First Post - be gentle !

After much deliberation and many hours looking at the wealth of knowledge here ;
I took the plunge - New Gearbox Filter and 10 Litres of Dexron VI ATF Fluid.

1hour later and its a very noticeable difference - very smooth and feels quicker - most of it possibly like a sort of placebo effect and all in my head

GM 5 speed G/box
'54 Plate Vogue

Next on the list Thermostat change - another view of the Wiki step by step guide

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what was the condition of the old oil? ... - .- -.




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Did you do this yourself or put it into a garage ====================================

"Open Mike Night " sounded like a lot of fun until i found out i was going to an Autopsy

Oil was not the dirtiest I have seen, as opposed to actual visible metal flakes all I really seen was a Furry Magnet in the sump
I carried it out myself

Dexron VI appears to be a better option but a lot of varying opinions

27 years in the motor trade Senior Parts Supervisor with the UK's largest commercial main dealers

Workshop / Ramps / tools / axle stands and Mechanics on tap

And best of all 27 years worth of Contacts for Cheap parts

I have had Dex VI in The transmission for 3 years and used it for 3 flushes, two of which included filter changes, first at 70K Miles, still going good at 110K Miles. Can't get The texaco stuff, otherwise would use that.

I managed to obtain Febi Dexron VI
Other half who drives it daily she says it still feels different in a good way?

Will wait a few month and give it another Filter and Fluid change

Sealed for life who are they trying to kid??  '54 Adriatic Blue Vogue

If you are in the UK the Texaco fluid is quite easy to obtain, see here http://britishparts.co.uk/products/7741-au...l-STC4862. However, it looks like the price has gone up to £16, I think it used to be about £13. If you search the site you will find lots of places where you can get the recommended Texaco stuff in the UK. But I could not get it in Sweden, so I went with a Dexron VI, I would not use a Dexron III.

This company http://www.opieoils.co.uk/c-1432-atf-autom...fluid.aspx seems quite popular on RR forums and today had a Gulf Dex VI for £9 and a Fuchs Dex VI for £15.

I do not think that we should save money on the fluid, and I always try to use the best and stick with one type. Using the recommended fluid which may cost £25 (5 x 5l at £5 each) extra on a transmission which costs £3000 is not a great saving.

Also, if you start with a Dex VI stick with that specific fluid do not mix Dex VI types. I was only really happy after the third flush, when I know I had 90% Dex VI. I did the first 2 flushes in the same day. Basically my math for the flushes and Percentages of fluids was this, tracking the pct of cumulative Dex VI good/new vs old. the fluid capacity of the transmission is 9.7L

1st flush + filter change: 5.5l new, 57% Dex VI good/new fluid, 43% old/bad (drove car for 5 miles then did the next)
2nd flush, no filter change: 5.5l new, 81% Dex VI good/new fluid, 18% old/bad (ran with this for 3 weeks 1,000 KM)
3rd flush, + filter change: 5.5l new, 92% Dex VI good/new fluid, 8% old/bad (ran this for 1 year, 20K KM)
4th flush, + filter change: 6.5l new, 97% Dex VI good/new fluid, 3% bad (June 2013, still in there will leave for a couple years, yes got 6.5L in this time, go figure)

I will not do a fluid or filter change now, or at least for a while after the 4th change as this Dex VI should last 50,000 KM or 3-4yrs. I have good clean fluid and filters in and it should last a while, I have to start the car in -5 to -25C for a at least 3 months of the year so I want good fluids in my car. Any more changing I think will be diminishing returns. Mathematically you could probably stop after the 3rd change, when you get 92% of good fluid, as that is good enough. Dex VI is a lot better stuff than the Texaco recommended and better than the Dex III, but the Texaco may have been designed specifically for the GM tranny as RRPhil says, I take his word, but I cannot get the Texaco stuff, so these are my Dex VI experiences. I posted the GM official Dex VI note once in this forum, you can find the Dex VI details there.

In the UK you have more choice, so I have nothing against the Texaco stuff, choice can be a bad thing

Forgot to mention my car details, 2004 TD6 Vogue. 160K KM, drove all the way to Italy and back from Stockholm in 2013, plus over the alps via the splugen pass, also lots of Autobahn at about 140KM/h cruising for hours. No problems with the Rangie. Family of four and 50 bottles of wine in the boot on the way back, from Italy.

I have done my own fuel filter, air filter, engine oil changes in addition to normal RR service, you cannot just do tranny fluid without looking after the rest, believe me, fuel filter, engine oil/filter and air filters are easier than tranny fluid change, which itself is not that difficult if you plan and take your time. TD6 does not accelerate well from stationary, but good for cruising and not bad for overtaking from 50KM/h to 120KM/h