Used ATF+4 in place of SPIII, shifting problems ensued
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Used ATF+4 in place of SPIII, shifting problems ensued
I recently drained and refilled (not flushed) the trans fluid in my '04 Stratus Coupe, 2.4 with the Mitsubishi 4 Speed F4A42 transmission. Mileage is 72K, and I previously had the fluid done around 35Kish range. I know with a drain and refill, a certain percentage of fluid stays in the torque converter, but I’m not too concerned. The dipstick says use SPIII. I read that ATF+4 was approved for all Chrysler and Mitubishi transmissions. Some other comments I read were:
"ATF+4 is plainly stated to be backward compatible with ATF+3"
"The previous MOPAR ATF+3® formulation was discontinued in 2005 and ATF+4® is recommended for all transmissions filled with ATF+3®."
"ATF+4 is an upgrade."
“SP III (ATF +4 is supposedly the equivalent)”
So I drained, measured what came out, put the exact amount back in using Castrol ATF+4. Drove the car around for awhile, and everything seemed fine for the first few hundred miles. Around 500 miles, I started noticing the transmission shifting hard at times. One or two times it felt really hard... maybe even a slip?
I drained the fluid, and replaced it using SPIII, or Castrol IMPORT MULTI–VEHICLE. I drove around 50 miles, and did another drain and refill. Shifting is a lot smoother now, I guess I would even say back to normal. I plan to do another drain and refill in the near future, which would bring the percentage of ATF+4 in the trans even lower. I could go to a shop and have them do a flush, but I’m trying to avoid spending big money. (Even will all my drain and refills, I’m still under the cost of a flush.)
There are several other threads in forums dedicated to SPII/ATF+3 vs ATF+4, all seem to have some conflicting information. Thoughts? Did I do any significant damage to my trans?
"ATF+4 is plainly stated to be backward compatible with ATF+3"
"The previous MOPAR ATF+3® formulation was discontinued in 2005 and ATF+4® is recommended for all transmissions filled with ATF+3®."
"ATF+4 is an upgrade."
“SP III (ATF +4 is supposedly the equivalent)”
So I drained, measured what came out, put the exact amount back in using Castrol ATF+4. Drove the car around for awhile, and everything seemed fine for the first few hundred miles. Around 500 miles, I started noticing the transmission shifting hard at times. One or two times it felt really hard... maybe even a slip?
I drained the fluid, and replaced it using SPIII, or Castrol IMPORT MULTI–VEHICLE. I drove around 50 miles, and did another drain and refill. Shifting is a lot smoother now, I guess I would even say back to normal. I plan to do another drain and refill in the near future, which would bring the percentage of ATF+4 in the trans even lower. I could go to a shop and have them do a flush, but I’m trying to avoid spending big money. (Even will all my drain and refills, I’m still under the cost of a flush.)
There are several other threads in forums dedicated to SPII/ATF+3 vs ATF+4, all seem to have some conflicting information. Thoughts? Did I do any significant damage to my trans?
