My car is a 1985 Chevy El Camino with a 5.7L 350 V8 and 650cfm Edelbrock carburetor. I have the turbo 350 automatic transmission. The transmission had a leak, so I dropped the pan and replaced the gasket. I was using Walmarts Super tech ATF before this. Walmart was sold out of supertech, so I got Valvoline Max life instead. It claims to work for transmissions that require dexron 2, 3, and 6.
Unfortunately today I read some 1 star reviews and a couple complained about how their transmissions started acting funny, so they had to drain it and replace it with dexron 3. These cars were a 2001 and a 2006. Apparently there's a difference in viscosity between the two ATFs.
Is it possible for me to damage my transmission using Maxlife? I haven't driven my car since the fluid swap, because I need new tires.
I put gas but actually it's maybe. The stuff is backwards compatible but it's not ever a good idea to mix. If you would flush every last bit of the old stuff out you could use it but I wouldn't mix the two
Valvoline makes a Dex/Merc fluid that works great for transmissions calling for Dexron 2 or 3. I've used it for ages with no problems in my elderly fleet. Last time I bought some at WalMart it was actually a few cents less expensive than the SuperTech house brand. (Though the latter is also a very good product, made by Warren Oil.)
You can use any modern Dexron. They are backwards compatible.
Dexron VI is synthetic and will last the longest.
