Hi,

Can I use off the shelf Dexron III trans. fluid in my 1986 190D automatic transmission?

I am draining my trans and torque converter and replacing the filter.
The car has 164K on it and is having problems shifting (slipping) 2 through 4th gears. The car goes into gear, reverse/drive immediately.

I found some very, very small metal filings in the pan. Not a lot a filings.
Is that acceptable?

Thank you!

Yes thats the right fluid if you can find it.

Dexmerc is the official replacement for dexron 3

Check how much vacuum you have going to the transmission at different throttle positions.

Vacuum modulator does the shift firmness and the bowden cable does the shift rpm

Yes. Mobil 1 synthetic ATF is also correct.

With the miles you need to change the ATF on these old ones, you are best served with walmart supertech ATF - 2 gallons gets the job done. Add a bottle of lubegard red to it, it makes the shifts lockup slightly quicker but smoother too (less heat).

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2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

30k with cheap stuff, 50k with synthetic.

Check NAPA for Dex/Mercon. That is what I use in my Jeep Cherokees. Some of the Jeep guys are using synthetic Dex/Mercon. The AW4 in them has some issues with the ATF+4 that Chrysler uses in them. Yes, different trans. I also use a bottle of the Lube Guard. I think my trans shifted better this past trip in the WV mountains. I did drain and add a bottle of Lube Guard. I also installed a header to replace the cat iron exhaust manifolds. Didn't feel like any real power increase. Ran a bit smoother though.

That is factually incorrect. There is nothing "official" about it. When the licenses to produce Dexron III expired, manufacturers were at their own liberty to give names of their choosing to the former Dexron III fluid. They were still free to manufacture the fluid; they just could not use the name "Dexron III."

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When cryptography is outlawed, bayl bhgynjf jvyy unir cevinpl.

Thanks, all!

The last iteration of the dexron 3 atf are approved by allison under one of their licenses.

They only have a handful of atf that comply, the rest you see in the market are whatever the blender can make cheapest to act like a dexron3 fluid

Tbh dexron 3 is an old formula made for transmissions that relied on accumulators to cushion shifts. Modern atf are much more advanced.