Originally Posted by kschachn
Originally Posted by exranger06
Woah, so much confusion in this thread. Let's back up a little here... The dipstick says Dex II, likely because, as someone else mentioned, Mercon didn't exist yet. As soon as Mercon existed, Ford DID spec Mercon for the A4LD, as well as pretty much all of their transmissions. Dexron is a registered trademark of GM, Mercon is a registered trademark of Ford. Dexron III (which superseded Dexron II in the early 90s) is the same thing as regular Mercon. Ford and GM literally had different names for the same fluid. That's why you see many bottles of ATF that say "Dexron III/Mercon" or "Dex III/Merc" for short. Dex III/Mercon is about as generic of an ATF spec you can get, and probably just about any multi-vehicle or generic ATF will work just fine.
Now, both the Dexron III spec and Mercon specs are obsolete, and if you were to go to a Ford dealer and ask for Mercon, the parts guy would tell you it doesn't exist and that Mercon V supersedes it. Ditto for a GM dealer and they'd tell you Dexron VI supersedes Dex III. That doesn't mean that "Dex III/Merc" fluids don't exist (just go to any parts store and you'll find plenty of it). It just means that they're not "officially licensed" fluids. (In other words, Ford and GM haven't tested those fluids to make sure they meet their specifications and put their seal of approval on them.) If you want a current-spec fluid that Ford approves of, I'd go with an officially-licensed Mercon V fluid (look for the words "officially licensed" on the bottle; not all Mercon V is licensed!) If you have confidence that the oil company makes a good product without Ford looking over their shoulder, keeping them in check, then use a "Dex/Merc" fluid.
My mom is still driving an old '94 Explorer with the A4LD. Mercon is (was) the spec for it. I use Valvoline Maxlife in it. It has 225k miles and still shifts perfectly. Never had any problems with that transmission. I did the last fluid change at around 150k miles, so it's a little overdue for another change. I'll be doing another fluid change on it soon and I'll be using Maxlife again.
Or, just use dexron VI which is the proper replacement for a dexron II fluid as marked on his dipstick.
Except Dexron VI is NOT the proper replacement, as I already said. A4LDs use Mercon. The proper replacement for Mercon is Mercon V. Dexron is for GMs, Mercon is for Fords.
Originally Posted by exranger06
Woah, so much confusion in this thread. Let's back up a little here... The dipstick says Dex II, likely because, as someone else mentioned, Mercon didn't exist yet. As soon as Mercon existed, Ford DID spec Mercon for the A4LD, as well as pretty much all of their transmissions. Dexron is a registered trademark of GM, Mercon is a registered trademark of Ford. Dexron III (which superseded Dexron II in the early 90s) is the same thing as regular Mercon. Ford and GM literally had different names for the same fluid. That's why you see many bottles of ATF that say "Dexron III/Mercon" or "Dex III/Merc" for short. Dex III/Mercon is about as generic of an ATF spec you can get, and probably just about any multi-vehicle or generic ATF will work just fine.
Now, both the Dexron III spec and Mercon specs are obsolete, and if you were to go to a Ford dealer and ask for Mercon, the parts guy would tell you it doesn't exist and that Mercon V supersedes it. Ditto for a GM dealer and they'd tell you Dexron VI supersedes Dex III. That doesn't mean that "Dex III/Merc" fluids don't exist (just go to any parts store and you'll find plenty of it). It just means that they're not "officially licensed" fluids. (In other words, Ford and GM haven't tested those fluids to make sure they meet their specifications and put their seal of approval on them.) If you want a current-spec fluid that Ford approves of, I'd go with an officially-licensed Mercon V fluid (look for the words "officially licensed" on the bottle; not all Mercon V is licensed!) If you have confidence that the oil company makes a good product without Ford looking over their shoulder, keeping them in check, then use a "Dex/Merc" fluid.
My mom is still driving an old '94 Explorer with the A4LD. Mercon is (was) the spec for it. I use Valvoline Maxlife in it. It has 225k miles and still shifts perfectly. Never had any problems with that transmission. I did the last fluid change at around 150k miles, so it's a little overdue for another change. I'll be doing another fluid change on it soon and I'll be using Maxlife again.
Or, just use dexron VI which is the proper replacement for a dexron II fluid as marked on his dipstick.
Except Dexron VI is NOT the proper replacement, as I already said. A4LDs use Mercon. The proper replacement for Mercon is Mercon V. Dexron is for GMs, Mercon is for Fords.
