What transmission oil for '97 (DD) with PCM 1.23:1 trans?

[ally606]

can anybody tell me what transmission oil I should use on my '97 Sport. I would think Dextron II would be fine but just wanted to check. Also how do you check correct oil level; on the Borg Warner on my old boat you checked the dipstick when the transmission was warm and engine running...

Thanks for the help.

[SuperSquirt]

RE: What transmission oil for

Dexron III Mercon

[ally606]

thanks!

[TRBenj]

Like SS said, Dex III or Dex/Merc. Stick with conventional, DO NOT use synthetic. Also avoid the high mileage stuff due to the extra additives. I prefer Valvoline (blue bottle).

[DanielC]

TRBenj, That is what I use. (1997 ski, 1975 hours)
The ideal way to check the transmission oil, get the boat warm by running it. with the boat floating level, and the engine running at idle, shift into reverse, forward, and back to neutral. Check the level quickly, do not get caught in any rotating things.
The second method, with the boat not running. Level the boat. Put the transmission dipstick in to the first O ring, and then check the oil level. This is a ballpark check, it will be close enough to launch the boat, and you should then check it by the first method.
You should get about 2 quarts out with each transmission oil change. Put about two quarts back in.
If you can find the Dex/Merc fluid in one gallon containers, is it quite a bit cheaper. You will need a long stem funnel anyway.

[mf01]

I just sucked out my transmission fluid last weekend. I got almost 2.5 quarts out. I put two back in and it seems low according to the out of water check. I haven't run it yet. Is there supposed to be about 2.5 quarts in there?

[mf01]

I just sucked out my transmission fluid last weekend. I got almost 2.5 quarts out. I put two back in and it seems low according to the out of water check. I haven't run it yet. Is there supposed to be about 2.5 quarts in there?

It should say I put back in 2 quarts.

[AirTool]

The tranny holds 2 quarts plus whatever is in the hoses and cooler. I sucked 2.25 quarts out of mine but the level was nice when I went back with only 2 even.

What I would do is start the engine in the water, put it in forward, then reverse, then check the level in nuetral with the engine running. If it is below the low line, add fluid just to the low line to get you going. Then run it to get some heat....transmission fluid expands when hot so the level will go up. You want to have room for expansion or it will overflow. As it warms up, check it again to see what is happening.

Also, it takes quite a load to get it really hot. So generally, you don't want it at the highest level when at an mild hot temperture. Because the day you pull four footers from one corner of the lake to the other at 45 mph, it may overflow with the extra heat.

[mf01]

I checked it out on Sunday and it almost seemed too high with the water test. The ground test shows low using the first ring. I mentioned before but I pulled out somewhere around 2.4 qts and put 2 back in.

[AirTool]

I was close then. People tend to overfill their transmissions. My wife's navigator has always been just above the low...and I've never messed with it.

When I dragged my 206 1050 miles at 70 miles per hour, in August, the level heated up to the full mark. Had it been full at normal temp, it would have blown fluied out the overflow. ATF really expands with heat.

If you can wipe the fluid with your fingers....it is cold in my opinion.

AirTool

[mf01]

Tranny's are hard to tell. My Ram is the same way, you need to push it to get a good reading. It reads on the low side when I do light driving. As an extra precaution, I added an auxilary transmission cooler to the truck for the Texas summers.

[DanielC]

MF01, I would suggest that your transmission was overfilled when you got much more than 2 quarts out of it.
I do not think you could get the transmission oil really hot, using the boat in water, because of the tranny oil cooler.
It would not surprise me if the tranny oil, in a boat, gets hotter towing the boat down a highway, in Texas, in the Summer. Especially with the heat from the tow vehicle, going under the vehicle, and past the boat.

[mf01]

DanielC,

So basically I could check my tranny fluid in the boat right when I put it on the water and that would be about as hot as it gets?

[DanielC]

Thinking about transmission fluid levels a little more, a boat does not have a torque converter, full of fluid.
The transmission, and torque converter on the average tow vehicle holds around 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 gallons of ATF. The torque converter holds the majority of that capacity, and the converter does not really expand that much when the fluid gets hot, and so the excess fluid has to back up into the transmission oil pan. That one fact would make the transmission fluid level on a tow vehicle much more variable than the transmission fluid level in a boat, with temperature changes.

[DanielC]

MF01, When I change the transmission fluid on my boat, I check it on land, engine off, launch the boat, start it, do the forward, neutral, reverse, neutral thing, and check the level quickly. Fluid level between the two lines, I do not worry about it.
I check it occasionally, after that, because it has a history of not leaking.