I bought my truck with an ats tranny installed already, and on the reciept for it he has dextron III as the fluid, but from what i have been reading the 6 speed trannies are suppose to run dextron VI. is this hurting anything, and if i pull the plug and drain it i wont get everything out with out flushing correct?

Thanks
Dan

Learning about this myself. The TES-295 from Transdyne or Torque-Drive from Amsoil is what is best for 6-Speeds.

You will get about 7-8 quarts from a pan flush or drain with spin-on filter change.

I just got the transdyne the other day. Hope to have it in soon. The cost was not that bad and it is rated to last 2-3 times longer.

Read some more — especially the sticky. There are only two TES 295 fluids — Transynd and Mobil Delvac. TES 295 is an Allison tested, approved and recommended designation. Torque Drive does not have a TES 295 fluid — it has a so-called clone, which it says is just as good (but is not Allison approved). Allison dealers carry Transynd, while the Delvac is commonly found at big truck service centers and at some Allison dealers. BTW, do a search and more reading. The cut-off for DEX III is not determined by the five or six speed but by the serial number. The easy thing to do is to run a TES 295 fluid, since it is fine for any of the Allison 1000 transmissions — and is recommended by Allison.

Read some more — especially the sticky. There are only two TES 295 fluids — Transynd and Mobil Delvac. TES 295 is an Allison tested, approved and recommended designation. Torque Drive does not have a TES 295 fluid — it has a so-called clone, which it says is just as good (but is not Allison approved). Allison dealers carry Transynd, while the Delvac is commonly found at big truck service centers and at some Allison dealers. BTW, do a search and more reading. The cut-off for DEX III is not determined by the five or six speed but by the serial number. The easy thing to do is to run a TES 295 fluid, since it is fine for any of the Allison 1000 transmissions — and is recommended by Allison.

Are you saying that the Amsoil Torque Drive is not applicable for use in all years of the Allison tranny? I was about to pick some up for my 04 LLY.

Read some more — especially the sticky. There are only two TES 295 fluids — Transynd and Mobil Delvac. TES 295 is an Allison tested, approved and recommended designation. Torque Drive does not have a TES 295 fluid — it has a so-called clone, which it says is just as good (but is not Allison approved). Allison dealers carry Transynd, while the Delvac is commonly found at big truck service centers and at some Allison dealers. BTW, do a search and more reading. The cut-off for DEX III is not determined by the five or six speed but by the serial number. The easy thing to do is to run a TES 295 fluid, since it is fine for any of the Allison 1000 transmissions — and is recommended by Allison.
Check Allisons website. there are quite a few now.

Are you saying that the Amsoil Torque Drive is not applicable for use in all years of the Allison tranny? I was about to pick some up for my 04 LLY.
It's perfectly good fluid to use. Citgo quatrasyn is recommended by Mike L.

Check Allisons website. there are quite a few now.

No, there are only two — Transynd and Mobil Delvac. the others that you see there on Allison's web site are Transynd sold under different labels. There may be other good fluids out there, but the only fluids certified as TES 295 by Allison are Transynd and Mobil Delvac. Amsoil may be good stuff, but it has no TES 295 fluid except what it claims to be just as good. It is not tested and approved by Allison. Take your pick and run what you want — but if you want a TES 295, you have two choices.

i understand what should be in there, but do i need to get it flushed in order to put the 295 stuff in or can i just drain it? and is the dextron hurting it any?

Thanks

No, there are only two — Transynd and Mobil Delvac. the others that you see there on Allison's web site are Transynd sold under different labels. There may be other good fluids out there, but the only fluids certified as TES 295 by Allison are Transynd and Mobil Delvac. Amsoil may be good stuff, but it has no TES 295 fluid except what it claims to be just as good. It is not tested and approved by Allison. Take your pick and run what you want — but if you want a TES 295, you have two choices.

Are either of those two a synthetic?

i understand what should be in there, but do i need to get it flushed in order to put the 295 stuff in or can i just drain it? and is the dextron hurting it any?

Thanks

Perfectly acceptable to do a pan drain, change external filter, and refill with TES-295 (about 7.5 qts.). In fact, that's exactly what I did a couple of months ago (at 50k miles). I plan to do it again at 75k miles which then makes it mostly TES-295.

If you feel you must flush, then use the "Hoot Method", which you can search for. Don't have it power flushed. Of course, Hoot flushing with TES-295 can get expensive!!

No, there are only two — Transynd and Mobil Delvac. the others that you see there on Allison's web site are Transynd sold under different labels. There may be other good fluids out there, but the only fluids certified as TES 295 by Allison are Transynd and Mobil Delvac. Amsoil may be good stuff, but it has no TES 295 fluid except what it claims to be just as good. It is not tested and approved by Allison. Take your pick and run what you want — but if you want a TES 295, you have two choices.
Then why would they all have a diferent approval # if it's all the same? I'd like to see proof of that, but I won't say your wrong. Saying there's only 2 to choose from is kind of narrowing it down too much

Are either of those two a synthetic?

All TES 295 fluids are synthetic. Note the much longer change intervals — adherence to which make their cost quite reasonable. As for the different labels under which Transynd is sold, use any of them when you can find them — like SynTran from John Deere. Since they are all Transynd, any of them are fine — though they seem to ordinarily cost more than the Transynd label, itself. Mobil Delvac is the most recent TES 295 — and only sold as Mobil Delvac, as far as I know. Or use one of the clones or DEX VI — to each his own.

Then why would they all have a diferent approval # if it's all the same? I'd like to see proof of that, but I won't say your wrong. Saying there's only 2 to choose from is kind of narrowing it down too much

There is not much point to proving it, since all that counts is the TES 295 certification for those who want it. However, take for instance the fact that Transynd is made by BP Castrol. And Castrol owns the SynTran trademark — the product marketed by John Deere. The Autran trademark is also owned by BP.

Cognis and BP were my main 2 that stood out. The others are manufacturers and most are known to relabel fluids. But like you said, no matter as long as it's 295. Pretty much just a price shopping measure.

I agree — and while it may be my imagination, Transynd seems to be coming down in price. Some have speculated that it will be replaced by Mobil Delvac as the only TES 295 fluid. BTW, trademark ownership does not definitively prove that a given company produces that product under the label. It could be that there are instances in which BP/Castrol has licensed the formula for Transynd to other companies. But a rose by any other name ................

I just got some transynd TES 295 the other day. Did not cost that much. The guy said it only needs to be changed every 50-75k.

I just got some transynd TES 295 the other day. Did not cost that much. The guy said it only needs to be changed every 50-75k.

He wants to see you back much too soon. With 100% TES 295, the normal change interval is 150,000 (75,000 with "severe use" — which most will never see).

All TES 295 fluids are synthetic. Note the much longer change intervals — adherence to which make their cost quite reasonable. As for the different labels under which Transynd is sold, use any of them when you can find them — like SynTran from John Deere. Since they are all Transynd, any of them are fine — though they seem to ordinarily cost more than the Transynd label, itself. Mobil Delvac is the most recent TES 295 — and only sold as Mobil Delvac, as far as I know. Or use one of the clones or DEX VI — to each his own.

Ok, this might be a stupid question but what did they come with from the factory? Was it the same synthetic? What is the change interval? I have a little over 50,000 miles.

Your 2004 came with DEX III, which GM no longer licenses. GM now recommends DEX VI, and says it is backwards compatible. Buuuut, Allison confirms that it can damage the seals of models before the 2006 serial number cut off. Thus, Allison has recommended a TES 389 series of fluids (https://fdlrd.swri.org/Allison/ApprovedFluidsList.aspx?Id=2) to replace DEX III. DEX VI can safely be used in the 2007 and up models and some 2006 (do a search for the serial number cut-off). To make it simple, certain and superior, a person can use a TES 295 fluid — Transynd (from your Allison dealer or a DP vendor) or Mobil Delvac from big truck service centers or a DP vendor. The DEX fluids are a GM licensed product and fill all of the light truck transmissions. However, larger GM trucks, with the same Allison 1000 transmissions, do come with Transynd. For the change interval on your original DEX III, check your owner's manual. Good idea to read Dave's very thorough sticky at the beginning of the Maintenance section — http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=302701 He gives you all of the details and choices. BTW, Gm has apparently put a TES 295 fluid in light trucks in northern, extreme cold climates (at least in some cases), since it flows so much better than DEX at very low temperatures. Another read is http://www.allisontransmission.com/servlet/DownloadOnDemand?ApplicationID=155&DownloadID=5&Preview=1 TES 389 change interval is 50K IIRC

http://www.allisontransmission.com/servlet/DownloadOnDemand?ApplicationID=155&DownloadID=5&Preview=1[/URL] TES 389 change interval is 50K IIRC

Thanks for all the info. That's why I wanted to change to a synthetic. Winter is comming and with that can be some -40F days.

At minus 40 F, you want a good synthetic, and you can't do better than a TES 295. Some have used it in attempt to prevent leaking transmission cooler lines. I have used it for other reasons (since we seldom see minus 15), but I've had to replaced leaking lines regardless. However, a TES 295 does flow much better than DEX VI at low temperatures and protects better at high temperatures. Some clones may do as well; but, aside from personal stories, there is no way to tell for sure in the absence of verifiable testing.

He wants to see you back much too soon. With 100% TES 295, the normal change interval is 150,000 (75,000 with "severe use" — which most will never see).


I did not realize that it lasted that long. I did buy it from a semi dealer, so he might be a little more use to the big rigs. But never the less I have no problem paying a few bucks to changed it out at 50-75k. it is worth the money for the piece of mind, and cheaper than a trans rebuild.

I am lucky to have an Allison dealer within 5 miles of home. At about 80,000 miles I had drained and refilled twice with Transynd. Dealer said that this was more than needed. At somewhere around 25 dollars a gallon and spin on filters less than ten it is cheap insurance. I also change spin on every other oil change.

I do recommend running a TES-295 fluid. Amsoil Torque Drive works just fine but is a bit more than the Transynd in my area. I carry the Allison Transynd fluid and all allison filters. I am also running a special on the Allison deep pans and deep sump filters. Let me know if I can help with anything.