whowey

You can change the transmission fluid, but there are some things to consider. If the fluid is the normal red color with no evidence of contamination it doesn't need changed. Since you don't know how the PO took care of the transmission you are not going to want to use a synthetic fluid. Most of the "synthetic fluid killed my tranny" situations are where an owner didnt take care of the tranny previously and now the owner wanted to switch to a synthetic. The AW-4 requires a Dexron III fluid spec'ed fluid. But you are going to have a VERY hard time finding one. So a Dexron/Mercon III sped'ed fluid is just fine. NO ATF+4... its not the correct fluid for the AW-4. No matter what that TSB from Chrysler says. The tranny wasn't designed, spec'ed or built by Chrysler. They had nothing to do with it.

People's favorite brands are like noses, almost everyone has one.
I'm not a fan of Lucas products, so I'm not current on their complete product offerings.

There is a write-up here in the tech section on changing fluid in a Dana 30. It's the same basic process when doing most axles out there. Its written in a bit of sarcastic tone, but the info there is solid and correct.

tkdtim

Emailed the previous owner of the jeep ( I work with him). He had the jeep for 90K miles before me and didnt know if any of the fluids had ever been changed.

So, picked up all the fluids today. With the tools I need that I didn't already have (30mm socket, 24mm socket, break cleaner, bottle pump, etc) I spent a little over $100 in mats but it will be cheaper every other time after this I do it as I will only need the fluids.

4 bottles Lucas gear lube for the front and back differentials
2 bottles of ATF for transfercase
4 bottles for gear lube for the AX-15 manual transmission

How often should I do this mantiance? Each 30K?

89Pioneer

Thanks. Almost had me thinking that I had the 44 all along. Thanks for the clarification.

tkdtim

One thing I didn't get was a torque wrench. Is this a necessity? Can I just tighten to an approximation? Hmm wonder what 20 ft/lbs feels like....

whowey

What is the API-GL rating on the stuff you got for your tranny? It needs to be GL-4 rather than GL-5. GL-5 is corrosive to yellow metals(bronze,brass,etc.) which happen to be inside your AX-15.

Also keep a close eye on the condition of Lucas' gear lube. They use a TON of viscosity modifiers in it to make it heavyweight. This causes them to shear down quicker than other fluids in those weights.

Maintence is going to be dependent on usage. If you only drive on road and don't tow. You are going to need less frequent maintenence. But if you off-road alot with big tires, tow a bunch or just generally beat on your Jeep you need a shorter maintence interval.

tkdtim

Whowey, it is in fact Valvoline 75W-90 API GL-5, MT-1

Do I need to take it back?

whowey

It depends... Unless the container clearly states non-corrosive to yellow metals I wouldn't use it. That's one of the main differences between the GL-4 and the GL-5 ratings. The sulfur contained in the GL-5 fluids is corrosive to the yellow metal portions of your transmission. Does your transmission have brass or bronze parts? Is the first question I ask of my customers asking about manual transmission fluids.

mazukamba

Hi:

I didn't found the Dextron/Mercon III; I found it but with the number V. Can I use it? Or have to be III?

tkdtim

Ok, just to sum up what happened.

Autozone gave me GL5 valvoline.

Some people here made me aware of some issues. I wasnt satisified, so I called the jeep dealer to see what they use. Gl5, they said they wernt aware of any problems with it corroding.

So i read some more forums about it being bad and decided to call valvoline directly. They said that their formula of GL5 uses a non activated sulfur and does not cause corrosion to yellow metals and was safe to use unlike some other GL5.

Red-J

I just had my whole drive train oils changed, diffs, t-case & auto box. Changed the filter in the tranny as well and I must say that it made a noticeable improvement to my gear shifts.