New Valvoline MaxLife ATF or just a new bottle?

Joined
Oct 19, 2019
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76
Location
Monroe, North Carolina, USA
I just went to Walmart to get more Valvoline MaxLife DEX/MERC full synthetic ATF and I noticed the bottle looked different. Was there a change in the actual product or just new packaging? The old one is on the left and the new one is on the right. I can't find the old style bottle at any Walmart near me. The specs appear to be the same I just wanted to make sure because I would like to use the rest of my old if possible.

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I thought so I just wanted to see if anyone else has tested the new bottle. I love this stuff it seemed to save my old Honda Transmission + LG Red. I'm about to try it in a 5 speed Nissan Matic J transmission.
 
Just picked up a jug from WM as well. They don't stock it around here anymore so had to order for store pickup. It was boxed/wrapped and I initially thought they sent the wrong stuff since I kept trying to grab it "the old way" before I had it unwrapped LOL!

So far seems to be "new look, same great taste".
 
Trust me it will do just fine. First tried it in our 2005 Xterra when I was told by members of several Nissan Forums that if I didn't use the Nissan branded ATF I would grenade my transmission. That was utter nonsense. And within the last year I did a complete poor man's flush on the Frontier and replaced with Maxlife ATF and it shifts as smooth as the day we bought it. Good choice.
 
Originally Posted by Sierra048
Trust me it will do just fine. First tried it in our 2005 Xterra when I was told by members of several Nissan Forums that if I didn't use the Nissan branded ATF I would grenade my transmission. That was utter nonsense. And within the last year I did a complete poor man's flush on the Frontier and replaced with Maxlife ATF and it shifts as smooth as the day we bought it. Good choice.


Did you also do the bypass from the cooler on the bottom of the radiator? Those Calsonic radiators were the leading cause of transmission failures for this year Xterra.
 
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How exactly do you do the poor man's flush? Do I just pull off the cooler line and crank it up and let it shoot it out of the transmission? Or do I overfill it first then start it up and let it drain a little out so I don't run the risk of running the pump dry?
 
I went through 14 gallons of Valvoline Maxlife Dex/MercLV bought during autoZone's last "BOGO" sale and full cases of similar ATF from Toyota, Wolf's Head as well as Mobil3309 itself.

I just D&Fed the transfer case of my truck (new Ford spec = LV is good for all transfer cases) and had to buy a single quart.

That hurt.
 
If you can't make a new product, put it in a new package. Marketing 101.
 
Yes. Just find the return line to the transmission. Easy to do because the lines are held on with compression type clamps. I drain the pan through the drain plug and refill with the same amount I drained out. Then I just put the return line in a bucket and start the engine. I usually measure two quarts and stop the engine and replace the two quarts. Repeat the process until you get fresh ATF coming out of the return. You can kinda guess if you got most of old fluid replaced by the amount you replace overall. Very easy to do on a Frontier/Xterra.
 
Can anyone tell me the difference between the new blue bottle Dex/Merc ATF and the old Red bottle Maxlife Dex/Merc ATF? I don't see Dex/Merc on the new red bottle ATF. My honda needs the Dex/Merc.

blue bottle atf.JPG
 
The old red bottle Maxlife Dex/Merc Mercon LV (like in the OP's picture) is a newer Dexron VI type ATF while the blue bottle Valvoline Dex/Merc ATF is the the older Dexron III type ATF. Dexron VI is backward's compatible with Dexron III, and is generally the better longer lasting fluid. You can use either in a Dex/Merc application as that generally means a Dexron III type ATF.
 
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