Which Tranny Fluid for 3650?

[Nitrous SSC]

Using sychromesh our 3650 made about 60 1/4 mile passes, several autocross events, open track events, and 118k miles on it. Some of the 1/4 mile passes were with nitrous from the previous owner and it was running 11's.

I sold it over the winter to someone that put it in their Mach 1 and its still kicking ass.

Its always had synchromesh in it.

 

[01cobrajm]

Huh thats wierd ive been running syncromesh and it improved the cars shifting. But what do I know, I just drive the sh!t out of my car running nitrous and race damn near every weekend. Like I said syncromesh FTMFW

 

[71catruck]

I have a 99 with the T-45. i run royal purple in mine. the car has 91000 miles on it and it just had a shift fork replaced. tranny shop said the thing looked great inside. including the snchros. shifts smoth.

 

[DSCobra01]

I called a few dealerships today and went to two of them looking for Ford Motorcraft AFT Mercon/Dexron III (part number XT-2-QDX). What I heard from the parts department at both dealerships is that part number XT-2-QDX has been discontinued and instead what they recommend is Ford Motorcraft ATF Mercon V (part number XT-5-QMC).

I've read though numerous threads, including this one, and I've heard to stay away from Ford Motorcraft Mercon V even though Ford refers to it as the replacement for Ford Motorcraft Mercon III. Is this thinking right? Also, I read here that the Motorcraft Mercon V is synthetic even though it doesn't say that on the bottle. Is that correct?

If the Ford Motorcraft Mercon III is no longer available, would I be better off going to Autozone to get a Penzoil, Valvoline or Mobil 1 Mercon III non-synthetic?

This will be my first transmission fluid change and I've always had a notoriously loud and notchy transmission. Along with the proper fluid, filled to the proper amount (3.2 qts), I'm hoping to fix some of my issues with the 3650. A CobraBob shifter gasket is also going on to hopefully cut down on some of the noise and vibration from the transmission through my MGW shifter.

Thanks!

 

[006]

I called a few dealerships today and went to two of them looking for Ford Motorcraft AFT Mercon/Dexron III (part number XT-2-QDX). What I heard from the parts department at both dealerships is that part number XT-2-QDX has been discontinued and instead what they recommend is Ford Motorcraft ATF Mercon V (part number XT-5-QMC).

I've read though numerous threads, including this one, and I've heard to stay away from Ford Motorcraft Mercon V even though Ford refers to it as the replacement for Ford Motorcraft Mercon III. Is this thinking right? Also, I read here that the Motorcraft Mercon V is synthetic even though it doesn't say that on the bottle. Is that correct?

If the Ford Motorcraft Mercon III is no longer available, would I be better off going to Autozone to get a Penzoil, Valvoline or Mobil 1 Mercon III non-synthetic?

This will be my first transmission fluid change and I've always had a notoriously loud and notchy transmission. Along with the proper fluid, filled to the proper amount (3.2 qts), I'm hoping to fix some of my issues with the 3650. A CobraBob shifter gasket is also going on to hopefully cut down on some of the noise and vibration from the transmission through my MGW shifter.

Thanks!

Valvoline is good.

 

[DSCobra01]

Thanks for the pics 006! So the Ford Motorcraft Mercon V is definitely a synthetic? I would think the two Ford parts departments would know better as I specifically brought up the TSB to them. Grrrrr. Off to Autozone tomorrow then I guess...

Thanks again!

 

[DSCobra01]

So after checking two Ford dealerships, Advanced Auto Parts, Pep Boys and two Walmarts the best I can find is as follows:

Ford Motorcraft Mercon V ATF
and
Penzoil Dexron/Mercon III ATF

Based on this thread I think I'm going to return the Mercon V that the Ford dealership sold me and I'm wondering if I should go ahead and just put in the Penzoil. It's a non-synthetic Dexron/Mercon III ATF and after all my research I think that's what I need. However, I've seen people mention RP, Valvoline, Motorcraft and Mobile 1 but never Penzoil. Here's what I have on hand. What do you think?

 

[01vert]

I dont see anywhere in that TSB that the reason for the tranny problems is from synthetic fluid. 006, do you have any reference to that?

Plus do not expect Ford to recommend a GM fluid in anything that they sell.

I have been hearing about people being recommended Syncromesh since this question started soming up years ago, including from Tremec.

Since Ford has discontinued selling the original Mercon and now the new Mercon V is the recommended substitute, does it make any sense that Ford would knowingly recommend a fluid that is supposed to destroy our trannys?

No rolleyes, no stickfight emoticons, no abuse. Just trying to get facts straight with a civil conversation, something that some people dont seem to understand.

 

[DSCobra01]

I dont see anywhere in that TSB that the reason for the tranny problems is from synthetic fluid. 006, do you have any reference to that?

Plus do not expect Ford to recommend a GM fluid in anything that they sell.

I have been hearing about people being recommended Syncromesh since this question started soming up years ago, including from Tremec.

Since Ford has discontinued selling the original Mercon and now the new Mercon V is the recommended substitute, does it make any sense that Ford would knowingly recommend a fluid that is supposed to destroy our trannys?

No rolleyes, no stickfight emoticons, no abuse. Just trying to get facts straight with a civil conversation, something that some people dont seem to understand.

All good points and this discussion has been going on long enough now over the years that I'm sure there have been plenty of good outcomes and well as bad ones for people that have gone down the Synchromesh route. I don't need to change my trans fluid just this moment so I'll wait a little longer and do some more research and see what others have to say.

In the end, I'm sure I'm just going to end up using what is locally available to me after I have explored all my options. Anything will be better than what I have in there now since 2001 and I'm sure the incorrect fluid level from the factory isn't helping matters either.

 

[fastback brian]

the fluid designed for the 3650 is Ford mercon/GM dexron3.. you can use merconV in a manual trans that used mercon.. the change to merconV does not affect the manual trans... But on that note, if you want the original factory fluid then you would ask for "all purpose" mercon AFT when you go back to ford.. regular GM dexron3 is the same as Mercon so look for that when you buy aftermarket..I run merconV in everything that use to require mercon, if there is a shift issue then its not the fluid. but the 01-04 3650's suffered from shift issues so the correct fix is the tsb rebuild with merconV fluid, fluid changes are only a band-aid for a poor designed trans..

 

[DSCobra01]

the fluid designed for the 3650 is Ford mercon/GM dexron3.. you can use merconV in a manual trans that used mercon.. the change to merconV does not affect the manual trans... But on that note, if you want the original factory fluid then you would ask for "all purpose" mercon AFT when you go back to ford.. regular GM dexron3 is the same as Mercon so look for that when you buy aftermarket..I run merconV in everything that use to require mercon, if there is a shift issue then its not the fluid. but the 01-04 3650's suffered from shift issues so the correct fix is the tsb rebuild with merconV fluid, fluid changes are only a band-aid for a poor designed trans..

Is it too late, now after 9 years, to have the TSB applied to my car if I take it to a dealership? Is a TSB like a recall issue where it doesn't matter how far you might out of warranty?

Thanks for the info!

 

[K2AHollywood]

Mercon V is part # XT-5-QM and should not be put into any transmission.

Well that’s not entirely true. You more accurately mean that it should not be put into any of our trannys

 

[fastback brian]

05-10 t3650's run merconV from the factory... And the TSB is still good but its not like a recall, you will have to pay for it, the cost is not cheap, a few hundred more will get you a new trans......

 

[DSCobra01]

Thanks for the info about the TSB. Sounds like I'll pass ;-)

BTW, I found the Valvoline DEX/MERC (Dexron/Mercon III non-synthetic) that I needed at AutoZone :banana:

 

[fastback brian]

And to add. merconV is available in both regular and synthetic... motorcraft list the synthetic merconV as a high temp fluid replacement in all 3650's and certain ZF five speeds.... merconV is also listed as a replacement for 20w hydraulic fluid...

 

[DSCobra01]

Finished the trans fluid change over the weekend using the Valvoline DEX/MERC and I can't believe the difference. It's so effortless to row through the gears now and the car is so much smoother, especially when needing to shift a lot during stop and go traffic. Also, it looks like a lot more trans fluid came out compared to the 3.2 quarts that I put in so I definitely think that was the cause of all my troubles from the factory.

Thanks for your help guys:burnout: