "...vehicles requiring the former Dexron III".

BTW, I use Supertech in all my ES300s and Camrys.

mitmaks

You can use Dexron VI

LeX2K

You should NOT use Dexron VI, it is a thinner fluid and won't play nice in your transmission.

DJPsystems

So what should you use?

LeX2K

Valvoline DEX III MaxLife works well as does Castrol Import Multi Vehicle. For exotic go with Royal Purple ATF, by far my favourite I love this stuff.

gtstcactus

I have an old tin of dexron II from Shell I'll use for the 1st couple/few drain & fills... I'll finish off with the 4 litres of Dex III I got on special today.

In New Zealand there is still plenty of Dex III on the shelves, actually I was at Repco today and as far as Dexron goes they only had Dex III, there was no Dex IV or VI (whichever is correct)..

I definitely won't be doing a flush... I'm going to do it myself and the most hassle free method IMO is a few drain & fills.

mitmaks

Dexron VI
"Exceeds all passenger car and light truck manufacturer’s warranty requirements for vehicles, transmissions or power steering service where a DEXRON®-VI, DEXRON®, DEXRON®-III H, III, IIE and II type ATF is specified."

LeX2K

Dex III license expired at the end of 2006 so a Dex VI fluid may or may not be suitable. Use at your own risk.

mitmaks

Valvoline max life works great, it's synthetic as well. You should do several drain/refills and your tranny will shift smoother.

gtstcactus

Yeah, I'll just use up the last of the Dex II, and then I'll stick with Dex III as it's pretty much what is available here...

In NZ Dex III seems to be what's available, perhaps it's old stock still being sold off.... I've never even seen Dex VI at ANY shop in NZ....

Not many of us New Zealanders here on CL tho, so I guess it's something you guys in the USA might have to consider...