What is best Dexron III/ Mercon dino ATF?

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As I am planning doing regular (30k-50k) flushes for my tranny, I'm looking for the best dino ATF (Dexron III/Mercon).
Currently I'm looking at Valvoline Maxlife and Pennzoil HM ATF, where Pennzoil seems to be a little better, I read in another post (because it's ONLY DexronIII)

Any recommendation is welcome.

Driving conditions:
'97 Volvo 850 non turbo, 150k miles, just had first flush ever.
Short trips (30 miles/day), a lot of stop and go in hot climate (Texas).
 
I wasn't very happy with valvoline when I used it. It was always burnt smelling and brown after less then a year. I've been using Chevron's DexIII and am very happy. It's at least group II+ oil. (not sure if Maxlife is yet or not) Plus it's around $2.09.

my 2 cents.
 
Thanks for your replies.

Now Mercon V is out there, which is also DexronIII/Mercon approved, should I go with that? Is this even better, or should I just stick with DexronIII/Mercon?
My manufacturer specifies Dexron IIE/III - Mercon.
 
Additional info: I think that my tranny has higher operating temperatures that average, because I flushed ones with MaxLife and that turned brown in a few days. At this moment I have Coastal in there but is turning darker already after 2 weeks. (Coastal because it's cheap and good for a cleaning flush)
My radiator has just been flushed and has fresh Zerex G05 in there (50/50), so that should be OK.
I checked with my specialized Volvo repair place that the 'Check Engine' light should come on in case the tranny fluid gets too hot. There were no fault codes for the oil temp sensor in the tranny.

So I'm looking for a tranny fluid who can handle my higher than everage operating temperatures.
 
Sounds like you need something that is really oxidation resistant. Many vehicles have ATF temp warnings, but I'd guess those don't come on until maybe 250 deg. F. or higher.
 
If your application is running high temps, use a synthetic fluid such as Mobil 1 or Amsoil ATF. But most importantly, add some additional cooling such as a large aux. fluid cooler. This will make any fluid last longer in service. Otherwise, just about any dino fluid will be ruined in 10-20k miles in severe service such as high temp operation. It's not just the fluid that takes a beating in high temps, but seals and other internals suffer.
 
Forgot to add that I drive a car every day that has well over 100k miles on the synthetic ATF. I even tow a boat and other trailers with this vehicle in the hot summer heat here. The fluid still looks and smells new and the transmission shifts well with over 240k miles on it. And yes, it has a large aux. cooler on it too. It is difficult to drop the pan on this 91 Caprice due to a badly designed crossbar at the rear of the trans.
 
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