fluid type for A-518

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pjc360

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i just recently had an A-518 transmission fully re-built by a local shop in my area and i have been trying to figure what the best fluid to run it would be?
Its has a non lock up converter, i do not have a shift kit installed yet, but i will eventually be getting ether a transgo kit or a b&m kit put in it, i have a transgo an B&M kit just have not had the time to put one of them in and have not decided yet on wich one to run.
I was strongly thinking i would run atf+4, untill i was told by a few transmission people i know that it wasnt what they would run, i was told there are too many friction modifyers in the +4 to use in a non lock up A-518 and that it would make it shift poorly and run hotter, it was recomended to me that i run reg dexIII or the new dexronVI, or if i wanted to run a synthetic then to use amsoil or royal purple max atf.
What i wanna know is if type f atf would be safe to use? my old man ran type f in his 727 with great results, but it had a shift kit and higher qaulity parts in it. What i want is firmer shifts and a more responsive transmission, i realize this is hard to do without a shift kit, but like i said it will be getting a shift kit, the main question i have is what fluid is the best for this transmission? i would like to run type f but i just dont know if it is capable of keeping the overdrive unit happy because i know the overdrive unit creates more heat.
Anybody with suggestions or recomendations or experiences with diff fluids in this particular trans please share with me, its the A-518 not the 46re, i think the only thing electronic on this transmission is the overdrive, wich i plan to wire a toggle switch too. thanks in advance to anyone with some ideas or suggestions.
 
What year is the transmission? The dipstick probably says what the factory fill was.

That said, ATF+4 would be my choice.
 
transmission came out of a 91 half ton ram truck, i was thinking +4 as well and have not totally discarded the idea, but it just makes me iffy about it when all the transmission guys i know and have talked to tell me it wouldnt be what they would run.
I talked to a friend of mine who is in another state doing transmissions in boise and he told me that +4 is a must for the electronic controlled and fwd transmissions, but he said for an A-518 w/out a lock up converter its going to be shifting really soft and running hotter. He said +4 has alot of friction modifyers in it mainly for the clutches found in the converters and since i dont have a lock up converter he said i dont need anything else causing it to run hotter because the overdrive puts off extra heat and so does a non lock up converter and he mentioned amsoil or royal purple and said if you dont wanna spend 200 on fluid id run the dexronVI or even reg dexronIII in it.
 
I'm wanting to know how type f would do with the overdrive? the overdrive is planetary gears correct? when i was racing dirt bikes a decade ago i ran type f atf in my dirst bike that was planetary gears and it made for better shifting then the 50 dollar a bottle gear lube the dirt bike shops were selling back then.
If it was just a reg 3 speed auto i wouldnt even have asked any questions and just ran type f because i know it works very well in a 3 speed 727 for i have ran it in them same with my old man and countless of other people i know, but i have not had a overdrive before first time for me so i just dont know how the overdrive will perform with the overdrive and am hoping to find out by sombody on here that has ran it or know somebody who has?
 
mopar switch to atf-4 for all their overdrive trans....in fact they developed atf-4 for the overdrive and lockup converters....
 
ya i understand thats what dodge says to use, have you heard that it causes poor shifting and added heat to a non lock up transmission? from my understanding the early 1989-1993 A-518s are a 727 with just the overdrive unit on the back of em.
 
From my understanding the +4 will bring soft slippery like shifts, but i am getting a shift kit installed as soon as i get the time to do it or the money to pay somebody to do it.
I have just got so many zig zagged results when trying to find an answer to this question, i have done alot of searching online and found out that dtt an aftermarket company who builds transmissions to handle huge torque from diesels they reccomend nothing but dexronIII in the A-518, i have read online where people say dexronVI is the best to use, and of course those who say amsoil and royal purple and those who say +4.
This transmission the A-518 seems to have many different opinions as far as fluid. which kinda tells me they will run on anything kinda like the 3 speed 727, heck i even read some diesel guys are running tractor fluid and hydraulic fluid lol so trying to pick a fluid for this transmission is tuff, +4 is what dodge says, dexronIII is what big time builders say, never heard much talk on type f tho, i have read a total of 3 people running type f in the A-518 and they said they have no problems????? just confusing, you'd think everyone would have found out what works best by now and that it would be common knowledge but aparently not cause all sorts of people run all sorts of different fluids in this transmission.
 
70aarcuda said:
mopar switch to atf-4 for all their overdrive trans....in fact they developed atf-4 for the overdrive and lockup converters....
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yep Ding ding you win the prize, and not sure what it would be, I used ATF4 Synthetic Castrol in my 727 and it runs perfect. and it will tear your head off when it shifts, no sloppy shifts here.
 
stock 727 or shift kit and extra mods? whats the best shift kit the transgo?
 
i wanna try putting the shift kit i have in myself but am afraid ill get hung up somewhere and have to tow it to somebody when i could have just brought it to them running lol, i dont imagine it would be that hard on the A-518 is the valve body the exact same as the 3 speed 727 or are they a little different?
 
pjc360 said:
i wanna try putting the shift kit i have in myself but am afraid ill get hung up somewhere and have to tow it to somebody when i could have just brought it to them running lol, i dont imagine it would be that hard on the A-518 is the valve body the exact same as the 3 speed 727 or are they a little different?
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I did mine, I have a transgo in mine, it was fairly easy, just make sure you read,read and reread the instructions, I did the performance version if I remember right, mine is NOT full manual, it will hold in any gear for as long as I want, i have a Mopar deep tranny pan. added a cooler, Mancini 2500 stall tq convertor, and I have a Lokar kickdown cable, too. I was just on Summits site they have the kit for you on there.
 
I prefer the transgo kits. I ran a stage 2 in my old Darts and Barracuda. Will be running a transgo stage 2 in my new Dart project.
 
ATF+4 is a synthetic fluid and works great. Actually any of the synthetics will be fine in it. I like Amsoil, Royal Purple is good stuff and someone is now making a synthetic type F fluid, I forget who but I wouldn't bother with it anyway.
 
i got a transgo kit un-opened still in box for 25 bucks off ebay, and i have a b&m kit but i think it may be a manual valve body kit, not 100 percent sure cause its at my other place in idaho, ill have to check and see when i go up there, i dont want a manual valve body i want it to hold in gear like 412 stroker said. When installing the kit do you have to do a bunch of drilling? i was hoping there was a kit to where you could just pull the old valve body off and bolt the new valve body on and be done with it, i know i could handle that lol but i bet there is more to it then that, i still have not opened the transgo kit i have.
 
ATF+4 FTW. ATF+4 does not cause soft and slippery shifts; that is a (gross) misunderstanding. More info here.

I like TransGo kits.
 
has anybody ran the valvoline maxlife atf? even tho it says dexron/mercon on the bottle i talked to a valvoline rep who told me it is fully compatible to +4, he said the reason it is not approved by chrysler is because of a liscnsing issue, i guess the maxlife atf is considered a universal fluid, but he told me its the best atf valvoline makes as far as handleing heat and cleansing detergents and anti foaming additives? i asked him what fluids of theres would be approiate for the A-518 chrysler transmission and he said out maxlife atf or our atf+4 ether would work well in it. i know its not approved by chrysler but i find it hard to believe a company such as ashland to lie about one of there products being compatible to a spec.? he said they have done testing in there own lab proving maxlife is safe to use in +4 applications, if that is true thats cool because i can get maxlife at 4.15 a quart at my local wal-mart, the +4 is 6.25 valvoline brand anyway and i use valvoline synpower engine oil and valvoline synpower gear oil and valvoline grease and power steering fluid, i like valvolines products they have served me well.
 
pjc360 said:
has anybody ran the valvoline maxlife atf?
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I avoid those "use-this-for-your-high-miles-car" oils and fluids. They tend to contain extra-high doses of seal-swelling agents that soften up seals to give a temporary(!) mask to the problems caused by crispy old seals. The softened seals wear extra-quickly, accelerating the need to overhaul the transmission.

even tho it says dexron/mercon on the bottle i talked to a valvoline rep who told me it is fully compatible to +4, he said the reason it is not approved by chrysler is because of a liscnsing issue
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I call BS. I doubt if he'd be able to back up this dubious claim with actual data.

i guess the maxlife atf is considered a universal fluid
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There is no such thing.

i find it hard to believe a company such as ashland to lie about one of there products being compatible to a spec
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Ashland aren't lying to you. One guy is telling you something I don't think he can back up.
 
i have used type-f fluid in all my torgueflites since 1967 as long as it doesnt have a lock converter with absolutely no problems. type-f seems to cause more clutch chatter in the lock-ups. i even used it for years in gms slip-o-matics with no problems. my 90 diesel with 518 in it has about 80k on my rebuild and still works good with no clutch or metal in the pan. 40 years of rebuilding autos and had NO failures that this old man could blame on fluid. had some that i wish i could have though
 
jughead, my old man ran type f in his 727 in his 70 cuda 440-6 car and ran type f in his 727 in his 75 and 83 dodge trucks , so i have also known type f works well in the 727, i just didnt know if it would work well in the A-518 strictly cause of the overdrive unit. I wouldve asked him about running type f in the A-518 but he passed away last year, but he used it on the 727 and alot of people would tell you he was one of the smartest mopar guys you'd ever meet. His transmissions were not stock of course im sure he did almost everything you can do to them to beef them up but he ran nothing but type f as well.
 
what kind of type f do you run in your 518 jughead? regular or the synthetic? do you run any additives like lubeguard or just plain type f all the way? and does type f work well with the overdrive? as far as shifting into overdrive? and have you noticed any higher tempature from running type f? im strongly thinking about running type f in my 518
 
pjc360 said:
has anybody ran the valvoline maxlife atf? even tho it says dexron/mercon on the bottle i talked to a valvoline rep who told me it is fully compatible to +4, he said the reason it is not approved by chrysler is because of a liscnsing issue, i guess the maxlife atf is considered a universal fluid, but he told me its the best atf valvoline makes as far as handleing heat and cleansing detergents and anti foaming additives? i asked him what fluids of theres would be approiate for the A-518 chrysler transmission and he said out maxlife atf or our atf+4 ether would work well in it. i know its not approved by chrysler but i find it hard to believe a company such as ashland to lie about one of there products being compatible to a spec.? he said they have done testing in there own lab proving maxlife is safe to use in +4 applications, if that is true thats cool because i can get maxlife at 4.15 a quart at my local wal-mart, the +4 is 6.25 valvoline brand anyway and i use valvoline synpower engine oil and valvoline synpower gear oil and valvoline grease and power steering fluid, i like valvolines products they have served me well.
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Valvoline does have a licensed ATF+4 product. You can always check http://www.centerforqa.com/licensedatf4brands.html for specific makers and brands.
 
I can't imagine how +4 fluid causes soft shifts in non lockup transmissions. After all, the converter is not in lock up mode when they shift anyway.

Trans-go kit hands down. It's far more advanced than a B&M kit. Also note that the valve bodies are different on a 727 vs. a 518. The 518 main body is similar to a 727/904 but it has the o.d. control vb piggybacked onto it. If you've never done one before read the instructions at least 2-3 times before you even start. And if you don't have a blow up of the VB parts take pics so you get stuff back in right. One last thing, there is a mod you do to the rear servo to eliminate 1-2 shift overlap. It's a little tricky to do but it is absolutely vital for a good clean 1-2 shift and long trans. life.
 
i was thinking i would put the transgo kit in i cant remember if its a stage 2 or just the average normal transgo kit??? when i get to my house i will look, but i will read the instructions a few times and i will drop the pan and pull the valvle body out and i will get done as much as i can get done hopefully all of it. If i have any trouble i'll take it to somone who knows what they are doing. Or i might do that in the first place if i can find someone who does not want to charge an arm and a leg.
 
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