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Subject: Valvoline ATF letter Author: pdef1949 : member since June, 2004 : 6430 posts Posted on: 2005-02-04 07:56:08

By request, I am posting a copy of a letter I received recently from Valvoline regarding ATF that might be used in place of Esso LT 71141.

A couple of caveats, though.....

I have no association with Valvoline products and have received no compensation of any kind. I have not evaluated any claims made by Valvoline and cannot personally vouch for their veracity. I'm reprinting the letter for informational purposes only.

I would not recommend mixing different ATFs; they may individually work just fine but they may not be compatible with each other. That means if you are going to change fluid and use Valvoline in place of Esso you should completely drain and flush the entire transmission, not just the oil reservoir (pan and filter).

The valve body, gear case and filter appear to hold about 4 to 5 liters of fluid after the pan has been drained and would need to be sucked out before adding new fluid. Of course the filter would need to be replaced. To do this job you will need 13.5 liter of ATF (per the owner's manual). If you are only draining the pan and changing the filter, at appears that only 8-10 liters of fluid are needed... but that means mixing new and old fluids. In this case, you may want to stay with Esso fluid.


Okay that's my disclaimer. Now here's the letter text:

THOMAS R. SMITH
Technical Director, Valvoline Brand
June 7, 2004

To Whom It May Concern:

Valvoline has received several inquiries regarding the topic of MERCON V ATF and its use in various vehicles beyond those requiring DEXRON-III, MERCON, or MERCON V approved products. In response to these questions Valvoline has issued the following statements:

Valvoline supports the use of MERCON V ATF in a broad range of transmissions beyond those requiring DEXRON-III, MERCON, and MERCON V fluids including those where the following fluids are recommended:

o GM DEXRON II
o Allison C-4
o Chrysler ATF+3 or ATF+4 fluids
o Toyota (and Lexus) Type T, T-III or T-IV fluids
o Mitsubishi Diamond SP-II or SP-III fluids
o Hyundai
o Honda ATF-Z1 fluid (except in CVTs)
o BMW LT71141 or LA2634 fluids
o Nissan Matic-D, Matic-J, or Matic-K fluids

MaxLife ATF is recommended for the new 5 and 6 speed transmissions, except the Ford 5R110, Ford 6RXX, and the Mercedes Benz W7A700 (7G-TRONIC) which all require a low viscosity Automatic Transmission Fluid.

Valvoline has conducted in-house testing to support MERCON V ATF performance in these transmissions. However, it is important to note that these vehicle manufacturers have neither evaluated nor approved MERCON V ATF.

Valvoline stands behind all of its products, including MERCON V ATF. Use of MERCON V ATF in transmissions where recommended by Valvoline WILL NOT void the vehicle’s warranty. In the unlikely event that any transmission was to be damaged as a result of the use of MERCON V ATF,
please contact Valvoline at 1-800-Team-VAL.

Valvoline does not recommend MaxLife ATF for use in continuously variable transmissions (CVT’s) or in automatic transmissions where Ford Type F is recommended.


Sincerely,
Thom Smith
Technical Director
Valvoline Brand



Now in all fairness, I have to add that I wrote to Amsoil as well; they did not recommend any Amsoil products as a replacement for LT 71141. That does not mean Amsoil ATF won't work but they have likely not done any testing and don't want any liability. Valvoline has conducted such tests so their recommendations carry some weight with me.

Something else to consider: I normally think of this kind of job as DIY except I have no way to suck the additional fluid out. That means paying an indie to do the job....but with Valvoline Mercon V selling for about $5 a quart (about 0.95 liters) at Pep Boys and Advance Auto Parts you can save almost $150 compared to buying Esso fluid from VW. BMW charges twice as much for ATF as VW, and will only sell 20 liter bottles, almost twice as much as you need. That should cover the labor and the next time you do the job, you can just do the pan draining and filter replacement using Valvoline again to renew the fluid. That makes it a DIY job again.

Phil in Philadelphia

'99 740iL
'88 635CSi (now sold to another BMW fanatic)

• Valvoline ATF letter - pdef1949 2005-02-04 07:56:08 (41455 views)
  • The PDF original of that letter from Valvoline is on e38.org (url) - DavidC 2005-02-05 13:25:29 (2365 views)
  • Phil, are you certain about that 8 to 10 liters on a drain - dickschneiders 2005-02-04 12:16:21 (1457 views)
    • Re: Phil, are you certain about that 8 to 10 liters on a drain - pdef1949 2005-02-05 09:44:51 (1279 views)
    • I'm sure glad I had 8! I juuuust got into that 8th liter. - davidsoine 2005-02-04 21:46:00 (1155 views)
      • Re: I'm sure glad I had 8! I juuuust got into that 8th liter. - pdef1949 2005-02-06 10:11:37 (1188 views)
    • I used 8; 7 would probably have worked - cosmo 2005-02-04 13:17:11 (1161 views)
      • When I did it, the old fluid was also quite dirty, so I am - dickschneiders 2005-02-04 15:04:17 (1282 views)
  • Thanks! Curious what their 'in-house testing' entailed... - ChicagoE38 2005-02-04 10:54:32 (1263 views)
    • LOL! Note - meeting&exceeding the 'specs' is not the same as... - davidsoine 2005-02-05 10:58:39 (1700 views)
      • Re: LOL! Note - meeting&exceeding the 'specs' is not the same as... - pdef1949 2005-02-06 09:56:25 (1519 views)
        • Right - we don't know all the reasons some ZFs use only this special fluid... - davidsoine 2005-02-06 11:55:36 (1875 views)
    • Re: Thanks! Curious what their 'in-house testing' entailed... - pdef1949 2005-02-05 09:46:55 (1373 views)