You prefer ATF Dexron II or Dexron III fluid for your transmssion fluid?

[Piemobile]

When I bought my 1995 Previa LE/SC it was smooth. I changed the transmission fluid with Royal Purple and now, when I'm stopping or almost ready to stop, I feel a little soft surge feel... like its in the transmission. Also, when I take my foot off the brake, I feel a little surge...it's driving me crazy :wall:as to where its coming from (when it wasn't there before). It automatic shifts smoothly. I went to Toyota dealer today and they gave me some Mobil ATF D/M Dexron III. With that said, has anyone seem any change when you have changed the Transmission fluid? What do you prefer or recommend. NOte: I've put the recommended volume in the transmission and how it appears on the dipstick (both cold and hot).

[timsrv]

On the vehicles I care about I use Amsoil synthetic ATF. I have used it for over 10 years and have always been happy with performance. One thing I like about the Amsoil brand is it can be mixed with any other kind of ATF without any ill effects. This is important because there's always going to be about 3 quarts or more of old fluid trapped in the torque converter. I have never tried Royal purple brand, but suspect it's of the highest quality. As long as it meets or exceeds OEM specs for Dexron II (what Toyota originally intended here) & as long as it can be mixed with standard Dexron II/III it should be fine.

If however your problem started with the introduction of the Royal Purple, then it's too big of a coincidence & I would want it out of there. Tim

[TheMAN]

Dexron II is obsolete, and so is Dexron III, but since Dexron III is still considered the "universal" ATF, it is far better than Dexron II and no one in USA cares about Dexron II any more... since that is the case, you'll have to go out of your way to find Dexron II
there's many things in Dexron III that makes it superior to Dexron II... longevity for one thing

Royal Purple is overpriced and questionably beneficial... many sample tests were taken, compared, and scrutinized by "DIY chemists" (in other words, sent to a real lab and got test results back).... no real significant benefits found or worse performance than other brands... I'm talking about this in a general sense, not their ATF line

The best bang for the buck I have found that works great with Toyota's Aisin trannys are Valvoline's Maxlife ATF.... it's fully synthetic (yet not advertised on the bottle as they decided it would scare casual buyers... proof that it's synthetic can be found easily on Valvoline's website), has improved additive packages, and works great in a wide temperature range... some seal conditioners added to boot, so it has helped stop some minor leaks in mine in the past until I replaced the pan gasket and driveshaft seal.... this stuff used to be sold at Walmart for only a couple of bucks a quart until they decided to stop selling them for some reason... only place to easily get it now are parts stores which gouge for 6-7 bucks a quart... there was a sale at Autozone last month for $11 a gallon... I haven't seen them on sale at the parts stores, ever, and I haven't seen this stuff that cheap in years... last time I bought them was on the clearance shelf at Pepboys for $3 a quart years ago... my supplies have been dwindling, so I bought 3 gallons during that sale :D

[pdgizwiz]

x2 for the Valovline Maxlife ATF.
My Previa's auto trans was having with the overdrive. At freeway speeds a shudder would pass through the whole vehicle as if I'd run over a rumble strip when the trans shifted either in or out of overdrive. At first I just thought I'd hit a rumble strip; eventually I figured out it was the trans, since there were no rumble strips in sight and I began to pay attention to what else was going on when it happened.
No telling if the trans fluid had ever been changed in my van during its first 230k miles before I rescued it ... I really didn't want to swap the trans out so I pondered what my simple options were. I dropped the pan and drained out what I could (about half of the 7 or 8 qts) and replaced it with Maxlife. Imagine my delight to find that the rumble vanished! This made a believer of me.
Sometime soon I'll swap half the fluid again and be down to 25% old fluid.

[Piemobile]

Thanks to all for your input and knowledge on this baffling issue with Previa. Well, since I had bought the Dexron III Mobile transmission fluid recommend by my Toyota dealer I went ahead and changed it. Viola...it worked!!!!!!:dance2:, no more of that surge and it feel smoother. It was something about the Royal Purple transmission fluid it just didn't like. I'm not edifying Royal Purple by no means, because it know it works for some. However, it just didn't like my Egg.