I'm back from Egypt and have been very busy wrapping up reports and
meeting deadlines. Also the camel I brought back (hidden in my big
three suiter case) has turned out to require more attention than I
expected. The two native girls (disguised as my secretarys) have
not been any bother at all and in fact I may send back the camel and
just keep the young ladies who have cleaned up my digs nicely and
also now have pillows strewn all over the floors.
Re. the message from Barb McFarland on the subject of auto trans. oil
, I offer the following remarks.
1. The difference between type A (later called Dexron) and type F (
later called Mercon) is related to the friction modifiers in the oil
which has an affect upon the smoothness of shift engagements. Either
type oil would safely lubricate ANY trans. designed to operate with
either type A or F oil.
There are other ATF oils available for industrial transmissions and
hydraulic units but we need not be concerned about them here.
2. Back in 1964 when Alpine offered the Borg Warner Type 35 gearbox
on the series IV, the BW company which built those gearboxes left it
up to the company buying the gearbox to specify the desired oil to be
used.
When I visited the Rootes offices in NYC and spoke to my friend Ken
Langridge (US National Service Manager for Rootes Motors) he said
that the parent office in England desired that we publish
"officially" that the oil should be Type A Suffix A .
Originally when auto trans fluid was made available for the first US
auto trans,(oldsmobile 1938), this oil was called Type-A. After WW-
2 there were certain chemical changes made to improve oil perf. and
they added the term "-Suffix A".
Therefore, in compliance with Rootes own desires, the Chek Chart Corp.
(Chicago) as well as other automotive data publishers (Chiltens,
Motor Books, Automotive news etc. etc.)all were given the same Rootes
instructions and all such magazines, books, charts and data tables
were made consistent in the use of the Type A- Suffix A product in
1964 -66 editions.
4. The original Type A Suffix A, progressed to a Dexron, then Dexron
one ,two and finally three. The Ford type F progressed to the current
Mercon name.
5. Jaguar, Volvo and MG also purchased versions of the BW type 35
gearbox but during the 1964-66 period they had their own specified
clutch pack and band lining materials and these mfr's specified the
use of Type F fluid (Ford) which worked well for them. I dragged out
1964 lubrication charts which cover EVERY imported car being sold in
the USA at that time and verified this information is correct.
6. I called some friends at Texaco and discussed this subject in
depth and learned that currently the major oil companies are selling
a combination fluid marked " Mercon- Dexron III" which is actually a
single fluid which will perform properly in either an old Ford or GM
or BW gearbox very satisfactorilly. Therefore........for the Alpine
IV, Texaco advises this oil to be used.
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The reference to an earlier mention of this subject on this BB was
actually correct but the above data which explains matters and adds
more understanding of the chronological development, should clear the
matter properly and assure owners of just what is correct to use.
-----------------------------------------
I will be leaving the Prodigy online service on Nov. 25th and will be
on AOL. This prodigy system is simply too far behind the norm as
far as internet access and they have all sorts of little problems
which I assume AOL will avoid. If not, I will move again at some
future time.
Unless I decide to change it, my new address after 11/25 will be "
Dicktrenk(at)aol.com " My kids all say I should not use my actual
name for security reasons??????? If anyone cares to advise me on this
I will be happy to get your comments. Since I am not hiding from
anyone (ex wives, angry children, summons servers, bill collectors
etc.) I saw no reason not to use that name in the address.
Dick T.
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