Transfer case fluid changed. Now im worried.

[HawkTown28]

So I went to a Chevy dealer with the intent to just buy Autotrak 2 transfer case fluid and then take my TB to my usual place i get some work done at and have them replace it. The dealer says that if I have them do it they don't just drain and fill the case, they flush it and then fill it with new fluid. Sounded like a good idea because the flush would get rid off more junk in the case, so I had them do it. I realize at the end of the job that the receipt shows BG fluids and does not say AC Delco Autotrak2. So I ask a manager and he talks to the guy who did the job and tells me that they flushed it and then put in BG transfer case fluid, but if I wanted they could drain it and put in AC Delco autotrak 2 for me, so I had them do it. He claimed that the BG stuff is identical and they use it all the time, but I wanted The real GM stuff. My question is was it bad to flush it and has anyone heard of or used this BG stuff before.

[The Roadie]

Lying cheating dealer.... Just to save a buck and ignore the factory recommendation. Was it at least cheap?

[HawkTown28]

Yeah it was pretty cheap considering I had a dealer do it. Charged me 70 bucks including the fluid. I guess you just can't trust anyone anymore. I did not mind paying to have this done, and had a dealer do it because I figured they had done this many times, but I proved that they were there to just make money. I'm just happy I got the correct fluid in the end. My main concern though is if the flushing of the T Case could have any negative effects. From what I have read it won't hurt anything and I figured it was probably another way the dealer got more money out of me, but to me it seemed like it would help clean out all old dirty fluid.

[Cable810]

I'd be pissed. You'd figure they would know what fluid to use.

[HawkTown28]

I assume they knew what fluid to use, but when they seen me, a teenager, they probably figured they would try and up charge me and use a different fluid. Funny thing is they tried charging me 20 bucks a quart for the off brand fluid, then after I made them drain it and put in auto trak 2, it was 10 bucks a quart. Maybe the next time they see a young kid come in alone they won't assume they don't know what they are talking about. I will give the manager credit for being honest about them using a different fluid.... after I had asked about 4 other people who all had their heads you know where.

[The Roadie]

It's not funny. It's crooked. Report it to GM HQ and Yelp.

[HawkTown28]

Believe me I was not happy and will not be bringing any of my vehicles there again. I still am slightly concerned about them flushing the T Case with chemicals. I want to know if this could cause any adverse effects.

[The Roadie]

I was going to ask earlier....WHAT did they use for the flush? What residue it leaves behind is entirely a mystery unless they tell you what it was.

The ABSOLUTE KILLER FACT is that GM doesn't mention or recommend any sort of flushing process for the transfer case. In nine years on three forums and reading thousands of posts about transfer cases I never heard of anyone asking about a flush. Not once.

This is a rogue dealer, making shit up to rip off unsuspecting owners. It ain't right.

The important things you find out when you change your own fluid are the a) quantity and b) quality of the fluid that runs out. If they didn't measure and examine what they caught, then you don't have any idea if you had a slow leak or if your clutch plates have started to deteriorate. That's another reason to not outsource work like this. They induced you to allow them to do the work, and then you get LESS value than if you had done it yourself. Sigh....

[fishsticks]

Believe me I was not happy and will not be bringing any of my vehicles there again. I still am slightly concerned about them flushing the T Case with chemicals. I want to know if this could cause any adverse effects.

They are likely using BG ATF or Synchro Shift II (http://kansasbg.com/Complete_Set_of_Spe ... 2_SPEC.pdf). Neither are really meant to be run in our T-Cases. But neither should have anything in them that will actively harm things just by being in there.

AutoTrak II is basically synthetic ATF with a dye added. Royal Purple offers a replacement called SynchroMax, which they also indicate for manual gearboxes that take ATF. http://royalpurpleconsumer.com/wp-conte ... _Chart.pdf

[v7guy]

we're pretty adamant about making sure people use the right fluid here. I can't think of an instance off the top of my head where someone has put anything else in there. Considering it was just put in there and then drained I would guess that the possibility of damage is pretty minimal, with that said, the transfer case does use clutches so it's possible it soaked up a little bit of the BG. It's hard to say if it'll have any negative consequences and who knows what they were pumping in there to " flush" it.

Go out and use the 4WD, if it acts normal call it good and forget about it. If it gives you problems you can go back and try to get something done about it. But you're probably not going to make any headway. In addition you have to consider that even if they agreed to do the work do you want people that can't even correctly change the fluid replacing parts of your truck?

As Roadie said, send an email or call to GM about it and make a review on yelp. Hopefully it helps out the people that take their vehicles there in the future.

[fishsticks]

MSDS for AutoTrak II... it's just pretty colored ATF (probably with some extra friction modifier), not unicorn tears.

(Credit to BITOG - http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ub ... er=2607351)

CHEMISTRI 10/29/02
DISPLAY MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET 16:47:56
SCREEN QA06__ KEY 0000862844,0000000018______________________
FID#: 00343326 VER-DT: 05/07/99

------------------------------------------------------------------------
SECTION 01: CHEMICAL PRODUCT & COMPANY ID
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRODUCT PRIMARY NAME: RDL 3239B
CHAT SYNONYMS: AUTO-TRAK II
> RDL 3239B
> 12378508
> 773494
> 88900402
> 9986186

SAFE USE CATEGORY AND DESCRIPTION: 04 -METAL WORKING FLUIDS
AND LUBRICANTS

LAST UPDATED DATE: 1999-05-07
MANUFACTURER'S ID (MID): 000553637
MANUFACTURER'S NAME: PETRO-CANADA
MANUFACTURER'S EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBER/TEXT: CA 403-296-3000
MANUFACTURER'S MAILING ADDRESS:
P.O. BOX 2844
CALGARY AB T2P3E3
CA

PRODUCT USE: AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FLUID DESIGNED PRIMARILY
FOR SATURN VEHICLES BUT SUITABLE ALSO FOR OTHER VEHICLE MAKES
AND AS A HYDRAULIC
AND POWER STEERING FLUID FOR MOBILE EQUIPMENT.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SECTION 02: COMPOSITION & INGREDIENT INFO
------------------------------------------------------------------------

CAS# FORMULATION W/V CHEMICAL NAME
000100414 T 0.0000/ 0.0000% W BENZENE, ETHYL-
001330207 T 0.0000/ 0.0000% W XYLENE
007446095 T 0.0000/ 0.0000% W SULFUR DIOXIDE
064741884 = 1.8600/ 0.0000% W MINERAL OIL, PETROLEUM DISTILLATES
* , SOLVENT-REFINED (severe) HEAVY P
* ARAFFINIC
064741975 < 0.0000/ 1.0000% W MINERAL OIL, PETROLEUM DISTILLATES
* , SOLVENT-REFINED (severe) LIGHT N
* APHTHENIC
064742650 = 1.8600/ 0.0000% W MINERAL OIL, PETROLEUM DISTILLATES
* , SOLVENT-DEWAXED HEAVY PARAFFINIC
* (severe solvent-refining and/or h
* ydrotreatment)
068171506 = 4.3800/ 0.0000% W 2-Propenoic acid, 2-methyl-, dodec
* yl ester, polymer with methyl 2-me
* thyl-2-propenoate and tetradecyl 2
* -methyl-2-propenoate
072623848 = 12.6200/ 0.0000% W Lubricating oils, petroleum, C15-3
* 0, hydrotreated neutral oil-based,
* contg. solvent deasphalted residu
* al oil
072623860 = 74.3600/ 0.0000% W Lubricating oils, petroleum, C15-3
* 0, hydrotreated neutral oil-based
074499368 T 0.0000/ 0.0000% W 9,10-Anthracenedione, 1,4-diamino-
* , N,N'-mixed 2-ethylhexyland Me an
* d pentyl derivs.
989915788 = 5.0200/ 0.0000% W MINERAL OIL
989922365 < 0.0000/ 1.0000% W ACRYLIC COPOLYMER
989981804 < 0.0000/ 1.0000% W HETEROCYCLIC ETHER

SECTION 2 - OTHER INFORMATION: THIS PRODUCT CONTAINS THE
FOLLOWING ADDITIVE PACKAGES: ACRYLOID 4115, ACRYLOID 1265,
HITEC 437, LUBTIZOL 730, AND BLUE DYE #1.

THRESHOLD LIMIT VALUE: 8-HOUR TLV-TWA OF 5 MG/M3 RECOMMENDED
BY MANUFACTURER BASED ON ACGIH TLV FOR OIL MISTS. CONSULT
LOCAL AUTHORITIES FOR ACCEPTABLE EXPOSURE LIMITS.

CERCLA (SUPERFUND) REPORTABLE QUANTITY (LBS): NONE

AUTO-IGNITION TEMPS: = 202.00C/ 395.00F
FLASH POINT TEMPS: = 182.00C/ 359.60F
FLASH POINT METHOD: COC
FLASH POINT METHOD TEXT: OPEN CUP; CLEVELAND OPEN CUP TESTER, ASTM D9.2.

[fishsticks]

TLDR: 90% probability they flushed it with ATF (it's waaaay cheaper than gear oil). You likely have nothing to worry about. Good catch on cornering them on what they put in your truck though.

[The Roadie]

I thought I read once in a GM publication that the specialness of AT2 was in the additives meant to coddle the clutch plates especially when they slip in A4WD mode. Of course, none of my friends would use A4WD mode expect sparingly and in very specific driving conditions, so it's not definitive that our use of the transfer case would need the additives.

[fishsticks]

I thought I read once in a GM publication that the specialness of AT2 was in the additives meant to coddle the clutch plates especially when they slip in A4WD mode. Of course, none of my friends would use A4WD mode expect sparingly and in very specific driving conditions, so it's not definitive that our use of the transfer case would need the additives.

Likely that's what the "Lubitzol 730" additive is. Friction modifier and extra shear strength for sudden engagement.

[HawkTown28]

I'm pretty sure they flushed it with a bg fluid. I had gone to another chevy dealer first and they said that they would be flushing the case too. I didn't get it done there because they could not do it till thursday and I'm leaving for up north thursday evening. I'm really just pissed about the whole thing because I was gonna buy the fluid and then take it to just have it drained and filled. But my dad said to do it at the dealer because he thought it would be good to flush it. I did engage the 4x4 immediately after I left and it engaged no problem, but I know that does not prove much. I'm sure it will be fine and I am just over obssesing about it, which I typically do when I do work on my vehicles. As for the clutches absorbing the bg fluid there should not be a problem because the fluid is supposed to be a direct replacement for autotrak2, but I could be wrong.

I kind of thought the same thing roadie. 99.9 percent of the time I will either be in 2wd or 4wd, not A4wd, so like you stated there is not gonna be any slippage in the clutches since they will be engaged or not engaged. And even if I were to use A4wd I think ill be fine since I do have the correct fluid in there.

[fishsticks]

I'm pretty sure they flushed it with a bg fluid.

BG is simply a manufacturer, like Royal Purple or AMSoil or Mobil. They make several dozen different fluids for various applications, including an ATF.

[navigator]

what is BG short for?

[HARDTRAILZ]

I wonder if they even flushed it or just drained and filled. Would not surprise me if they did not bother.

[The Roadie]

BG looks like they have scrubbed all references to the name's real origin from their website. Now it's a mystery that's going to bother me for a while. Thx.

[navigator]

LOL, I thought maybe it was some abbreviation like RP for Royal Purple etc.