Are Dexron and Mercon the same thing?

My vehicle calls for Mercon ATF for the power steering as well as the
manual transmission fluid. Can I use Synthetic Dexron in these
applications, or Mercon V?

2000 Ford Explorer, 96,000 miles.

Thanks
-J

On Sun, 22 Oct 2006 13:24:28 -0400, Masospaghetti >
wrote:

>My vehicle calls for Mercon ATF for the power steering as well as the
>manual transmission fluid. Can I use Synthetic Dexron in these
>applications, or Mercon V?
>
>2000 Ford Explorer, 96,000 miles.
>
>Thanks <snip>

Dexron/Mercon is backward compatible, so yes.

Masospaghetti wrote:

> My vehicle calls for Mercon ATF for the power steering as well as the
> manual transmission fluid. Can I use Synthetic Dexron in these
> applications, or Mercon V?
>
> 2000 Ford Explorer, 96,000 miles.
>
> Thanks
> -J


"Dexron" and "Mercon" are sets of specifications, not a fluid per se. It
turns out that most Dexron-III automatic transmission fluids can
simultaneously meet the Mercon-V spec, so as long as you use a fluid
that says "Dexron III/ Mercon V" you will be fine.

Masospaghetti wrote:
> My vehicle calls for Mercon ATF for the power steering as well as the
> manual transmission fluid. Can I use Synthetic Dexron in these
> applications, or Mercon V?
>
> 2000 Ford Explorer, 96,000 miles.
>
> Thanks
> -J

Usually that wouldn't be a problem, but:

You might want to check with the dealer on this. There was a BIG
glitch with the Mercon V spec and the old Ford Mercon transmissions
that made them NOT backwards compatible. Ford was supposed to reissue
the specs and formulations to the manufacturers to make sure that the
new fluids remained backwards compatible, but that wasn't that long ago
and it is possible that some of the stock could still be out there.

Call a dealer and talk to the parts desk to make sure. There was an
issue with this with the SuperDuty transmissions that caused some folks
to get bitten when they assumed that the old backwards compatibility
rule held. Better safe than sorry.

> wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> Masospaghetti wrote:
>> My vehicle calls for Mercon ATF for the power steering as well as the
>> manual transmission fluid. Can I use Synthetic Dexron in these
>> applications, or Mercon V?
>>
>> 2000 Ford Explorer, 96,000 miles.
>>
>> Thanks
>> -J
>
> Usually that wouldn't be a problem, but:
>
> You might want to check with the dealer on this. There was a BIG
> glitch with the Mercon V spec and the old Ford Mercon transmissions
> that made them NOT backwards compatible. Ford was supposed to reissue
> the specs and formulations to the manufacturers to make sure that the
> new fluids remained backwards compatible, but that wasn't that long ago
> and it is possible that some of the stock could still be out there.
>
> Call a dealer and talk to the parts desk to make sure. There was an
> issue with this with the SuperDuty transmissions that caused some folks
> to get bitten when they assumed that the old backwards compatibility
> rule held. Better safe than sorry.

Ford recently issued a TSB (TSB 06-14-4) saying that Mecon V could now be
used in all Mercon/Mercon V applications (this was a change from the past).
This doesn't apply to Mercon SP, the special CVT fluid, or Premium Automatic
Transmission Fluid. Transmissions filled from the factory with those fluids
must continue to use those fluids.

Ed

C. E. White wrote:
>
> Ford recently issued a TSB (TSB 06-14-4) saying that Mecon V could now be
> used in all Mercon/Mercon V applications (this was a change from the past).
> This doesn't apply to Mercon SP, the special CVT fluid, or Premium Automatic
> Transmission Fluid. Transmissions filled from the factory with those fluids
> must continue to use those fluids.
>
> Ed

Yep, and what changed was the fluid/spec, not all the existing
transmissions that were covered by the original TSB in 2001. This TSB
came out in August, so make sure you aren't using old stock fluid and
you should be okay.

Matthew

wrote:
> Masospaghetti wrote:
>> My vehicle calls for Mercon ATF for the power steering as well as the
>> manual transmission fluid. Can I use Synthetic Dexron in these
>> applications, or Mercon V?
>>
>> 2000 Ford Explorer, 96,000 miles.
>>
>> Thanks
>> -J
>
> Usually that wouldn't be a problem, but:
>
> You might want to check with the dealer on this. There was a BIG
> glitch with the Mercon V spec and the old Ford Mercon transmissions
> that made them NOT backwards compatible. Ford was supposed to reissue
> the specs and formulations to the manufacturers to make sure that the
> new fluids remained backwards compatible, but that wasn't that long ago
> and it is possible that some of the stock could still be out there.
>
> Call a dealer and talk to the parts desk to make sure. There was an
> issue with this with the SuperDuty transmissions that caused some folks
> to get bitten when they assumed that the old backwards compatibility
> rule held. Better safe than sorry.
>

Well, I called the dealer...

....and they told me to use TYPE F. (wtf?)

But I believe my owner's manual + you guys more than one service person.
Thanks for the replies.

-J

Masospaghetti wrote:
>
> Well, I called the dealer...
>
> ...and they told me to use TYPE F. (wtf?)
>
> But I believe my owner's manual + you guys more than one service person.
> Thanks for the replies.
>
> -J

Wow, okay so scratch the dealer. Get a bottle from some place that
does a lot of volume and you should be fine.

I happen to have a Ford escape and there is a web site called
http://www.escape-central.com/1forum/ and there are threads and threads
on that very topic. It apparently is not a cut and dried topic at all
from what I can gather... Many folks have had issues after changing
fluids in the tranny....


wrote:
> Masospaghetti wrote:
> >
> > Well, I called the dealer...
> >
> > ...and they told me to use TYPE F. (wtf?)
> >
> > But I believe my owner's manual + you guys more than one service person.
> > Thanks for the replies.
> >
> > -J
>
> Wow, okay so scratch the dealer. Get a bottle from some place that
> does a lot of volume and you should be fine.

Masospaghetti wrote:
>
> wrote:
> > Masospaghetti wrote:
> >> My vehicle calls for Mercon ATF for the power steering as well as the
> >> manual transmission fluid. Can I use Synthetic Dexron in these
> >> applications, or Mercon V?
> >>
> >> 2000 Ford Explorer, 96,000 miles.
> >>
> >> Thanks
> >> -J
> >
> > Usually that wouldn't be a problem, but:
> >
> > You might want to check with the dealer on this. There was a BIG
> > glitch with the Mercon V spec and the old Ford Mercon transmissions
> > that made them NOT backwards compatible. Ford was supposed to reissue
> > the specs and formulations to the manufacturers to make sure that the
> > new fluids remained backwards compatible, but that wasn't that long ago
> > and it is possible that some of the stock could still be out there.
> >
> > Call a dealer and talk to the parts desk to make sure. There was an
> > issue with this with the SuperDuty transmissions that caused some folks
> > to get bitten when they assumed that the old backwards compatibility
> > rule held. Better safe than sorry.
> >
>
> Well, I called the dealer...
>
> ...and they told me to use TYPE F. (wtf?)
>
> But I believe my owner's manual + you guys more than one service person.
> Thanks for the replies.
>
> -J

Why would you want to use a GM fluid in your Ford?

With all the pickieness that those Fords have with even their own (type
F) or Mercon fluid, trying to use Dexron or GM fluid seems pretty silly
to me.

My Jeep calls for Dexron in the power steering. I would disconnect the
belt and just not use it until I got to the proper fluid before I used
Ford fluid in it.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
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