Moderator: F9K9
they confused me when they skipped 4 and 5)
Sorry, I admit not many will catch my point but, I guess we weird out when we get older.Bob Dylan wrote:Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.....................................
.
LOL, I am still gonna get grilled over some campfire and hopefully I can remember my referencesrlrnr53 wrote:....................And f9k9, I do understand what you're trying to say.
GM Rolls Out Dexron-VI
By Tim Sullivan
General Motors has unveiled Dexron-VI, a new automatic transmission fluid for 2006 model year cars and trucks equipped with Hydra-Matic transmissions. The new specification raises the bar for fluid performance and for qualification difficulty. With GM aiming to make Dexron-VI the fluid of choice for all of its cars and light trucks, the ATF market may be destined to become more complicated – and more expensive.
GM developed the trademarked fluid in conjunction with Afton Chemical Corp. and Petro-Canada Lubricants, and officials at all three companies described it as a significant advance beyond major existing specifications. Besides ratcheting up performance demands, the standard creates new hurdles expected to drive up licensing costs for additive and oil companies, including a requirement for fleet tests and insistence that new chemistries be compatible with those that are previously approved.
Announced April 1 and presented yesterday at a lubricants meeting during the SAE Congress in Detroit, the new spec is part of a trend of change for the ATF market. Performance requirements have risen steadily the past few years to accommodate transmission design changes as well as pushes by automakers for fluids to last longer and perform better.
GM introduced the Dexron-III(H) spec just two years ago, but decided it needed to upgrade again to accommodate the Hydra-Matic 6L80, its first six-speed automatic transmission. As far as the transmission fluid is concerned, the biggest change with the 6L80 is that it puts clutch interfaces in direct contact with each other, rather than using a buffer such as a freewheeler between them. Having direct contact improves the speed and efficiency of power handoffs between clutches, but it also requires greater precision to keep those interactions consistent.
“With this new transmission, we have to be much more precise in our lubricant performance,” Steven Kemp, engineering group manager for GM Powertrain’s Fuels and Lubricants Department in Pontiac, Mich., told Lube Report Monday. “Without that improvement, you could have inconsistent shifts, and that could potentially detract from customer satisfaction.”
GM, Afton and Petro-Canada sought to develop a fluid with a more consistent viscosity profile compared to Dexron-III(H); that would perform more consistently in extreme conditions; and that would degrade less over time. They achieved these improvements, officials said, by raising requirements for oxidative and shear stability, foam performance and protection against pitting.
GM claims that Dexron-VI delivers more than twice the durability and stability in friction tests than do existing fluids. Although the company is still gathering data, it expects this to lead to a drain interval extension of roughly the same order.
“The result [of the effort] is a new fluid that significantly outperforms existing fluids in every aspect,” said Roy Fewkes, driveline fluids group leader for GM Powertrain. “In fact, we have had to significantly extend the length of our durability tests to fully test the fluid’s capability.”
“In every parameter, this is a significant improvement over fluids that are already on the market,” John Sunne, Afton’s director of original equipment manufacturer liason in Southfield, Mich., told Lube Report. “Meeting all of the requirements was extremely difficult.”
GM said it incorporated fleet tests and the requirement for compatibility with other chemistries to further ensure product performance. But it also acknowledged the difficulty of these requirements.
“We need to make sure there is a consistent product [in the aftermarket], so we’ve set up these additional hurdles,” Kemp said. “[Gaining approvals] is not going to be a simple stroll through the park as has been the case with previous specifications.”
Observers agreed that Dexron-VI is tougher than existing ATF specifications, though some described it as an incremental step in ongoing market trends.
“It will require higher quality base stocks, and the fluid itself will have to be more shear stable,” said Craig Paterson, product manager with Lubrizol Corp.’s ATF segment in Wickliffe, Ohio. “We believe it will take a little bit longer to gain approval, due to the additional tests. There will be a definite increase in costs.”
Changes also have been made to the licensing program. Rather than licensing fluids directly, GM will license chemistries that meet the specification's requirements, leaving it to additive companies to issue sub-licenses for approved finished fluids. Afton, currently the only company with an approved chemistry, said it will not charge separate licensing fees. GM charges an annual fee of $3,000 per product under the old program.
Involvement in the spec appears to be a coup for Petro-Canada and Afton, which won contracts to be exclusive suppliers of base oil and additive chemistry, respectively, for fluid installed in new vehicles. (For factory fill, the fluid is referred to as RDL-3434.) GM began installing the new fluid at its Willow Run plant in Ypsilanti, Mich., April 4 and will convert other facilities in coming months. It also said Dexron-VI will be available through its authorized dealerships and service centers this summer.
The big question is how prevalent Dexron-VI will become in the service fill market, which trumps factory fill volumes. The fluid will become GM’s recommendation for service fill on all cars and light trucks, although not in time for owners manuals of some model year 2006 vehicles. Moreover, the automaker is already recommending Dexron-VI for service fill in existing vehicles, noting its compatibility with transmissions built before model year 2006. To encourage the switch, the company will cease to issue Dexron-III(H) licenses at the end of 2005, meaning all such licenses will expire by the end of 2006.
Some observers said it remains to be seen whether Dexron-VI becomes the fluid of choice for service fill for GM drivers. If the new fluid costs much more, they suggested, it could encourage continuing demand for Dexron-III products, even after they are no longer licensed.
If Dexron-VI does become a workhorse spec, it could complicate the ATF market in North America. Currently, a bit more than half of ATF sales by volume in the region are products that carry licenses for both Dexron-III and Ford’s specification, Mercon. According to the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association, ATF sales in the United States totaled 178.4 million gallons in 2003. Products carrying Dexon-III and Mercon licenses accounted for 96.6 million of those gallons. Observers speculated that Dexron-VI may break that link.
“This looks to me like something that is going to lead to further segmentation of the market,” said an official with an oil company, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Mobil DEXRON-VI ATF is a high performance, synthetic blend automatic transmission fluid formulation designed to meet the stringent service fill requirements of GM’s Dexron-VI specification.
Advantages offered by Mobil DEXRON-VI ATF over Dexron/Mercon type transmission fluids:
* Extended fluid life
* Improved oxidation and thermal stability
* Optimized frictional properties that provide smooth gear shifting during low temperature operation and help prevent transmission vibration
* Outstanding resistance against sludge and deposit formation
* Improved anti-wear protection which contributes to extended transmission life
* Outstanding low temperature performance
Automatic transmissions should be checked for proper fluid levels at regular intervals, and the fluid should be changed at manufacturer-recommended intervals. However, this may vary due to your vehicle's operating conditions. Some manufacturers recommend more frequent changes of transmission fluid under severe driving conditions, such as heavy traffic, hot weather and trailer pulling.
For more information, see the Mobil DEXRON-VI ATF Product Data Sheet and Material Safety Data Sheet.
CASTROL DEXRON®–VI AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FLUID IS CERTIFIED FOR USE IN ALL GM VEHICLES.
* Premium Synthetic Blend formula exceeds DEXRON®–III H requirements.
* Outstanding sludge resistance provides superior transmission life.
* Enhanced friction durability improves shifting performance.
* Certified and approved by General Motors for all cars and trucks that require DEXRON®–VI. Also satisfies requirements of DEXRON®, DEXRON®–III H, III, IIE, and II.
General Motors DEXRON -VI Global Service-Fill Specification .PDFChevron Automatic Transmission Fluid
Dexron®-VI
Chevron Automatic Transmission Fluid DEXRON®-VI is formulated with high purity synthetic base stocks. It is designed to maintain its viscosity through excellent oxidation stability and use of long lasting viscosity modifiers. Internal General Motors tests have shown more than twice the durability and stability in friction tests compared to standard DEXRON-III fluids. This will ensure consistent and smooth shift performance, even under extreme driving conditions. Extensive validation testing by General Motors has shown DEXRON-VI to be significantly better than previous DEXRON fluids in nearly every performance area.
Chevron Automatic Transmission Fluid DEXRON®-VI:
* Maintains friction control for smooth, consistent shifting
* Prevents clutch shudder in torque converters
* Improves fuel economy relative to previous DEXRON fluids because of lower viscous drag and outstanding low temperature pumpability
* Practically eliminates transmission overhauls due to sludge, corrosion, and wear
* Operates well over a wide temperature range
* Resists thermal and oxidative breakdown
* Provides sufficient viscosity at high temperatures with minimal sheardown
* Protects gears, bearings, clutch plates, seals, bushings and other components from wear and degradation
* Resists foaming and thereby gives better operability and longer equipment life
Customer Benefits
Chevron Automatic Transmission Fluid DEXRON®-VI delivers value through:
* Warranty coverage as an officially approved General Motors fluid
* Improved durability of viscosity and frictional properties to ensure smooth operation in General Motors transmissions
* Extended drain intervals of at least 100,000 miles under normal operating conditions
* Back serviceability to cover all earlier DEXRON recommendations
Applications
Chevron Automatic Transmission Fluid DEXRON®-VI is designed specifically for use in all General Motors HydraMatic transmissions produced for Model Year 2006 and beyond. It is the latest generation technology approved for use by General Motors in automatic transmissions and automatic transaxles where a DEXRON®-VI fluid is specified. It is also back serviceable in transmissions calling for DEXRON®-III or DEXRON®-II fluids.
Chevron Automatic Transmission Fluid DEXRON®-VI is not recommended for use in transmissions which do not specify a DEXRON® fluid. In particular, it should not be used in applications which call for Allison C-4, ATF+3®, ATF+4®, or MERCON® type fluids.
Chevron Automatic Transmission Fluid DEXRON®-VI meets General Motors specification GMN10060 and has been registered with license number J60308.
The truck my wife usually drives on the mail route has a B&M cooler on it. The Blazer she was driving while I had her mail truck tore down for an intake gasket and several other things did not. It was on my list of things to do but not at the top. Now I have a new transmission to put in it.roadrunner wrote:If you're concerned over trans-temps install an external add-on cooler.
