fluid advice

Darkwriter77 said:

1. Regular plain ol' DexIII/Mercon ATF for your transmission - don't bother with that "high mileage" crap, and synthetic is way expensive but doesn't really do diddly for benefitting your transmission;
2. Type F transmission fluid seems to work a tad better than regular power steering fluid in that if you have a noisy pump, it helps to quiet it down. (Power steering fluid is basically just ATF with a different coloring, anyway.) Otherwise, just about any ol' power steering fluid is fine, as long as it's clean;
3. As far as antifreeze ... whatever's cheap. Mix it 50/50 with DISTILLED water (not tap water, mineral, or drinking water) and flush/fill at least every 5 years, if not every other year;
4. Engine oil depends on how many miles are on your motor, the climate where you live and/or the season, how many miles you drive in a given period of time, and what your budget is like. Engines with lots of miles that tend to eat oil usually do better with thicker oil (10w-40 or even 20w-50). In hotter climates and seasons, thicker oil is better (10w-40 or 20w-50), and colder climates/seasons, thinner is better (5w-30 or 10w-30). Synthetic seems to last longer and definitely protects better against friction and wear, but costs more and (if you have any pre-existing leaks) will tend to seep out or get burned up a bit faster; conventional is way cheaper, but breaks down more quickly and doesn't protect as effectively;

People will argue forever about what brands are better than others, but as long as you stick with the above general guidelines, you'll be fine.

FWIW, I run generic-brand full-synthetic 10w-30 in my DD (with almost 210k on the original motor), and regular Castrol GTX 20w-50 in my notch. For power steering, coolant, and tranny fluid, I've been using the cheap generic crap since '96 or so and never have had any problems.

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