auto. trans. fluid

[wiswind]

My '96 calls for Mercon.....so I cannot say that I have looked into Mercon V.
I do remember the Mobil 1 website listing a Mercon V version of Mobil 1 ATF last year.....but I think that they got ahead of the marketing people....as I have not seen it....or seen any posts of people having found it. All the Mobil 1 ATF that I have seen is Mercon only.

[TaiBo]

I also have been using Castrol, the one that meets Mercon, Dexron and Mercon V for my wife's 2000 Windstar.

I asked the shop about the Mercon V and they told me that the only reason why "you must use only Mercon V" is so that Ford gets you to use their product. They say that in Canada, the only place to get true Mercon V is the Ford Dealer.

They even went as far as to get their Castrol rep to put it in writing that it is safe to use and that if any transmission damage would occur as a result of the fluid type, they would replace/repair the transmission at no cost to me!

Food for thought,

TaiBo

[DRW1000]

Nice of the Castrol rep to give you a guarantee in writing however, at the bare minimum if your transmission malfunctioned you would have to prove that it was because of the fluid and you will not be able to do so and I doubt you would ever see any repair help.

You may be fine with Castrol that meets all three. I am of the opinion that the 2 specifications (Mercon and Mercon V) are significantly different and that meeting both with the same fluid is a tall order but that doesn't mean that it is not possible. I bought Ford Brand because it was not any costlier and I have no doubt in my mind that it is Mercon V.

[12Ounce]

An update on the use of MOBIL 1 (Mercon) in my '99 SEL.

Background: My tranny's oil pump shaft broke at approx 90 kmiles. I have since become convinced that the failure was because of the damaged power train harness ... that I subsequently discovered and repaired. Conductors feeding the shift solenoids were intermittently grounded causing violent downshifting and upshifting.

So, I believe, this particular tranny failure can not be grouped with typical internal tranny failures. It was really an electrical failure.

While the van was in the shop, I had a discussion with the shop foreman and the repairman. We all had a high regard for the Mobil 1 .... and we knew little about the then "new" Mercon V. I suggested I might want to refill my, then totally empty, tranny with the Mobil 1. They had no problem with this, and in fact said that the 12 kmile repair warranty would stay intact. I supplied the 13, or so, qts of Mobil 1.

In hindsight, I see this as foolhardy. There should have done a bit more research on Mercon V. With the choices of Mercon V available today, it would be easy for me to choose a brand such as Castrol.

But so far I've stuck with the Mobil 1, dropping the pan and replacing the 6 1/2 qts (and filter) every 20 - 30 kmiles. Each pan and magnet cleaning has indicated less and less tranny wear. The most recent fluid change, at 170 kmiles, was the cleanest yet. The magnet had nothing on it that I could detect. The pan was so clean that wiping did little. For the first time I choose not to replace the filter.

Would I recommend someone else try Mobil 1 instead of Mercon V? Never!

But I'll keep ya posted on how this proceeds. The tranny doesn't seem to be "wearing out" at all, there are no leaks, and it shifts super smoothly. (I also pull a utility trailer, ... and have added no aftermarket fluid cooler.) There, however, may be other unknown internal components that were badly stressed when the harness was causing all that slamming ... and they may yet fail.

Leaving me on the side of the road ... with my tranny full of nice clean Mobil 1.