To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

Looking for trans additive thread

Throbbin Rods

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 17, 2013
Messages
801
Location
Lebanon, NH
I think I saw a post on here where someone recommended a specific transmission additive as being superior to the "Motor Honey" type additives. Searched and searched but cant find it. Any help is very much appreciated
Thanks
Bill
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
OP
T

Throbbin Rods

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 17, 2013
Messages
801
Location
Lebanon, NH
Thanks! Is there a specific product from lube guard that is recommended? I looked on the web and there are multiple options
 

F350

Well-known member
Joined
May 13, 2009
Messages
110
Additives are not necessary and are a waste of money.
 

matt_i

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 14, 2008
Messages
10,744
Location
SE Michigan
I've never changed a drop of transmission fluid nor added anything other than fresh ATF to top off in many 000,000s of driving. Towed all over up to 15k gross trailers that were at times all of that plus slightly more. No fails yet. Every vehicle that gets driven hard or tows has a trans cooler however.
 

isb cornbinder

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 3, 2010
Messages
7,073
Location
Pacific South West, BC, Canada
I was one of 50 plus mechanics in a large company.
The company has 1500 medium duty vehicles, all automatic transmissions. The transmissions would last a million kilometers or more. The only AT fluid we used was Dexron iii The hydraulic lifts and power steering was also Dexron iii.
Additives may not be necessary except in possibly the most extreme cases and the manufacturer should be called about compatibility.
Proper transmission cooling is more important.
I use Dexron 3 in my Ram 4X4 Diesel 47re, the Ford C4 and Gear Vendors in our 1940 Ford, my son's Wrangler automatic and the C6 that was behind a 6.9 Diesel 4X4 in our 1953 R120 IHC pickup. That C6 had nearly 300,000 miles on it when I gave the truck to a friend. The ATF was never changed in this C6. I had added an external spin-on filter to the return line from the external fan cooled, cooler. The ATF was topped up when the filter was changed. The cooler fan was controlled by a 195F thermostat inline.
All Dexon fluids are very high-tech synthetics and it is very likely the ATF will be degraded by an additive.
A friend tows a four axle horse trailer with his Ram 3500, 47re automatic and 4X4. He had the transmission rebuilt at 965,000 kilometers and the truck still drove to the t transmission shop.
BTW: Do not waste your money on a transmission flush. It the transmission needs a flush, there may be a bigger problem. Anyway, unless a flush is done by a professional repair shop, less than 50% of the fluid gets changed.
 
Last edited:
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

finn

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 27, 2005
Messages
16,361
Location
The UP, God's country
My career was in Engine R&D for a truck and engine manufacturer. We routinely qualified the engine lubes used for factory fill, and for lube oils sold with our private label through our dealers. (They were sometimes but not always the same product. When they were different, the factory fill always had superior performance.

As far as aftermarket mouse milk, R&D had a general policy of virtually never testing those products. We never, with few exceptions, tested those products because there were so many peddlars and products being put forth as miracle concoctions that our entire budget and facilities would be consumed validating those products.

Our sales department did offer some private label mouse milk, simply because the markup, and profit selling the mouse milk was huge.

I assume transmission manufacturers are in the same boat: more salesmen and advertising dollars selling miracle cures than product engineers and R&D facilities.
 

csargents1546

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 20, 2009
Messages
805
Location
Westminster CO
There is only one additives that I use, bg moa. Other than that all of it is snake oil. Almost all manufactures recommend against additives and flushes. The only reason that it is sold is due to it high markup.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
 

Falcon67

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 11, 2009
Messages
18,371
Location
Merkel, TX
I have used SeaFoam to band-aid ailing seals in an old trans I didn't have time to service. Worked surprisingly well. Everything else - straight trans fluid, whatever is in the owner's manual. In the race cars, it's all Type F including the Powerglide in the dragster.
 

yeldogt

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 2, 2012
Messages
18,184
I have never understood the "additive" mentality ... do you really think if they worked the manufacturers would not add them? The R&D spent -- manufacturing costs -- if a simple fluid addictive would add to the product cycle it would be in there.
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
Top Bottom