Is there a better fluid then Type A

[Tommy Galbreath]

Hi, I have a 1956 Dodge  Royal Lancer with a 2 speed auto transmission.  I changed the fluid and filter 3 years ago and used type A fluid which it calls for.  My question is has a better type that will replace the old type A been developed since then?  I drive the car very little and it works fine.  

[Don Coatney]

If you drive the car very little and what you are using works fine you must have a fat wad of money burning a hole in your pocket wanting to fix something that is not broken. Drive it and enjoy it.

[knuckleharley]

40 minutes ago, Tommy Galbreath said:

Hi, I have a 1956 Dodge  Royal Lancer with a 2 speed auto transmission.  I changed the fluid and filter 3 years ago and used type A fluid which it calls for.  My question is has a better type that will replace the old type A been developed since then?  I drive the car very little and it works fine.  

If that's what it calls for,it works good,and you have no trouble finding and buying it,my best advise is "Don't fight gravity".

 

Yeah,sometimes parts suppliers will update a old product to make it "new and improved",but that doesn't necessarily mean that it will even work  IN YOUR CAR as good as the original product. Additives will have been added,and other additives taken away.

[John Reddie]

Tommy, what I would do is contact the company who makes the fluid that you are using and see what info they would have regarding  updated fluids you can use if any. I have had very good luck doing this with motor oil questions for my two 1967 Plymouths. "56 Dodge Lancer is a sharp looking car.

John R

[Tommy Galbreath]

Thanks Don for your reply.  I was just wanting to do what is best for the old car.  It had been in a shed  for 42 years before I got it and needed a lot of work.  I got pancreas cancer and am taking chemo treatments ever week at VA hospital and have limited use of my legs.  I am bored and just enjoy looking at the car.

[Tommy Galbreath]

42 minutes ago, John Reddie said:

Tommy, what I would do is contact the company who makes the fluid that you are using and see what info they would have regarding  updated fluids you can use if any. I have had very good luck doing this with motor oil questions for my two 1967 Plymouths. "56 Dodge Lancer is a sharp looking car.

John R

Thank you John for the advice.

[Tommy Galbreath]

9 minutes ago, Tommy Galbreath said:

Thanks Don for your reply.  I was just wanting to do what is best for the old car.  It had been in a shed  for 42 years before I got it and needed a lot of work.  I got pancreas cancer and am taking chemo treatments ever week at VA hospital and have limited use of my legs.  I am bored and just enjoy looking at the car.

 

[knuckleharley]

6 minutes ago, Tommy Galbreath said:

Thanks Don for your reply.  I was just wanting to do what is best for the old car.  It had been in a shed  for 42 years before I got it and needed a lot of work.  I got pancreas cancer and am taking chemo treatments ever week at VA hospital and have limited use of my legs.  I am bored and just enjoy looking at the car.

Tommy,I heard some VERY good news on the Pancreatic Cancer front maybe a week ago.  Supposedly there is now a cure for it if caught in time.

 

Do some web searching,my man! 

 

Also,do yourself a favor and seek advise outside of the VA. Unless the VA Hospital you are going to has a government research program going with the feral and state government via a local medical school,you are not getting the best possible treatment. Trust me on this. I have been going to VA hospitals since 1970,when they informed me there was no such thing as Agent Orange,and I was just trying to rip the government off for a pension.  And this was after me getting medievaced from VN for severe skin and lymph gland problems.

[Andydodge]

Tommy, welcome aboard from Oz......I just checked the 1957 Plymouth Shop manual I have and under the lubrication Chart for BOTH Powerflite and Torqueflite Trans it lists as you have mentioned Type A Trans Fluid..........now I have been using Dexron 111 trans fluid for the past 45 yrs, yep, 45......lol...... in the Torqueflite Trans I have which is a cast iron one same as that used in 1957 so I would suggest that Dexron 3 trans fluid should be fine.........the only hiccup you may fine is that specific Dexron 3 trans fluid maybe getting hard to find BUT there are trans fluids available that do have the Dexron 3 characteristics that we need..... just check the listing on the side of the container...........I just went & checked, the Dexron 3 fluid I have is by Penrite if thats any help...............regards, andyd     

Edited December 28, 2017 by Andydodge

[Tommy Galbreath]

3 minutes ago, knuckleharley said:

Tommy,I heard some VERY good news on the Pancreatic Cancer front maybe a week ago.  Supposedly there is now a cure for it if caught in time.

 

Do some web searching,my man! 

 

Also,do yourself a favor and seek advise outside of the VA. Unless the VA Hospital you are going to has a government research program going with the feral and state government via a local medical school,you are not getting the best possible treatment. Trust me on this. I have been going to VA hospitals since 1970,when they informed me there was no such thing as Agent Orange,and I was just trying to rip the government off for a pension.  And this was after me getting medievaced from VN for severe skin and lymph gland problems.

The last PET sync I got shows improvement.  It was stag 4 and  the cancer has shrunk.    

[Tommy Galbreath]

Thank you Andy for that info.

[Don Coatney]

28 minutes ago, Tommy Galbreath said:

Thanks Don for your reply.  I was just wanting to do what is best for the old car.  It had been in a shed  for 42 years before I got it and needed a lot of work.  I got pancreas cancer and am taking chemo treatments ever week at VA hospital and have limited use of my legs.  I am bored and just enjoy looking at the car.

Thank you for your service. Sorry to hear of your medical issues. I was told I have lung cancer two weeks ago. I start chemo soon at the VA hospital. I also have bad knees and have lost use of both hands due mostly to agent orange. Getting old is no fun.

[knuckleharley]

19 minutes ago, Andydodge said:

Tommy, welcome aboard from Oz......I just checked the 1957 Plymouth Shop manual I have and under the lubrication Chart for BOTH Powerflite and Torqueflite Trans it lists as you have mentioned Type A Trans Fluid..........now I have been using Dexron 111 trans fluid for the past 45 yrs, yep, 45......lol...... in the Torqueflite Trans I have which is a cast iron one same as that used in 1957 so I would suggest that Dexron 3 trans fluid should be fine.........the only hiccup you may fine is that specific Dexron 3 trans fluid maybe getting hard to find BUT there are trans fluids available that do have the Dexron 3 characteristics that we need..... just check the listing on the side of the container...........I just went & checked, the Dexron 3 fluid I have is by Penrite if thats any help...............regards, andyd     

 

Guys,I did a litttle research on early ATF's when I recently bought a 51 Ford with the factory Fordomatic transmission in it that didn't want to engage,and didn't appear to have a drop of fluid in it. I learned/was told that the Dextron 3 was developed to work in the early transmissions that were built for Type A ATF. I was also told,like Andydodge reported,that the Dextron 3 was now getting hard to find,and was being replaced by a newer  AFT that has Merc in the name.

 

Now,it seems obvious to me that dey bees sum Compro-MISING be-in dun out dere,as De Kingfish would say. For one thing,the clutch materials have obviously changed in the last few decades,and to a certain extent so has the expectation of how an automatic transmission is supposed to perform. In the early days,the goal seemed to be to get firmer shifts to suit the car-buying pubic that was used to standard transmissions. Today,not so much. The focus is on smooth,and to lull  you into thinking there are no gear shifts.

 

What this amounts to is if you use the fluid  (Type A) the manufacturers designed the transmissions to work with you will get slightly firmer shifts. Which,IMHO is a GOOD thing because quicker,firmer shifts equal less slippage and heat to wear out the clutches.  Use the modern replacements,and you will have softer shifts with slightly more heat and wear because unlike the newer cars that will get 99 percent of the new fluid,the older cars used different clutch materials;

 

Ironically enough,Type A trans fluid is very easy to find,despite being "replaced" twice already.  I bought mine from a local Ace Hardware store the day I bought the car because I was there anyhow. You can buy it pretty much everywhere that sells ATF and motor oil. Since it is so easy to buy,slightly cheaper than the more modern oils,and IS the oil the transmissions were designed to work with,why not use it?

 

 

[Tommy Galbreath]

1 minute ago, Don Coatney said:

Thank you for your service. Sorry to hear of your medical issues. I was told I have lung cancer two weeks ago. I start chemo soon at the VA hospital. I also have bad knees and have lost use of both hands due mostly to agent orange. Getting old is no fun.

I thank you also for your service.  I pray you do as well as I have done at my VA in Salem, Virginia

[Tommy Galbreath]

4 minutes ago, knuckleharley said:

 

Guys,I did a litttle research on early ATF's when I recently bought a 51 Ford with the factory Fordomatic transmission in it that didn't want to engage,and didn't appear to have a drop of fluid in it. I learned/was told that the Dextron 3 was developed to work in the early transmissions that were built for Type A ATF. I was also told,like Andydodge reported,that the Dextron 3 was now getting hard to find,and was being replaced by a newer  AFT that has Merc in the name.

 

Now,it seems obvious to me that dey bees sum Compro-MISING be-in dun out dere,as De Kingfish would say. For one thing,the clutch materials have obviously changed in the last few decades,and to a certain extent so has the expectation of how an automatic transmission is supposed to perform. In the early days,the goal seemed to be to get firmer shifts to suit the car-buying pubic that was used to standard transmissions. Today,not so much. The focus is on smooth,and to lull  you into thinking there are no gear shifts.

 

What this amounts to is if you use the fluid  (Type A) the manufacturers designed the transmissions to work with you will get slightly firmer shifts. Which,IMHO is a GOOD thing because quicker,firmer shifts equal less slippage and heat to wear out the clutches.  Use the modern replacements,and you will have softer shifts with slightly more heat and wear because unlike the newer cars that will get 99 percent of the new fluid,the older cars used different clutch materials;

 

Ironically enough,Type A trans fluid is very easy to find,despite being "replaced" twice already.  I bought mine from a local Ace Hardware store the day I bought the car because I was there anyhow. You can buy it pretty much everywhere that sells ATF and motor oil. Since it is so easy to buy,slightly cheaper than the more modern oils,and IS the oil the transmissions were designed to work with,why not use it?

 

 

Sounds like I will stick to the type A and not try to improve a good thing.  I thank you for all that information.

[John Reddie]

Tommy and Don, wishing you both the best in your treatments.

John R

[dpollo]

Tommy, Andy,  Don  and KH    after following the thread and gathering there are  "issues" with health and your life's history may I respectfully recommend reading  Bryce Courtenay's  Smoky Joe's Cafe,  the story of an Australian  VN vet.    Fiction to be sure but it has a fair amount of truth in it.  Happy New Year.  dp

[captden29]

Tom and Don, thanks for your service. i also served but do not have the same issues as you. i have some issues due to jp4 jet fuel, which had agent orange in it for some strange reason. VA denies any disability. but. on the trans fluid side, i use dex 3. i did not think type a was available, but i will look for it. maybe tractor supply. my trans is the 2 speed powerflite. works great, but no passing gear, and it will occasionally slip when turning hard. so i do not turn hard, and do not try to get passing gear. 56 dodge nice car. my grandmother had one until she wrecked it. happy new year.   capt den

[knuckleharley]

22 minutes ago, captden29 said:

Tom and Don, thanks for your service. i also served but do not have the same issues as you. i have some issues due to jp4 jet fuel, which had agent orange in it for some strange reason. VA denies any disability. but. on the trans fluid side, i use dex 3. i did not think type a was available, but i will look for it. maybe tractor supply. my trans is the 2 speed powerflite. works great, but no passing gear, and it will occasionally slip when turning hard. so i do not turn hard, and do not try to get passing gear. 56 dodge nice car. my grandmother had one until she wrecked it. happy new year.   capt den

Ace Hardware stocks it.

[ultrahawg]

On 12/28/2017 at 5:54 PM, Don Coatney said:

Thank you for your service. Sorry to hear of your medical issues. I was told I have lung cancer two weeks ago. I start chemo soon at the VA hospital. I also have bad knees and have lost use of both hands due mostly to agent orange. Getting old is no fun.

 

Just read this...sorry for both ya'll's bad news and Thank You both for your service and Welcome Home, 68-69 here..also living with AO problems..

Don, I read and try to follow your advice all the time on here, don't you dare let up or stop it..best wishes for a full and speedy recovery..Ron