Best Price...Auto Tranny Change Kit and Fluid?

[Stan H]

I use MaxLife ATF because it is cheaper and support two other vehicles with it. What is wrong with that?

I think you said it best personal preference. Everything I every did had to be finite and to spec. So for me personally I cant bring myself to do it .
Question I do have, how is performance and are you getting significant mileage out of it ?

Sponsored

 

[Hootbro]

I think you said it best personal preference. Everything I every did had to be finite and to spec. So for me personally I cant bring myself to do it .
Question I do have, how is performance and are you getting significant mileage out of it ?

For the record I am not trying to convince you or anybody to use it in place of OEM fluid.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Question I do have, how is performance and are you getting significant mileage out of it ?

Very subjective, and pretty hard to prove..........
I'd say if it shifts at least as well, that's about all that could be said.

Mileage? You mean MPG? It would also be next to impossible to show that ATF was the reason for any increase or decrease.

 

[Stan H]

Very subjective, and pretty hard to prove..........
I'd say if it shifts at least as well, that's about all that could be said.

Mileage? You mean MPG? It would also be next to impossible to show that ATF was the reason for any increase or decrease.

No longevity mileage . ie is it giving good service long life ..

 

[ShadowsPapa]

No longevity mileage . ie is it giving good service long life ..

He'll let you know in 8 years and 300,000 miles.

 

[DanW]

How many dollars would a person actually save?
Redline is $17/quart on Amazon, MOPAR/ZF 8&9 speed is $14.50 if you buy 7 quarts.

MAXLIFE is a different animal - there is a cost savings there, but I won't spend 60K on a vehicle, add the best accessories I can muster, and then save $40 bucks or whatever on maintenance of said vehicle.

I guess that's just me. If I spend that much on a truck, and cringe at the cost of maintenance, I bought the wrong vehicle. The other stuff may work fine (but you can't prove it has zero impact - not possible to prove) - but there's still no compelling reason to switch! And the ones that spend mega-bucks on pretty wheels, and things to dress them up are often the ones who then insist "fluid is too expensive!". How ironic.
Install things for the cool factor.......and balk at fluid cost.

I guess I'll never understand that.

Again, your logic, IMO, is very sound, and at first look, not a good position to oppose.

But, based on not finding a single instance of harm done in any way by Valvoline or Red Line or HPL (the three I have found that people have substituted), it does not appear to me to be a big, or even moderate risk. At this point, I don´t see the risk outside of just logic. I´ve seen no actual evidence upon which to calculate any risk, at all. The more I read and research, the more convinced I am that ZF and Mopar have just used a very good but very common full synthetic formulation. They do not appear to have reinvented the wheel.

As for the cost....again, I don´t at all disagree with your logic. However, there are still also logical and good reasons to save money and some folks here and certainly on the Ram forums have extended themselves pretty badly for those expensive trucks, especially if they bought them new. Some can afford them because they save in other ways. It adds up. One of the wealthiest guys I know is one of the most penny pinching guys I know, too. If he had a Jeep, no doubt he´d be bragging about how much he saved. by using Maxlife. LOL.

So it Looks like about 66%, or I´d spend about $33 for six quarts of Valvoline and about $97 for six quarts of Mopar, based on the best deal I found for both.

I am in good shape right now, but sometimes life happens. I have 4 kids in college and just paid for my own wedding. I have 9 kids. And I did not pay $70k for my Gladiator. I paid $39k with $13k down payment. So I financed about $26k. Not a fortune, at all. So for me, at times, that savings can be very important. There are certainly moments, for sure, where things are tight.

So I do think there are some legit reasons for someone to want to save the money. And, maybe there is a risk going with an aftermarket fluid. But I think it is very small. And I will happily and respectfully concede that it is not necessarily logical to deviate with even a small risk, if the price is the same. So point taken.

 

[Stan H]

If I was on a overlanding trip and had a pan puncture or some awful crap and was able to get the leak stopped I would stick whatever was avaliable to get me back to a dealer . Probably valvoline.

9 children= I hereby dub thee Dan the Man , now arise and carry on 🫡

 

[DanW]

9 children= I hereby dub thee Dan the Man , now arise and carry on 🫡

LOL, thanks. Two sets of twins in there. But the good news....All but the youngest, who is 14, have jobs.

1 has graduated college and is married and doing well, two 21 year olds are close to finished with college and are doing well, 2 are half way done with college, one is going to be a college freshman, 1 is a senior in high school, 1 a junior, and the baby is going to be a high school freshman. All who have graduated high school achieved an Associate´s Degree at the same time as their high school diploma. Looks like 8 of the 9 will ultimately have achieved that. All are smart and productive. And all are of strong character and loving hearts toward other people. They´d give the shirts off their backs to anyone in need. And all grew up loving Jeep trips with their Dad. So I´ve been blessed far more than I deserve, and am extremely grateful.

 

[Stan H]

LOL, thanks. Two sets of twins in there. But the good news....All but the youngest, who is 14, have jobs.

1 has graduated college and is married and doing well, two 21 year olds are close to finished with college and are doing well, 2 are half way done with college, one is going to be a college freshman, 1 is a senior in high school, 1 a junior, and the baby is going to be a high school freshman. All who have graduated high school achieved an Associate´s Degree at the same time as their high school diploma. Looks like 8 of the 9 will ultimately have achieved that. All are smart and productive. And all are of strong character and loving hearts toward other people. They´d give the shirts off their backs to anyone in need. And all grew up loving Jeep trips with their Dad. So I´ve been blessed far more than I deserve, and am extremely grateful.

Fantastic Dan I am a 3rd generation Jeep guy myself Grandfather and Dad both owned Jeep and Mopar. Grandpa had a willys truck a M38(military jeep) and a Jeep Eagle. Dad had a Cherokee and a J200 . I have had a JKU and a JT . Nothing like jeeple to make the world a better place.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Again, your logic, IMO, is very sound, and at first look, not a good position to oppose.

But, based on not finding a single instance of harm done in any way by Valvoline or Red Line or HPL (the three I have found that people have substituted), it does not appear to me to be a big, or even moderate risk. At this point, I don´t see the risk outside of just logic. I´ve seen no actual evidence upon which to calculate any risk, at all. The more I read and research, the more convinced I am that ZF and Mopar have just used a very good but very common full synthetic formulation. They do not appear to have reinvented the wheel.

As for the cost....again, I don´t at all disagree with your logic. However, there are still also logical and good reasons to save money and some folks here and certainly on the Ram forums have extended themselves pretty badly for those expensive trucks, especially if they bought them new. Some can afford them because they save in other ways. It adds up. One of the wealthiest guys I know is one of the most penny pinching guys I know, too. If he had a Jeep, no doubt he´d be bragging about how much he saved. by using Maxlife. LOL.

So it Looks like about 66%, or I´d spend about $33 for six quarts of Valvoline and about $97 for six quarts of Mopar, based on the best deal I found for both.

I am in good shape right now, but sometimes life happens. I have 4 kids in college and just paid for my own wedding. I have 9 kids. And I did not pay $70k for my Gladiator. I paid $39k with $13k down payment. So I financed about $26k. Not a fortune, at all. So for me, at times, that savings can be very important. There are certainly moments, for sure, where things are tight.

So I do think there are some legit reasons for someone to want to save the money. And, maybe there is a risk going with an aftermarket fluid. But I think it is very small. And I will happily and respectfully concede that it is not necessarily logical to deviate with even a small risk, if the price is the same. So point taken.

14.50 for MOPAR, but Valvoline has it beat by quite a bit. (102 for 7 quarts vs. 52 for 8 quarts of Valvoline on Amazon
I get it.
(if I was to be in a place where the MOPAR or ZF wasn't available, Valvoline would be my next choice - it's a very respected fluid (and oil, too))

You've thought it through, done your homework

 

[Jteakus]

I have seen people run everything from used motor oil to John Deere hyd fluid in their automatic transmissions. I am positive the ZF would run on O'Reilly brand Dextron 5. Will I run it in my Jeep's ZF? No I will not.

 

[DanW]

Next question....I recall someone in here saying there is a new part number for the transmission pan gasket and that it improved. I´m going to check on that.

Has anyone re-using the original gasket had any issues? Most I´ve seen on forums (mostly Rams) say they re-used theirs with no leaks, but there have been a couple and I´m guessing there must be a reason they improved it, if there is indeed a new part number. The Rams typically have a plastic pan, but ours are steel. So maybe there was an issue with ours?

I have not priced one yet at the dealership, but I´m guessing it ain´t cheap. I just priced a serpentine belt for my Wrangler 3.6 and they want $135. So I imagine they could be pricey. I´ll probably check with Benny at AllMoparParts, too. Sometimes he has very good pricing.

Just curious. If I can re-use the existing one, which should be in good shape, I´ll be happy.

Lots of stuff to do in the coming couple months...for the Wrangler...spark plugs, serpentine belt, rear brake pads, swap out brake fluid, drain/fill coolant system, and Gladiator....transmission service and transfer case drain/fill.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I just priced a serpentine belt for my Wrangler 3.6 and they want $135.

I bought a simple alternator belt for my 73 Javelin - 35 bucks. So to me that serpentine belt isn't that bad.

 

[jac04]

I recall watching several JL/JT videos where they re-used the original pan gasket, which was a white-ish color IIRC. The new gasket I purchased is black (see post #6). My plan was to evaluate the existing gasket for re-use.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I'm sure glad most DIY'rs out there only work on their own. Sad that they too often tell others how to "fix things".

Sponsored