Re: 51 transmission fluid

Posted by Loyd Smith On 2008/7/26 15:04:07

My car had been mostly sitting between 1989 and 2004. One of the first things I did was to drop the tranny pan, flush the transmission, replace noticeably bent/worn linkage parts (already knew that direct-drive clutch was slipping because I'd driven it across town from delivery site), reinstall pan w/new gasket and put in new fluid (Dexron-Mercon, first). Drove the car for a time with the Dexron-Mercon in it, checked the fluid for level and colour regularly with no apparent changes in either fluid colour or performance. Then changed to Type F fluid, replacing gasket and cleaning filter again. Shifting improved very slightly. Drove car for a few months with the Type F, still experiencing direct drive clutch slippage although less severe. If I remember, the Type F fluid was drained once during this time with some darkening of fluid. About three months after that, read on (I think) this forum someone's recommendation of B&M product. There are two - one synthetic and recommended for vehicles built after 2002 and the original (I assume) petroleum based product. I used the latter. Improvement in performance was almost immediate and, within a week, the fluid had turned very noticeably darker. Repeated the draining, filter cleaning process until the fluid stopped changing colour. Don't know what's in this stuff but it appears to dissolve old varnish build-up and counteract glazing. Automatic shifting is smoother in, "Gear-Go," and direct-drive clutch no longer slips, either in, "Gear-Go, or, "Mush-Drive."
(I actually LIKE the uniqueness of this transmission. These are my own private nomenclatures for the drive ranges in it and are not meant to offend anyone.)