14 CTS VSport Aisin Trans - MaxLife Inconclusive Test

[Bulletbling]

Originally Posted by cpayne5
Originally Posted by Bulletbling
Originally Posted by cpayne5
Originally Posted by GZRider
Maxlife is a very good fluid, but I would not use it in the new GM 8 speed, which has been having studder issues with a variety of quality ATF's. I think Mobil1 and Castrol have out specific ATF's for this transmission now, Mobil1 does at the very least. I'd go with that or the OEM stuff.


The transmission in question is not the GM 8 speed.


And yes, it is the 8 speed transmission, but made by Aisin. Maybe the other poster meant the Aisin and said GM since it's used in some GM vehicles. I've made the same mistake before.


It is an 8 speed, but not the GM 8 speed, which is the 8L90.

Was the fluid level checked prior to dumping the MaxLife?

The fluid level was checked by the tech (who is always assigned to me whenever I come in as I'm picky with my cars) prior to the change and it was fine apparently. I don't know if someone else would notice the transmission issues in a car with less horsepower since it wouldn't be straining it as much on shifts and may not be noticeable, but in this transmission paired with this engine, every little nuance is apparent (at least to me).

 

[Bulletbling]

We'll, I spoke too soon. The transmission slipped out of gear for a good ten seconds today on my way into town and transmission went into limp mode. Now I don't know if it was the fluid or the flush that did it, or if it was low. She only has 43k miles on her. I'll keep everyone updated.

The transmission code scanned showed that it's possible the fluid is low, but nothing definitive at this time.

 

[Bulletbling]

Shop is looking at it now. Topped off fluid with what was said to be less than a quart and it's being test driven now.

 

[AC1DD]

Originally Posted by Bulletbling
Shop is looking at it now. Topped off fluid with what was said to be less than a quart and it's being test driven now.



Best of luck, this situation is always stomach churning in plenty of ways, especially cost. Maybe you will get lucky.

 

[Bulletbling]

It seems to be fine now, but I'll report back at some time in next several days to confirm. He said most vehicles won't be picky over half a quart and he wouldn't give it a second look if that was the case on a vehicle, but that if the fluid being less than a quart low was causing the issue, then my transmission/car computer is picky. These Cadillacs sure are sensitive electronically so I wouldn't doubt a half quart low could cause an issue. His computer showed it failed to go into 4th gear (hence the ten seconds of the transmission not being in gear while driving it and it was revving with my foot on the throttle, where thereafter it went into limp mode/stuck in 3rd) and that it was possibly low fluid level based on research from the codes he was seeing.

 

[clinebarger]

Many fast/hard accelerating vehicles have issues with the Filter/Pick-up becoming uncovered. The 6L90E in the CTS-V & ZL1 is a perfect example of this phenomenon.....We overfill them by 1/2 to a full quart.

Another thing to be mindful of, Did the filter get changed during the service? I've seen cracked filter bodies cause such symptoms.

 

[Bulletbling]

Originally Posted by clinebarger
Many fast/hard accelerating vehicles have issues with the Filter/Pick-up becoming uncovered. The 6L90E in the CTS-V & ZL1 is a perfect example of this phenomenon.....We overfill them by 1/2 to a full quart.

Another thing to be mindful of, Did the filter get changed during the service? I've seen cracked filter bodies cause such symptoms.


Good to know!

The filter I believe is non-serviceable without teardown.

 

[Hall]

Seems like the Maxlife might have been just fine for this transmission after all.... If filled to the proper level (which was emphasized over and over and over to be checked before dumping the fluid).

 

[Bulletbling]

Originally Posted by hallstevenson
Seems like the Maxlife might have been just fine for this transmission after all.... If filled to the proper level (which was emphasized over and over and over to be checked before dumping the fluid).

When it was stated the fluid level was checked, it was checked and verified it was within what he deemed acceptable, but that tolerance meant within a half quart of the capacity specification to the transmission tech. With that being said, it's still early and I don't want to explicitly state it's resolved yet until I get more miles on it. If it is indeed resolved, I guess "within a half quart" is not good enough for this particular transmission, as it is acceptable for most other transmissions.

 

[clinebarger]

Originally Posted by Bulletbling
Originally Posted by clinebarger
Many fast/hard accelerating vehicles have issues with the Filter/Pick-up becoming uncovered. The 6L90E in the CTS-V & ZL1 is a perfect example of this phenomenon.....We overfill them by 1/2 to a full quart.

Another thing to be mindful of, Did the filter get changed during the service? I've seen cracked filter bodies cause such symptoms.


Good to know!

The filter I believe is non-serviceable without teardown.



It is replaceable by simply removing the pan & un-bolting the filter from the valve body, But as yours wasn't replaced....A cracked filter body isn't likely.

 

[JTK]

I wouldn't bash the aftermarket fluid choice here until I verified proper fluid level in this transmission.

 

[doitmyself]

I agree with JTK (great minds.......)

Originally Posted by Bulletbling
The fluid level was checked by the tech (who is always assigned to me whenever I come in as I'm picky with my cars) prior to the change and it was fine apparently.


Your outcome throws a monkey wrench into the entire discussion. We know you hand pick this technician and trust him, but if he "maybe" messed up the fluid level in your recent WS refill, it's also possible he messed up the Maxlife fill but didn't want to admit it to you. Many would be embarrassed to admit this, including myself, very much a jack-of-all-trades, LOL.

The more logical thinkers here await your final results. If it is fixed by the fluid addition, then the use of MaxLife is left unresolved. If the problem continues, then we know that there might be transmission issues regardless of which fluid is used.

Best of luck to you. After I had a Caravan transmission rebuilt, new (different) slipping symptoms developed. After MUCH work, it was determined that a $30 throttle speed sensor was the culprit. Don't overlook the possibility that by coincidence, something else has gone wrong at the same time you changed fluids.

 

[Bulletbling]

Originally Posted by doitmyself
I agree with JTK (great minds.......)

Originally Posted by Bulletbling
The fluid level was checked by the tech (who is always assigned to me whenever I come in as I'm picky with my cars) prior to the change and it was fine apparently.


Your outcome throws a monkey wrench into the entire discussion. We know you hand pick this technician and trust him, but if he "maybe" messed up the fluid level in your recent WS refill, it's also possible he messed up the Maxlife fill but didn't want to admit it to you. Many would be embarrassed to admit this, including myself, very much a jack-of-all-trades, LOL.

The more logical thinkers here await your final results. If it is fixed by the fluid addition, then the use of MaxLife is left unresolved. If the problem continues, then we know that there might be transmission issues regardless of which fluid is used.

Best of luck to you. After I had a Caravan transmission rebuilt, new (different) slipping symptoms developed. After MUCH work, it was determined that a $30 throttle speed sensor was the culprit. Don't overlook the possibility that by coincidence, something else has gone wrong at the same time you changed fluids.



Completely on the same page with you here. My guess is that it was underfilled both times since I had issues with both fluids, one unknown (MaxLife) and one control (WS fluid) in the situation. That means the fluid was not the culprit, so this is no longer a thread of MaxLife not working in WS-type applications and it is still unknown at this point. It is now a determination of what went wrong.

In addition, I have notified admins to modify the title to better reflect the whole thread and not state that MaxLife was bad in this application.

 

[Bulletbling]

Car is all good after many more miles testing the trans out. Must've been acting up from only a half quart low out of 12. Interesting.

 

[clinebarger]

Thanks for the update!

 

[Rhymingmechanic]

Thanks for the update, OP.

As somebody still living in the ATF dipstick days, I'm curious if this has one of the more fussy "sealed" trans fluid check procedures. I can definitely imagine a tech getting it close enough and sending the car out the door, as opposed to somebody like me who will re-check and add ounces over a few days until the level is right where I want it.

 

[Bulletbling]

Originally Posted by clinebarger
Thanks for the update!

Absolutely! Drives me nuts when someone doesn't report back.

Originally Posted by Rhymingmechanic
Thanks for the update, OP.

As somebody still living in the ATF dipstick days, I'm curious if this has one of the more fussy "sealed" trans fluid check procedures. I can definitely imagine a tech getting it close enough and sending the car out the door, as opposed to somebody like me who will re-check and add ounces over a few days until the level is right where I want it.

It is considered a sealed unit. Filter is non-serviceable without teardown and there is no drain port, only unbolting the case and dropping the pan.

 

[Y_K]

We cannot really verify the proper fill level for an alternative fluid as the level depends on temperature, and WS is [in]famous for quite different thermal expansion coefficient. Make this one parameter just another crazy variable.

Good to hear that you can enjoy your ride again. Thank you for chronicling the saga so thoroughly.

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted by hallstevenson
Seems like the Maxlife might have been just fine for this transmission after all.... If filled to the proper level (which was emphasized over and over and over to be checked before dumping the fluid).

Toyota has this issue with the U660 on the Camry/Avalon/Highlander/Sienna and ES/RX as well. They want a convoluted device to accurately set the fluid level at the "hot check" temp. But then again, a flat-rate tech is probably setting the "cold" fluid level with the standpipe, taking the car out on a test drive and is setting the fluid level outside of the "hot check" range.

I advocate sticking with OEM fill, but MaxLife does work well in most "common" transmissions - I'm not a fan of using it in Toyota T-IV/JWS3309 applications even though the 40/100*C viscosities are close to used, sheared down Dex III/T-IV. My parent's van with the older 5-speed U151E had a weird flutter(not a slip) with ML, but not with T-IV. But I've used it in place of Nissan-Matic S/Subaru HP/Honda Z1-DW1 with no issues?

 

[Bulletbling]

Originally Posted by Y_K
We cannot really verify the proper fill level for an alternative fluid as the level depends on temperature, and WS is [in]famous for quite different thermal expansion coefficient. Make this one parameter just another crazy variable.

Good to hear that you can enjoy your ride again. Thank you for chronicling the saga so thoroughly.

Very good to know. I couldn't find really anything on the WS fluid specifications so I'm glad there are people like you chiming in with your knowledge. Anything else you care to share about this mysterious fluid? Do you have a spec sheet or list you could post for others searching Google for this fluid's specs?