T20 Transmission Fluid Type

[Madpuppy]

Hello all,

I just bought an older MAX II (serial 10,394) with the 16 HP Vanguard engine and a Skid-Steer transmission. Reading on-line here and the manual I am trying to figure out what tramission fluid to use. The old manual that came with the unit says to use Dextron II fluid but reading here and in the PDF manual on this site it says to use type ATF with 4 OZ of GM Slip Differential. So I picked up Dextron III (that is lowest number I could find) and I picked up a 4 oz tube of EQUA-TORQUE by Sta-Lube which says it is for GM # 1052358.

Is the Valvoin DEX/MERC Dextron III + the 4 oz of the EQUA-Torque the right combination?

Thanks!

[hydromike]

Yup; you should be in good shape with what you have.

[thebuggyman1]

It will work.

The original t-20 recomendation was for type "F" a really poor quality fluid.
Through the years oil technology has improved greatly, and all the new fluids are full synthetic. The reason for the limited slip additive is to help with the grabbyness of the older inferior fluids. I use a GM transfer case fluid called auto trak II. It is used in their all wheel drive models where the t-case can constantly slip in and out of engagement. The lesser fluids would wear out quickly and cause a t-case "shudder".

The best advise I can give you is to change the fluid more often.

[Madpuppy]

Thanks. I changed the fluid using the Dextron III and the GM Slip additive and the machine drives MUCH better! I know some people say to remove the lower level plug to remove the fluid but I picked up the Airpower America Oil Changing System which is an oil extractor from Lowes for $35 and was able to suck out all the fluid from the fill plug which saved a ton of work because of how hard that lower level plug is to get to.

[thebuggyman1]

Because of the design of the trans......it's nearly impossible to get all the fluid out no matter what you do. The center plate holds the two halves separate from each other.
I fear that you didn't get enough of the old out. Did you measure it? The proper fill is untill it comes out of the bottom plug. If it has too much fluid, the fluid can "foam" and not lubricate right. I'd still pull the bottom plug and let the excess out. And as I said before......changing the fluid more often is better. R.I says 50 hrs of use, but I doubt most get changed that much.....I'd suggest not exceeding the 50 hrs. The fluid is cheap compared to a breakdown.

Here is what I do and I let it drip out over night to get as much out as possible.sportster drowning 002.jpg

[mgl6x6]

How well do the harbor freight oil extractors work for changing the tranny fluid anyone ever use one and do you still have to pull the bottom plug ? I would think you would have to pull the bottom plug as for filling the tranny back up to see when the fluid drains from the lower plug to let it no its filled

[thebuggyman1]

How well do the harbor freight oil extractors work for changing the tranny fluid anyone ever use one and do you still have to pull the bottom plug ? I would think you would have to pull the bottom plug as for filling the tranny back up to see when the fluid drains from the lower plug to let it no its filled

The problem is the t-20 doesn't have an oil resevior like machines with a dip stick would have (like your engine should). When the extraction tube is inserted, is it really getting all the way to the bottom, and is it leaving fluid pocketed on the other side of the center plate? So without measuring how much came out you really need to pull the bottom plug to know when to stop filling. I don't have a real problem with only changing 75% of the oil at a time as long as the change interval is reduced too.

[Dwayne]

Hi I use a oil sucker it pulls out 1ltr I just put that much back in seems to work well