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Re: Manual says not to use synthetic ATF ??? Posted by Ari [Email]  (#2847) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Ari) on Thu, 11 Apr 2002 14:09:35
In Reply to: Manual says not to use synthetic ATF ???, Joe98, Thu, 11 Apr 2002 12:51:37 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
In order to approve using synthetic ATF, Saab would have to do a significant amount of testing to verify that the synthetic was compatible with all the seals, etc. There is also decent varition in the formulations of synthetics. When Saab calls out Dextron, they know what they're getting.
Because Saab says not to use synthetic, it doesn't mean that synthetic will cause your transmission to implode. What it says is that Saab hasn't verified that a given synthetic WILL work as advertised. So, yes, many folks have done this testing on a one-by-one basis by putting synthetic in. Whether or not it increases the life of their transmission is hard to say. How do you know when the tranny would have died with regular ATF? If someone puts in synthetic and they've got 150K miles on their tranny, there is no way to know if it would still be just as good with regular. Just as if someone put in synthetic, and three months later the transmission melted down, you don't know it was the ATF.
The only way to tell is to run it in a few trannies of known condition, that are then torn down afterwards and inspected. Nobody I know has done that yet.
No question, synthetic fluids hold viscosity better over temperature, and perform very well when cold. The purpose of transmission fluid isn't as much lubrication (although it does) as power transfer. I've got no doubt that synthetic probably does a better job. Make the tranny last longer? I can't say, as the study hasn't been done.
Personally, I use a good quality non-synthetic ATF (usually Castrol), and change it often. I'll bet changing the fluid frequently (every 15K miles or so) will do more for tranny longevity than whatever witche's brew you put in. If folks have had good luck with some synthetics, then you can be pretty sure they don't attack seals or otherwise destroy trannies.
So, after all that bluster, it remains up to you.
posted by 140.157.4...
, Thu, 11 Apr 2002 14:09:35 <-- Viewing This Message
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