I have a family fleet of GM cars. The oldest one specifies Dexron III for the transmission. I use Dex ron VI. The others specify Dexron VI, the synthetic fluid that superseded the Dexron III. I only use fluid licensed by GM, no universal stuff.
However, none of them specify using Dexron as power steering fluid. I use the correct GM part number specified and buy it from the GM dealer parts department. Don’t know how much difference it makes, but that’s how I roll!
Uh, uh! Too bad. No excuses. You should stock some of each type fluids at your abode. I’ll bet you could order some online. CSA
I’ve also been testing ATF by feel, smell, and taste for about 50 years and I always thought that type F tasted “harsher” than type A, which correlated closely with the cars each was meant to be used with.
While we are on this very arcane subject, I have heard but was never able to verify, that in the beginning (early 1950’s) there were actually three common varieties of ATF: type A suffix A ( used in Cadillac, Buick, Olds, and Pontiac ) type B (used in Chevy) and type F ( used in all fomoco products). I’ve never seen any evidence of the mysterious type B. Perhaps @Triedaq remembers it, type A of course morphed into Dexron.
According to a couple sources I’ve found, the original Dexron from 1967 was dubbed Type-B (here’s one). All following Dexron formulations also contain a letter designation, such as Dexron II(C ) or (D) up to Dexron VI(J).
Ford also had a Type-B of their own.
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Of course you won’t find Dexron II anymore, but Dexron III(H) (or equivalent) should be an acceptable substitute. Just don’t use Dexron VI, for the reason mentioned in my post above, though some people seem to have used it according to some other forum postings (long term effects unknown).
On one Toyota forum, the posters recommended sticking with ATF over power steering fluid. They claimed the PS fluid will harm the seals and pump.
I saw somewhere else that the additive packages in ATF can harm PS system seals and hoses. I assume this applies to systems that didn’t originally call for ATF.
@old_mopar_guy. I don’t know much about automatic transmission fluids. I didn’t own an automatic transmission until 1973. By that time, I was working to advance my career with my appointment at a university, so I never did my own servicing of an automatic transmission. I did check the fluid level, but I never had to add fluid. I did have my garage change fluid about every 30,000 to 40,000 miles.
However, on the 1947 DeSoto with tiptoe shift and the 1952 Dodge with Gyromatic (these were the “lift and clunk” semi-automatic transmission names) that my parents owned, the transmissions used 10 weight non-detergent oil.
Of the two… I would shy away from garden variety PS fluid… because they tend to have stop leak items added to them… Whereas Dex does not…its simply Dex… and that stuff doesn’t harm traditional seals as we know them and sealers do.
Know what we used before the fancy sealers were introduced and mixed in with PS fluid? A little brake fluid…yep… Swells and basically eats seals…making them seal for a bit longer re- emulsifying them in a way I guess. Only works once… just like those sealers do. Once a tired out and treated seal has been asked to give its all…and then more… after that… It goes on permanent vacation, and rightfully so.
I’ve learned all sorts of “garage chemistry” from “Old Timers”… I don’t know all they do and I’m sure that they know more than they are telling. That’s my take…lol
Disclaimer: It is unwise to accept everything an “Old Timer” might pass on… sometimes they just want to see if you’ll do what they say…and laugh heartily in the process. Gotta watch those guys sometimes. Otherwise they’re a National Treasure
Yep, as I said way up in post #5, where I also mentioned that Dex VI is not approved for anything other than auto transmissions, per GM
ACDelco Gold ATF Type III (H), (p/n 10-9240), can be used when Dexron-III(H), Dexron-III(G), Dexron-II(E), Dexron-II, or Type A Fluids are required. That would probably be fine for PS use.
You should stock some of each type fluids at your abode. I’ll bet you could order some online.
