Wrong transmission fluid

I have a 2.5 TDI Auto 1998 which suffers from very sluggish performeance from standing and shifting on the redline in Drive the whole car is underpowered and unhappy. I had the turbo and MAF changed recently which didnt make a great deal of difference improved things slightly but took these two thigs to point to a transmission problem which I knew was there all along since I bought the car. Anyhow. I bought the Fluid filter and gasket to do a transmission fluid change thinking that this could be the problem drained it out to find that Cherry red Dexron 2 or 3 came out (I am not sure which)

Can someone explain what happens when you put Dexron 3 into a box which is supposed to have G 052 162 A2 in it and also would one of you experts be able to conject whether the box is savable/flushable and the best way of going about it. Obviously with the price of the oil and filter I do no particularly wish to have to purchase them again in a few weeks for a replcement box the Box in question is a DEQ by the way

Many thanks in advance:1zhelp:

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Originally Posted by brighton123

I have a 2.5 TDI Auto 1998 which suffers from very sluggish performeance from standing and shifting on the redline in Drive the whole car is underpowered and unhappy. I had the turbo and MAF changed recently which didnt make a great deal of difference improved things slightly but took these two thigs to point to a transmission problem which I knew was there all along since I bought the car. Anyhow. I bought the Fluid filter and gasket to do a transmission fluid change thinking that this could be the problem drained it out to find that Cherry red Dexron 2 or 3 came out (I am not sure which)

Can someone explain what happens when you put Dexron 3 into a box which is supposed to have G 052 162 A2 in it and also would one of you experts be able to conject whether the box is savable/flushable and the best way of going about it. Obviously with the price of the oil and filter I do no particularly wish to have to purchase them again in a few weeks for a replcement box the Box in question is a DEQ by the way

Many thanks in advance:1zhelp:

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VW052 162 is in fact an ATF which is a Dexron III.

We normally recommend this Fuchs oil against that spec and it's a Dexron III type fluid.

http://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-969-fuch...ion-fluid.aspx

Cheers
Guy

every piece of info I have seen on this ZF box indicates that Dextron should not be used, and only the genuine esso oil should.
appearance wise the two are very different, one being bright red, the other gold.

I would not however expect the dextron to damage the box components. I do not have the viscosity readings to hand, but any change in that effects the way the box performs.

If you have done the filter, then you have changed about 2/3rds of the oil in the box. if you drain it you change about 1/2.

In reality if you have put in the genuine oil then the best thing to do is drive the car and see what improvements you get.

remember to keep the engine runnning when filling, and to take it through all the box positions, otherwise you will not put enough in, and then the box will run rubbish

I've used Fuchs oil for years, and it is a good brand, which tends not to be as over priced as many of the more well advertised brands. I have not however tried their oil in a ZF auto, so cannot comment on how it performs

The colour is just a dye, ATF's can come in all sorts of colours.

Cheers

Guy

I too am wary about putting anything other than genuine or esso brand fluid in auto zf boxes.Having spoken to various gearbox specialists and reading many posts on the subject the general impression i get is to avoid Dextron.
Can OILMAN or any other user clarify please.
Regards
DJL

I have used Valvoline ATF (Dexron III) in various 4 and 5 speed ZF automatic gearboxes with no issues whatsoever. It meets and exceeds ZF requirements + it has ZF aproval for long term use in their auto gearboxes. I do have the PDF somewere so i will post the link to everyone that wants to read it. As oilman said, the red dexron ATF is just died that colour. However, for peace of mind i would not use other than genuine fluid in VAG multitronic gearboxes as there is a lot of confusion regarding wich fluid meets wich specs. http://www.prnd.biz/advice/oil.htm

As long as the fluid meets or exceeds the correct ZF spec then it does not matter if the fluid is also Dexron approved.

The Dexron spec is just a General Motors spec, just like ZF have a spec and it is possible for one fluid to meet many many different specs in one go.

Cheers

Guy

Right well I changed my fluid for the exact fluid that Oilman reccommended and filter and gasket. I followed the proceedure outlined in Elsawin to the letter and am convinced that my fluid level is correct and my fluid is in good order. Coupling this to the new Turbo, engine oil and crankcase breather the car is now finally starting to feel like the 150 BHP beast that it is. There is still an issue though. there is still some hesitation pulling away and she still holds on to the gears too long. To quantify this whilst driving normally she shifts up at about 3- 3.5K revs Surely this is too high? when booting it 4-4.5K. Has anyone come across this shifting situation before? Surely its not normal?. The box makes no noises. does not slip and seems to have all 5 gears present. The gearbox ECU shows no faults under Ross tech diagnostic. Is it possible that there could be a fault in my gearbox ECU that does not register on Ross tech? Thanks very much for all the input so far. With a lot of help from this forum I am getting closer to having my car working properly, Signing off now:1zhelp: