Looking for Suggestions...Transmission Fluid, Tran Filter and Thermostat

[ArlyDude]

I am about to change the slave cylinder on my 97 GTS and I want to do some other regular maintenance as well. Currently I know my slave clutch cylinder is bad so it will be getting replaced. The car has 60k on it so I figure it is time to change the tranny fluid as well. Also I was noticing the car is running a little warmer than I would like so I plan on doing a radiator flush and installing a new thermostat. Please give me your recommendations on the following items as the best to use. Thank you.

Transmission Fluid (and how many quarts it takes)
Thermostat
Engine Coolant / Antifreeze (Anything special or just the regular stuff)

Thank you in advance.

 

[MoparMap]

When in doubt factory parts will never do you wrong. That being said, sometimes it can hard to get a hold of them. I think your car is old enough that it still runs Dexon III (I think) as the trans fluid, so any good quality one would work. I know Tremec themselves suggest Mobil 1 synthetic for transmission fluid in a T56. The later cars got a thicker Castrol oil that is no longer in production, so that gets a bit trickier. As far as I'm aware, no manual transmission has a filter, so you shouldn't have to worry about that. A lower temp thermostat could be handy if you drive in warmer climates, but I suppose there's always a chance it could annoy the computer. Typically cars and factory tunes are designed with certain temperatures in mind, so if the car isn't running at what it expects to be it can throw things off. I think the early cars just ran regular coolant, but I'd just pay attention to what comes out. Fairly sure my mom's 94 still just runs plain on green stuff. I know my 04 is the red Mopar long life stuff.

 

[ArlyDude]

Only 1 reply on this topic? Come on guys. Help a viper brother out. I am trying to do what's best for my baby.

 

[steve e]

For the Trans use Synthetic 75w-85 or 75w-95 Manual Trans lubricant, I use Amsoil, use what ever you like best, there is no filter. In the cooling system use Premix Prestone, that way you will not contaminate the system with tap water if you mix it yourself.

 

[Steve-Indy]

Mopar still supplies the Synthetic Manual Transmission Lubricant 75 W-85. I use distilled water to mix with the coolant to make it 50/50. More questions?...call.

 

[Batboy]

For the thermostat I would recommend the Roe Racing one. I have it along with the fan kit.

http://www.roeracing.com/productcart/pc/Low-Temp-Thermostat-1992-2015-Dodge-Viper-Engines-157p1.htm

 

[Chicago95Viper]

Do NOT use Prestone coolant in a FCA engine! Prestone, Shell, Chevron, and others (i.e. GM DexCool or Ford Global Oat) are 2-EH based coolants which is prohibited by FCA. Buy the Mopar OE 50/50 fluid. I know some may not want to pay for premix, but the water used in making the coolant/antifreeze is DI water due to the fact that water in some areas may not be suitable (may be too hard).

 

[steve e]

It all makes sense now, the FBI was knocking on my door the other day, I did not know Prestone coolant is prohibited in my 95 and 99 Vipers. So far everything is good in both cars, but I have to admit I did not know Prestone is not good.

 

[Bonkers]

According to the conversation i had with the SRT
engineer down at VOI in Charlotte - ONLY use
mopar pink in Aluminum blocks and Green in Iron
blocks. I cant remember the details, but he said
something about the Green coolant(s) eat at the
softer metal.

For the thermostat - Tator, JonB, and Roe all supply
various temps, but last i remember the 180d is the
popular setting - youll also need new intake gaskets
since youll need to disassemble the top of the motor
to get to it.

T56s are naturally hot transmissions - after everything
ive learned with Amsoil blowing up the 4.0 in my jeep
i would never, ever, EVER use that shit in anything i
was hoping to last. Mobil 1 has a very good reputation
for trans fluid - id stick with them personally...

 

[lane_viper]

So everyone has an opinion, and just like buttholes....

I flushed and refilled when I got a new radiator in my 96 with Dexcool 50/50 with distilled water. This was after doing some research on multiple viper coolant threads. It had green before. Between it and the new radiator, temps have been great.

Shortly after getting my 96, 5th and 6th went out (broken thrust washer, which took out the keys in the sycro assembly) I refilled with ~4 quarts of Syncromesh (Pennsoil). It's been in the daily driven T56 Corvette tranny since it's rebuild over 30k miles ago. Again this was after lots of research. I also run the Syncromesh in my S2k, and have for over 80k miles. Shifts great, and I have not doubt it will for a long time.

just my $.02

 

[MoparMap]

I think the key with most fluids is more that if you want to run something else than what is already in the car you need to make sure to really flush out whatever was in it before. Most blocks today are aluminum, so I would find it a bit hard to believe that the green vs red coolant would matter in that regard. I think the larger issue there is not mixing different types (HOAT vs OAT or something like that). For what it's worth, I believe the factory stuff is Zerex G05 (for gen 3+ at least), but with a dye unique to Mopar. The stuff you get from the parts store is gold in color while what's already in the block is red or pink or something like that. I know my mom's 94 has plain old green in it, though I'm unsure what brand.

As for oils, I think mixing them isn't quite as bad, but would still be advised. That's the harder thing to pull off as you can never really fully drain oil without complete disassembly and washing more or less. I don't think the residuals are as much of an issue though, or at least I've never heard of issues there like when mixing coolants.

 

[steve e]

I agree with MoparMap, as long as you flush out the old stuff, your fine with what ever you like,if you read the containers they are all good for aluminum, and on top of that most Viper owners take great care of there cars, I flush and fill at least each year and use Prestone in my 95 and 99. The service manual for my cars says ethylene glycol the green stuff, lucky for me I could prove that or I would be setting next to Roger Stone in jail, so as long as you use what ever type the car calls for, any premium brand should be fine.

 

[lane_viper]

...after everything
ive learned with Amsoil blowing up the 4.0 in my jeep
i would never, ever, EVER use that shit in anything i
was hoping to last.

I know I'm going to stir things up. Amsoil is fine I assume. I've never tried it in anything. Why does it seem like a pyramid scheme to get it? Why isn't it sold in stores?

Spare me all this corruption from other oil manufactures, or supporting small business.

The fact that you have to find a distributor, or order online is not convenient. If it's a life altering product, it would be sold in stores, because there would be such a demand for it.

Every time I see a post like this, Amsoil advocates come out of the woodwork to defend and it seems to be an almost cult like mentality. I apologize for putting gas on the fire.

I've yet to get a satisfactory answer on why it is like this.

 

[Bonkers]

Can - Worms - Open...

The guy my lawyer hired was ready to testify
that the fully synthetic nature of Amsoil is not
good for endurance use in motors. Fully
synthetic oil does not dissipate heat. While its
much, much more lubricating the flexing of the
rotating metals inside the block still create heat.
In my case, after a 12hr drive the bottom of my
4.0 bacially became molten and the oil itself
flash-varnaished throughout the block... at 60
mph... on a friday afternoon... at rush hour...
Eastbound on Rt50 in Annapolis... in 100d
heat... It took me 6hrs to get home, more than
$4000 that i did not have to repair the truck,
which ultimately led me to choose between
losing my job, house or paying the lawyer for
the lawsuit against them...

The REASON I HATE Amsoil is because the
assholes who run the company refused to honor
their own warranty stating "since your jeep was
not factory filled with amsoil there is no way to
determine it was our product that led to the failure
of the motor... blah, blah, blah..." and they were
not customer friendly about it. The woman I talked
to (repeatedly) gave me the impression that it was
my fault for being stupid enough to use their
product.

But to answer your main question I think people who
like them are the same people who think 150d
thermostats and nitrogen tire air are performance
enhancers - they think because they are "Fully Synthetic"
and Mobil 1 is only "Half Synthetic" they 'must' be a
better oil... which is not the case. There are reasons
long endurance racers (F1, Nascar, World Rally) dont
touch the stuff (and its not because of sponsorship -
i mean have you ever known a race team to refuse to
use a product that would literally help them win races?)
Non endurance racers do use it because there is no long
term heat buildup in their motors (drag racers, short
track) because of the benefits of the reduced friction.

 

[steve e]

When something go's wrong with an engine its usually the nut behind the wheel or a problem in the engine not a name brand quality oil, when some of the newer Viper engines were eating up bearings, I do not think it was the oil that caused it, I heard it was poor engine cleaning prep before assembly.