Mopar 8 & 9 Speed ATF Is Full Synthetic Just Like ZF Lifeguard

[GladiatorPilot23]

I researched on this and here is the answer. As you may know the ZF document from Germany says ZF Lifeguard fluid is semi synthetic. In Germany group 3 or group 3+ oil are not considered full synthetic and reason they say semi on that document. Here is the bottles which show full synthetic.

The Mopar 8&9 is going to be the same oil and I buy that online for $85 6QT.

Shell makes the oil. There are no oil that is approved by ZF other then ZF Lifeguard and some OEM boxed oils like Mopar. There are 2 euro oils on the list which we don't get here.

Why stick with Mopar or ZF. Warranty for 1 and that tight tolerance for proprietary add/chem pack that will never be exact since the fluids like Maxi life and Amsoil or whoever are universal with many different transmission even though they do work fine in most cases you need to do oil analyzes to double check them and nobody knows the long term health of those fluids in the ZF unless someone ran it for 100k,200k,300k or more. The most I herd was 700k on the original trans using if I recall the original fluid changes.

Anyhow, hope it helps.

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[Hootbro]

I have bought and used the ZF 8 Speed fluid from FCP Euro whenever they run a sale. I will not pay the crackhead prices for the MOPAR branded fluid.

Once I am out of warranty, I will move to Valvoline MaxLife ATF

 

[GladiatorPilot23]

I know it's very pricy. MaxLife has been working but it's not an exact spec Lifeguard has cSt of 5.6 and Maxlife is 5.9. I'm know there are more discrepancies which may or may not mater to some when price might take precedence. For warranty for sure it does matter what you use with approved oils. Valvoline mentions that they didn't have thier multi use oils evaluated by the OEM and if your worried look elsewhere basically lol.

 

[Hootbro]

Yeah, I would not risk while in warranty with MaxLife even if it did not cause a problem but would be pointed at by any dealer first and blamed.

I know in real world use and the ZF 8 speed transmissions, it is highly recommended and used on the RAM and even BMW forums as a alternate fluid. I have seen some hotshot driving RAM owners rack up some serious mileage with MaxLife ATF fluid changes every 30K-50K miles.

 

[Escape.idiocracy]

I have bought and used the ZF 8 Speed fluid from FCP Euro whenever they run a sale. I will not pay the crackhead prices for the MOPAR branded fluid.

Once I am out of warranty, I will move to Valvoline MaxLife ATF

What does FCP usually put it on sale for? Ball park $

 

[Hootbro]

What does FCP usually put it on sale for? Ball park $

Around $15-$16 a liter.

I could not tell you if they have a schedule when it goes on sale. I just have caught it here or there the couple times I bought and just check them out ever so often and snag it when it does go on sale. Sometimes it is the individual quarts and sometimes it is a multiple quantity pack of 6 or so.

Edit: Googled around and I guess there is some Ebay and other listing for the MOPAR 8/9 speed fluid packs of 6 that get it is the same range or lower. So FCP Euro might not be the best current online value.

 

[Escape.idiocracy]

Around $15-$16 a liter.

I could not tell you if they have a schedule when it goes on sale. I just have caught it here or there the couple times I bought and just check them out ever so often and snag it when it does go on sale. Sometimes it is the individual quarts and sometimes it is a multiple quantity pack of 6 or so.

Edit: Googled around and I guess there is some Ebay and other listing for the MOPAR 8/9 speed fluid packs of 6 that get it is the same range or lower. So FCP Euro might not be the best current online value.

No worries- the price isn’t too far off everyone else- I need to order DSG fluid anyways so for me it’s a 2 for one. ??? just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing some epic $12 deal or something…. (Because I could wait if it was good enough! ???)

 

[KrashEd]

I just bought two cases of Mopar for 82 bucks each, which hurt, but I'll have it when I need it.

 

[g2020]

For my original reply below, please see doc #1 (List of Lubricants TE-ML 11) in my post References to ZF-Approved ATF Equivalents for 850RE Automatic Transmission.

Original reply:

Note: According to an informal survey of service managers at a major chain of dealerships, changing the fluid for the automatic transmission oneself (DIY) will void the warranty

Here is some more research on ZF-approved lubricants:

There are 15 distinct ZF-approved lubricants for the ZF 8HP50 / Chrysler 850RE automatic transmission. In the ZF document, see "8HP50" in the last section on page 4, and "68218925AB" in the first section on page 5.

Honda ATF-Type 3.1 (08200-9017) has the lowest price of any ZF LifeguardFluid 9 equivalent and is widely available at Honda dealers. If the MOPAR option is unavailable for some reason, the Honda dealer down the street will be my next stop. If you can afford to wait, this Honda aftermarket website is your best bet for this option. From a warranty perspective, Honda ATF-Type 3.1 is ZF-approved.

ZF LifeguardFluid 8 (S671 090 312) has the lowest price of all for a ZF-approved lubricant. It is not an exact equivalent to ZF LifeguardFluid 9 and its equivalents, but it is the (original) ZF-approved lubricant for the ZF 8HP50 / Chrysler 850RE automatic transmission. From a warranty perspective, ZF LifeguardFluid 8 is also ZF-approved.

We are already aware that MOPAR (68218925AB) is a ZF-approved equivalent to ZF LifeguardFluid 9. From a warranty perspective, all fluids listed in this reply are ZF-approved.

Lowest Prices for ZF-Approved Lubricants
on December 10, 2024
Ranked by MOPAR equivalence and price

1. MOPAR 8 & 9 Speed ATF Automatic Transmission Fluid (68218925AB); 1 quart; $25.93 on 2024-12-10
2. Honda ATF-Type 3.1 (08200-9017); 1 quart; $21.05 on 2024-12-10
3. ZF LifeguardFluid 9 (AA01.500.001); 1 liter; $24.99 on 2024-12-10
4. ZF LifeguardFluid 8 (S671 090 312); 1 liter; $20.09 on 2024-12-10

Here are two snapshots with all available prices (using Google) for ZF-approved lubricants on December 10, 2024:

ZF LifeguardFluid 9 and Approved Equivalents
Prices of ZF-Approved Lubricants on 2024-12-10
High $60.42, Low $21.05

$21.05 Honda ATF-Type 3.1 (08200-9017); 1 quart
$24.99 ZF LifeguardFluid 9 (AA01.500.001); 1 liter
$25.93 MOPAR (68218925AB); 1 quart
$37.49 ZF Lifeguard Hybrid 1 (AA02.836.455)
EUROS 41.27 Mercedes Benz MB 236.82 (ATF A, 000 989 65 05)
$60.42 BMW (83225A12A00 same part number as that listed under LifeguardFluid 8)
$00.00 Jaguar (02JDE 26444 Only valid for service and ZF remanufactured transmissions)
$00.00 Land Rover (LR023288 Only valid for service and ZF remanufactured transmissions)

ZF LifeguardFluid 8 and Approved Equivalents
Prices of ZF-Approved Lubricants on 2024-12-10
High $88.37, Low $20.09

$20.09 ZF LifeguardFluid 8 (S671 090 312); 1 liter
$39.50 Petronas (Petronas Tutela Transmission AS8)
$40.63 Porsche (000 043 210 54)
$46.76 Audi/VW (G 060162 A1 / A2 / A6 ATF)
$60.42 BMW (83225A12A00 same part number as that listed under LifeguardFluid 9)
$88.37 Aston Martin (FD33-19A509-AA)
$00.00 Bentley (JNV 862 564 D does not return any reliable results in online search)
$00.00 Iveco (5000 42 124 does not return any reliable results in online search)
$00.00 Jaguar (02JDE 26444 does not return any reliable results in online search)
$00.00 Land Rover (LR023288 does not return any reliable results in online search)
$00.00 MOPAR (68157995AA) DISCONTINUED

Here are two of my other posts with coverage of ZF-approved lubricants for the ZF 8HP50 / Chrysler 850RE automatic transmission:

Fluid and Filter Lineup for Jeep Gladiator 3.6L V6
Section 11. Transmission fluid

Key Takeaways on Fluids & Filters for Jeep Gladiator 3.6L V6
Section 3.6 - Fluid options for automatic transmission

 

[Viper501]

I have bought and used the ZF 8 Speed fluid from FCP Euro whenever they run a sale. I will not pay the crackhead prices for the MOPAR branded fluid.

Once I am out of warranty, I will move to Valvoline MaxLife ATF

FCP Euro will take the old quarts back and give you new quarts. Unless something recently changed on that.

 

[g2020]

Doing a pan drop soon? usp motorsports is giving FCP EURO a run for its money. The market price of ZF LifeguardFluid 9 has dropped by 24% since Dec 2024.

$18.96/liter, ZF LifeguardFluid 9, AA01.500.001 from uspmotorsports.com

- Free shipping $50+​

- For automatic transmission​

- Equivalent to MOPAR (see bottom of document #1)​

$21.89/liter, ZF LifeguardFluid 9, AA01.500.001 from FCP EURO

- Also offers free shipping $50+​

- Known for favorable return policy, warranty terms, and customer service (see post #12 below)​

$21.85/quart, MOPAR 8 & 9 Speed ATF, 68218925AB from MOPAR eStore

 

[Viper501]

Interesting. Nice to have additional sources but I will point out that FCP Euro warranties *everything* they sell, even wear items. USP’s warranty terms are …. Interesting. Not really unusual but certainly not the same as FCP. I’ve bought stuff from FCP and always had a great experience.

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