[jasonkim]

Here is screenshot from Valvoline website attached. It is compatible with some Mitsubishi fluids. Read it, and see if its compatible with your OEM fluid.

https://www.valvoline.com/our-products/automatic-transmission-products/maxlife-multi-vehicle-atf

Yep. It is Diamond SP-III. Thanks

 

[fatlard]

I used Castro Import in mine.

https://www.castrol.com/en_cc/ccsa/products/cars/automatic-transmission-fluids/atf-multivehicle.html

 

[Odyssey.owner]

I used Castro Import in mine.

https://www.castrol.com/en_cc/ccsa/products/cars/automatic-transmission-fluids/atf-multivehicle.html

How is Castrol ATF working for you? I found a lot of input from people using Valvoline in their Odyssey for many years, but not so much about Castrol. This is why I went with Valvoline, though Castrol is easier to find in Canada..

 

[alftoy]

How is Castrol ATF working for you? I found a lot of input from people using Valvoline in their Odyssey for many years, but not so much about Castrol. This is why I went with Valvoline, though Castrol is easier to find in Canada..

Odd, always bought Maxlife ATF at Walmart Canada, prairies and BC, maybe not Toronto???

 

[Odyssey.owner]

Odd, always bought Maxlife ATF at Walmart Canada, prairies and BC, maybe not Toronto???

Lots of Valvoline engine oil at Walmart. None of Valvoline ATF. I found V ATF at local Napa store, no one else sells it.

 

[cahaak]

You can order the Maxlife ATF online from Walmart. Here in the states, it is free shipping if you order 2 gallons and it comes right to your door - very nice at $17.87 a gallon.

 

[Odyssey.owner]

You can order the Maxlife ATF online from Walmart. Here in the states, it is free shipping if you order 2 gallons and it comes right to your door - very nice at $17.87 a gallon.

Thats in US. Canadian walmart has different pricing and different inventory. No Valvoline ATF on canadian walmart site. Cant wait to get back home.

 

[alftoy]

Thats in US. Canadian walmart has different pricing and different inventory. No Valvoline ATF on canadian walmart site. Cant wait to get back home.

Stopped at Walmart, Yorkton Sask. Lo and behold Maxlife on the shelf.

Why can't I find a product online that I saw in Walmart store?
Availability and stock may vary between stores and Walmart.ca. We understand this may be frustrating for you so we’re aiming to have all of the products you see in stores available online on Walmart.ca in the very near future. Stay tuned!

 

[cybersaga]

Sure it wasn't the motor oil? That's all they show on their site: https://www.walmart.ca/search/valvoline maxlife

 

[alftoy]

Sure it wasn't the motor oil? That's all they show on their site: https://www.walmart.ca/search/valvoline maxlife

If you are referring to my post, pic clearly shows ATF. Shelf sticker also shows ATF.

 

[cybersaga]

I replied before you added the picture. But that's cool. It's good to know it's worth a check in store even if the site doesn't show it.

 

[Odyssey.owner]

Stopped at Walmart, Yorkton Sask. Lo and behold Maxlife on the shelf.

Good for you. No walmart sells Valvoline ATF around Toronto. I was going to cross border and visit US walmart, but found some at canadian Napa.

 

[Odyssey.owner]

Just a follow-up on my Valvoline ATF experiment.
Valvoline Maxlife ATF fixed the slippage, but did not fix other problems, such as a bit of shadder between 30-40 MPH, and somewhat harsh downshifting. Last week I drove from Toronto to FL without problems, but a few times I felt harsh downshifting that I didnt like at all.

OdyFamily recommended to use LubeGard Red, but it was impossible to find in Canada. Today I finally stopped by at Advance Auto Part, and bought one bottle of Lubegard Red. Poured it in through the fill plug, right there on the parking lot.

Lubegard Red made huge difference, now I finally have an idea of how this Odyssey was driving when it was new. Shifting is smooth, small shadder disappeared, van accelerates a lot better too. Still no slippage that I had with DW1. UPDATE: downshift bang would come back after a few weeks.

 

[sarasube]

any thoughts on lube guard red with maxlife atf on other tranny like 6 spd on gen 4.

thanks

 

[0dyfamily]

Odyssey.owner, I'm glad it worked. Our 1998 Accord had a really pronounced shudder, and several ATF drains/refills got rid of most of it. However, coincidentally in that same speed range (30-40 MPH) while accelerating, it really shuddered. It got worse if I added a little more gas pedal. Also, shifting between any gear was just "weird". Not harsh (that little 2.3L four doesn't generate enough oomph to do anything harsh), just "weird", like delays and roughness when I did not expect it to do so.

Lubegard Red halted those problems rather quickly, and our experiences mirrors yours, where the shifting is "how we expect it to be," and no more shuddering. I was previously using Lubegard Red to assist the high-temperature qualities of the ATF in our Odysseys while towing on hot days, so it was an unexpected good result when Lubegard Red positively addressed the basic operating issues and function problems in our old Accord.

Long-chain wax esters (high molecular weight, but liquid physical state) used to be present in significant fractions in most ATF's sold in the U.S. and elsewhere through the early 1970's (like GM's original Dexron ATF...not Dexron II or Dexron IID or Dexron III, just plain Dexron ATF). We used to get these compounds from whale oil. They have a high resistance to thermal degradation, fine ability to maintain a lubricating film on bearing surfaces of any type, and possess elevated heat capacity (good for heat exchange at the ATF cooler).

Now, there are nearly identical agricultural derivatives of these same liquid wax esters. The materials and ag scientists who figured out how to commercially extract these compounds from inexpensively cultivated plants like jojoba and rapeseed really did something to the benefit of the petroleum industry's production of lubricating oils.

sarasube, regrettably I have no direct experience with Lubegard & MaxLife being used in a 6-speed on a Gen 4.

OF

 

[sarasube]

maybe in the future as mileage increase or some tranny symptoms,
that trying lube guard might have a positive effect.
wait and see i guess.

thanks odyfamiy

 

[4x4rock]

I changed to Maxlife around 70k miles and it was nice smooth shifting for the first 15k or so then it felt a bit rough down shifting and shift into reverse. I recently changed to Redline ATF at 117k miles and couldn’t believe the difference. It is so smooth and almost effortless when shifting. No more jerking im reverse or when accelerating fast and upshift. The van isn’t being driven very much now a day so I won’t be changing it for a long while. Redline is more expensive than Maxlife but it may be worth it.

 

[John Clark]

Isn't the "smoothness" the thing that everyone is trying to get rid of by going from DW-1 to Maxlife? The theory is the "smoothness" means more wear than the slightly harder shifts experienced with Maxlife. Maybe I'm off base but seems to me like this is all going in circles a bit.

 

[Odyssey.owner]

Isn't the "smoothness" the thing that everyone is trying to get rid of by going from DW-1 to Maxlife? The theory is the "smoothness" means more wear than the slightly harder shifts experienced with Maxlife. Maybe I'm off base but seems to me like this is all going in circles a bit.

I know, it sounds contradictory, but MaxLife ATF + Lubegard makes shifting smooth enough, I'd say acceptable, but at the same time there is no slippage on 3rd and 4th gears. That slippage was bad enough with DW1, I could hear engine revving when going uphills, was no need to look at the tachometer to know - it is slipping. Also there was a loud bang when downshifting from 60 + mph. Maxlife fixed all that right away, but downshifting remained a bit too harsh. After adding Lubegard, van feels driving perfectly, if you keep adding Lubegard. There real problem was - bad shift solenoids.

 

[0dyfamily]

Isn't the "smoothness" the thing that everyone is trying to get rid of by going from DW-1 to Maxlife? The theory is the "smoothness" means more wear than the slightly harder shifts experienced with Maxlife. Maybe I'm off base but seems to me like this is all going in circles a bit.

Honda & Acura transmissions are weird beasts...during gear changes, there's a brief moment where the previously engaged clutch is simultaneously engaged as the next gear up is engaging (clutch package engagement) to smooth the shift. It's done electronically (electromechanically?).

If it's banging into gear, that fine ballet of solenoid-activated valve actuation to achieve clutch nirvana is not working in perfectly timed fashion. Valves that are sticking or slow to activate can cause this (as far as I've read on the subject from papers published by ASE-cert'd mechs who've spent a lot of time working on our Gen vans and their transmissions).

It seems to me that MaxLife (or Red Line D4 for BYBA 5-speeds and BT7A 4-speeds), and Lubegard Red seem to fix this, allowing the PCM-directed valves to operate in perfect mechanical timing. A lot of people do talk about smooth shifts being "bad", but for us it's an artificially designed in smoothness by selective valve actuation managed by the PCM for our Odysseys (I can only speak for the Gen 2 and Gen 3 vans). Without this brief, milliseconds-long simultaneous engagement of both clutch packs during a shift, each gear change would be a banging, jarring event, no matter what type of ATF was in use. Yes, the A/T would last a long time, but man, nobody would want to purchase a vehicle off the lot that did it this way.

That's my somewhat read-up understanding of the subject for our transmissions.

OF