ATF questions

[gvran71]

Hi folks, need a few questions answered about changing the ATF on my 1995 E300D.

1. What synthetic brand is approved for this car (if any)? Can you recommend one that you have been pleased with?

2. How many quarts will I need to purchase? When I first bought the car last year, a local MB mechanic changed the ATF and used 4 quarts total. A new mechanic I am using told me to pick up 6 quarts of ATF (he is nice enough to let me bring in my own fluids). How many do I really need?

Thank you very much for any info you may share.

[bmwpowere36m3]

If he drains the torque convertor (TC), then yes you'll probably need a couple more quarts of ATF. IIRC is around 6-7 quarts of fluid... At our shop we use original MB Synthetic Fluid for newer cars and older models like yours any name brand Dexron III ATF will work. Redline make excellent synthetic fluids, I use their MTL in my manual transmission.

[tangofox007]

Originally Posted by bmwpowere36m3

At our shop we use original MB Synthetic Fluid for newer cars and older models like yours any name brand Dexron III ATF will work.

"Dexron III" is no longer being produced, per se. The trademark is owned by GM and all licenses to manufacture Dexron III have expired as Dexron VI superseded Dexron III. That has forced the former producers of Dexron III to use similar sounding names to skirt the legal aspects of the trademark. So they are using names like Dex III, D/M and domestic ATF. Or they state in the fine print that the fluid meets the specifications of Dexron III. But they can no longer refer to the fluid as "Dexron III."

[bmwpowere36m3]

Originally Posted by tangofox007

"Dexron III" is no longer being produced, per se. The trademark is owned by GM and all licenses to manufacture Dexron III have expired as Dexron VI superseded Dexron III. That has forced the former producers of Dexron III to use similar sounding names to skirt the legal aspects of the trademark. So they are using names like Dex III, D/M and domestic ATF. Or they state in the fine print that the fluid meets the specifications of Dexron III. But they can no longer refer to the fluid as "Dexron III."

Yea I meant any ATF that meets Dex III requirements.