why not Mobile 1 ATF in the AW4

[5-90]

Not to disparage Martin's maths (or his ability to run Excel, which is probably better than mine) but remember that the world is not a 100% efficient place, which is why I mentioned the error in calculations before. However, the 10% threshhold sounds reasonable, and you are still better off forking over for the transfusion than trying to dispose of all that fluid (that reminds me, I've still got 10 gallons of waste oil to get rid of...)

He is entirely correct on the running of the box to mix the fluid, and I'd add to that that you will want to sit there with your foot on the brake and run the transmission for at least ONE FULL MINUTE in EACH shifter gear range, so you can get the stuff that's in ALL the valve body passages involved. If you've ever overhauls an automatic transmission valve body, you know what I mean. If you haven't, just trust me on this...

Martin - which AW4 manual did you get? I've got the one from ATSG, which agrees with my 1989 FSM on the 8/4 quart fill levels. I'd like to find out more - and if you have a scanned copy, perhaps we could swap?

5-90

 

[BrettM]

i put 6 quarts mobile 1 in, so it looks like i'll need about 20 quarts, at $1.50 that's only $30. i'll call some places and see what it would cost to get a flush. and disposing of oil is no problem, I use my school's maintenence garage and they have a big drum I can dump it in.

i figured it would be best to run the tranny through all gears between fills, thanks for that tip.

 

[RichP]

Oil disposal, heck since my friend got one of those waste oil heaters he loves to see me come in from a weekend orgy of vehicle maintenance. In our case thats a quick 5 gallons of 'liquid gold' for that 400 gallon tank of his. I guess S calif does not have that opportunity..... He also knows I would not mix it with anything else, that 'other stuff' I drop off at the local town recycling yard as needed.
Nobody wants my old Coleman stove fuel though.

 

[techno1154]

Isn't the Amsoil ATF synthetic? If this is true how come those who uses it do nto have problems? I am trying to get some here in Miami but cannot find a dealer or store that has it. I want to see if this could cure my AW4 stick when hot.

 

[martin]

Re: why not Mobil 1 ATF in the AW4

I look in my manual and found it to say 8 litres/ 8.75 quarts for the transmission.

I am not sure where I saw it, thought it was www.alldatadiy.com but it only shows refill of 4 quarts.

I believe alldata changed the information it gave 3 numbers what I recall and they were 8, 12 and 13 quarts depending on what service you did.

8 was for the transmission pan removal
12 I do not recall
13 was a completely dry system, new trans, lines and radiator.

Remember those fluid lines do retain fluid and the the trans cooler in the radiator also holds a large volume of fluid. Just cause the transmission holds 8.75 quarts not 8 quarts. My source is the AMC/Jeep AW-4 transmission overhaul manual published in 1986 by AMERICAN MOTORS CORPORATION.

I also went to the effort to show the diminishing return on changing the fluid. I guess I should of stated that table assumed "full" mixing of the fluid.

I tried to pass on my "lessons learned" by filling my transmission with 7 quarts of Mobil 1 ATF. You will use less fluid and have better results if you have the transfusion. You said you are going to california soon. I worry you will quit at the 4th change and say "good enough" then you still have the lower MPG I lived with for close to a year.

You could ignore our advice and drive it to see what happens. Just trying to pass on the transfusion is the best method to fix this problem. Sometimes we have to pay a professional to fix our mistakes.

 

[Bryan C.]

This is what I found in the Chrysler TechConnect website:
REFILLING AFTER OVERHAUL OR FLUID/FILTER CHANGE
The best way to refill the transmission after a fluid change or overhaul is as follows:

If transmission has been overhauled, install transmission in vehicle.
Remove dipstick and insert clean funnel in transmission fill tube.
Add following initial quantity of Mopar Dexron IIE/Mercon to transmission:
If fluid/filter change was performed, add 4 pints (2 quarts) of fluid to transmission.
If transmission was completely overhauled and torque converter was replaced or drained, add 10 pints (5 quarts) of fluid to transmission.
Remove funnel and install dipstick.
Operate vehicle until fluid reaches normal operating temperature.
Apply parking brakes.
Let engine run at normal curb idle speed, apply service brakes. Then shift transmission through all gear ranges and back to PARK (leave engine running)
Remove dipstick and check fluid level. Add only enough fluid to bring level to Full mark on dipstick. Do not overfill. If too much fluid is added, excess amount can be removed with suction gun and plastic tubing. Tubing only has to be long enough to extend into oil pan.
When fluid level is correct, shut engine off, release park brake, remove funnel, and reseat dipstick in fill tube.


I recently swapped out the transmission 2 times on my own Jeep recently. Both transmissions were Mopar Remanufactured, and both transmissions took 5 quarts to fill them up. When I service a AW4 transmission at work, all I do is pull the plug and let it drain. The filter is merely a screen that I have yet to see plug up unless the trans has a bunch of clutch material floating around in it.

My question is why not try to flush the trans like I said. You won't do any damage to the trans and you will be much better off this way than tryin to contunally drain and refill the trans. I have done this very same thing on multiple transmissions without any harm. Like I said, this is exactly how the transfusion machine works. Hopefully you can figure this out because I think we are all in a cinsensus about the synthetic not being good for AW4s.

Bryan

 

[loop]

well...i worked out at Jeep for a good while and taked to several Chrysler Master Techs and every one of them said there would be no problems running synthetic in the AW4. so... 7 years ago ...right before the first Moab run in this clubs infancy....i changed over to all synthetics and have never had any troubles with my tranny. a couple of my friends have run the same combo for years and no problems yet. i run everything from rocks(Rubicon)to deep sand ( Pismo often)...both heat builders and tranny stressors.so for longer than this club has been in existance i've been running synthetic in an AW4....you'd think that if there was a problem it would have become apparent? the only person i've talked to personally that claimed to have problems with synthetic/ aw4 has been Beezil(who's word gets around )....but he's just got problems in general so i take that with a grain of salt.

YMMV...but i thought i'd add an alternate viewpoint

 

[BrettM]

well...i worked out at Jeep for a good while and taked to several Chrysler Master Techs and every one of them said there would be no problems running synthetic in the AW4. so... 7 years ago ...right before the first Moab run in this clubs infancy....i changed over to all synthetics and have never had any troubles with my tranny. a couple of my friends have run the same combo for years and no problems yet. i run everything from rocks(Rubicon)to deep sand ( Pismo often)...both heat builders and tranny stressors.so for longer than this club has been in existance i've been running synthetic in an AW4....you'd think that if there was a problem it would have become apparent? the only person i've talked to personally that claimed to have problems with synthetic/ aw4 has been Beezil(who's word gets around )....but he's just got problems in general so i take that with a grain of salt.

YMMV...but i thought i'd add an alternate viewpoint

did you notice any change in gas mileage after the switch?

 

[defenestrate]

apparently it's been partially covered, but my understanding was that mobil 1 ATF was "dexron compatible" and not actually dexron-certified, whereas some of these other synth ATF options might be. could this account for the difference?

 

[Dave DE]

One more data point - I've been running Mobil1 ATF for about a year now. No problems, gas mileage is the same.

Dave

 

[Clean Racing]

Mobil one is a good alternative to the ATF+3 that DMC wants to sell you for your aw4. I on the other hand use nothing but the TOYOTA trans fluid that was in that transmission since it was built by asian/warner in japan. From being an ex Toyota/Lexus tech I have pretty much seen it all with these trannies in the late 80's 4runners. I think that if you actually took the DC atf+3 and the mobil 1 to a lab, the mobil one would outsurpas the atf+3 any day of the week regardless of what dexron rating it has. Maybe something esle is causing the loss of gas milage, or maybe the trans has a problem, and you are now noticing it. Good luck