May be a dumb question, but what are you guys using in your automatic transmissions lubeguard platinum or Lucas ?
the products you listed appear to be additives? I just use the appropriate type of fluid for the trans, usually the Walmart house brand because it's cheap and I'm a cheapskate, and it generally meets the industry specifications. I don't use any additives.
I keep it simple too, generic Dexron, Ford Type F or whatever applies and is on sale. As long as the cheap stuff is the same grade as the top-shelf stuff, it works.
Dexron V and Lubeguard additive in my C4. The Lubeguard was recommended by two transmission shops to me.
56shoebox , it was recommended to me as well... I never ran lubegard before. Or even heard of it. But the mechanic that rebuilt my tranny, says to stay away from Lucas. To use lubeguard instead. ... Just want to know who is using what out there.
Im personally not big on additives just pure fluid but have sold countless cases of both companies products. Lubeguard main focus is on friction modifiers , we just put tube #19610 in our 180,xxx mile s10 4x4 4l60e for TCC shudder & it fixed it. Some shops use the limited slip rear diff additive but not me. The lubeguard reads as if it were a posi additive on the label. Most our local long time tranny guys say no Lucas for silinoid in valve body rigs. I kinda like and old gm parts man I worked with , he said "my daddy told me don't put nothin in my motor cept motor oil", I've also applied that thought to automatic tranny's. Each additive has their place. If all is well I'd just use fluid. Lubeguard if you've got an issue. Flux.
I'm a huge fan of everything Lucas makes. The transmission in my daily driver was starting to slightly hesitate between shifts a while back............not serious slipping, just not the crisp shift it has always had. I put in a bottle of Lucas Transmission Fix and, seriously, within a few miles I could feel it shifting better. That was 4 or 5 months ago, and it continues to shift like it should. I also used their engine stop leak because a sender was leaking on the same car a few years ago and the dealer wanted $4500 to pull the motor and fix it. (I did it myself once on that model car and never again) He suggested the Lucas stop leak, I did it, and the leak went away for good. So, Lucas gets my vote. Don
I run nothing but Amsoil in my 50 Fleetline, engine oil, trans fluid, brake fluid, and power steering fluid never had any problems.
I put Lucas in my 200 4R which is in my roadster and the smell of that stuff was sickening so I switched to Castrol, no smell.
besides the rearend the automatic transmission is the most neglected part on the car , people do not read service manuals or follow them on the change out times on the lubes , and have the theory of its still working why change it ( think what would happen if you thought this way about motor oil, I have had cars come in with people that have done this !) , ATF is like any petroleum product it turns to varnish over time , and like motor oil the detergent package starts to fail and oxidize , this is why you should change it out at or before 100,000 miles or 2 years ( or sooner if you get it hot like in racing ) I have seen Automatics that have had no failures or problems with 500K miles on them because they changed the fluid out on it at the prescribed intervals , and ones at 100 K that were on the verge of needing a complete rebuild because the fluid was cooked at a earlier time and continued running like that . the new electronic transes are fluid sensitive so change out times should be followed , specially since a standard rebuild is in the range of $2500
20 years ago I dealt with a high school bus mechanic that would change only the filters on all the schools Allison bus tranny's & strain the fluid through a series of strainers. Reused the fluid to keep the "grit" for the clutches. He was not a believer in the fluid change. Personally I'd rather use the lubeguard, with fresh fluid , I figure the friction modifier's are like the "grit". Changing fluid on a neglected but operational high mile tranny is like playing with matches. But I still do it & pour in the "grit" or lube guard for traction...... Flux
B&M LOL I use Dextron, usually shoot for a name brand but I have been known to use autozone branded oil too.
Please don't use any aftermarket lube additives, they are worse than a waste of money, they can actually cause harm to the component you use them in. The trans oil you purchase from whatever brand you buy has had at many man hours from a team of formulations experts developing the problem blend of additives and base oils to work together synergistically. When you add an aftermarket additive to the mix you have no idea what the effect will be, and neither does the additive sales guy that convinced you to buy his product without spending thousands of dollars on testing and analysis. It's all a crap shoot, you have no idea how the aftermarket additive will blend with and react to the existing cocktail, just don't do it. It's bad advice. If your trans guy advises it, I'd find a new trans guy.
Re different brands of transmission oil and the cheap house brands, there really is a difference in oils, and these cheap house brands can be good, or they can be crap, you really don't know. But if the price is cheap, it's a good bet they are crap. There are differences in the base oils used, from inexpensive solvent refined group I oil to good hydrocracked group II or even group II or PAO synthetic. These base oil types make a huge difference in longevity of the oil. The cheap stuff with the group I oil will oxidize far more rapidly and cause varnish and lacquer problems, leading to stiction of the valves and pistons and then slipping of the clutches. Or the additives can effect the friction materials of the clutch plates leading to glazing or loss of the material, again leading to slippage. Or they can negatively effect the seals, leading to external leakage, or internal leakage of the fluid past internal seal rigns, leading to, you guessed it, slippage. Heat, the #1 enemy of automatic transmissions, will take a greater toll on the cheep fluids with group I base oils. The better better base oils and additives are more expensive, you're not getting them in the cheap brands. The bottom line is, there really are differences between the cheap no name or house brand products and the name brands. I'd suggest you stick with a name brand oil.
FYI, you going on about not using additives while not knowing a thing about them is just the same as what you're telling people about salesmen that dontd know what they're selling. You don't know what you're talking against. Lubeguard is OEM approved. It's an actual TSB repair for certain transmission issues. Did you even look it up to see what it is or what it does? Of course not. Facts have no place in this discussion.
Lubeguard works good in AOD transmissions . It reduced or eliminated what was common in the early ones where the trans would shuffle back and forth between O/D back to drive and back again. It was a bad problem especially at high altitude. I was the transmission mechanic at a Ford dealer in the white mountains of Az. back in the early 80's. As far as transmission additives go it was the only one I saw that worked . I would use a shot glass full of brake fluid to get people by when they needed a rebuild and could not afford one. It swelled the seals and caused the trans not to leak by the hardened seals. One time when I was racing dirt track, my sponsor gave me a Chevy sliding door step van to use to pull my trailer. The transmission was out ,I mean it would not move. I went to pick it up and checked the fluid, it was a quart low and all I had was a quart of 30w motor oil so I told my buddy what the heck . Let's pour that in and see. We were going to tow it to my shop and rebuild it anyway. I poured the motor oil in and it started to back up so I said let's see if it will drive home . By the time we got to my place it was shifting fine. We towed with that van for 2 season's without pulling the transmission, even to some out of town races. finally sold the van to get one with an aluminum body. May sound like a bullshit story , but trust me I retired from Govt.
I have never had trouble with B&M trick shift. I have a rebuilt B&M C4 about 30 years ago. In my late model Fords and Lincolns we follow the maintenance intervals and use the Motorcraft stuff. Never a problem
No additives for me, just fluid and filter, frequently, every 40K miles. Cost of fluid and filter are minimal compared to the alternative. Had a 4L60 that was misshifting in parents vehicle, fluid change cured it. 100K and 2 fluid changes later still going. If you have a high stall or racing or tow on regular basis up to you.
I hear ya on not messing with high mileage trans, thats the general advice. If you figure you only get about half the fluid out with dropping the pan to change the filter, you still have plenty of "seasoned" fluid in there.
Another vote for Trick Shift. I installed a TCI 400 in one of my toys 20 years ago. That was the fluid recommended, still running strong and I am not nice to that car.
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