Right, worn bushings are not a reason to blame a fluid. But if there is another fluid that will help that issue, and one that won’t, something to consider.
Just like power steering system. You can run the power steering fluid and it works fine. Then as the system wears you can rebuild components to stop the leaks. Or, you can run dex3 from day one and the system will last the same miles, except when the amount of wear that would allow leaking will continue to operate without leaking and thereby effectively extend the useable life before having to repair. This of course yields lower cost of ownership. Especially for those who run rigs to the half million mile point, eliminating 1 entire repair cycle. This was a hot topic in a huge fleet of 6.5 gmt400 trucks I signed my name on for an oil & fuel company, who btw did oodles of testing for GM. The oil company obviously wanted a second line of oils out there and worked hard at pushing out atf from the ps system. Why when it is a reliable fluid that costs less and gives lower cost of ownership to the end user? Oh, because the oil company makes more profit, simple.
So, why on earth would GM want to switch to a different fluid from one that many, many people run in the trans for hundreds of thousands of miles? How robust- knowing the downtime of a trans swap was more than cost of a trans and we tended to out the trucks by 300,000 miles - we had, in the time I worked there, hundreds if not over a thousand trucks break the 300,000 mile mark and they NEVER ONCE got a trans filter and fluid change. Most of These trucks were drove HARD. Drivers that made better money by blasting over curbs at 20 mph. When we did oil changes, the driver sat in the seat and handed the keys out the window. Shoft change had the engine not shut off for 70% of the fleet. Remember I said most trucks replaced? Some are still there. They are down to 4 trucks still running their schedule and trying to record total cost of ownership for the 5,000,000 mile mark. They tried dex6, talking with the dispatcher is where I learned the issues with dex6 vs dex3.
Dude. I am telling you. Dex6 DOES NOT handle it the same. Maybe fault of a bushing. Maybe fault of a seal. Maybe fault of a truck driving over an ancient Indian burial ground. DOES NOT MATTER. DOES NOT HANDLE IT THE SAME.
I think, anyone who read this thread to this point gets the opinion of all involved. They can draw their own conclusions.
Here is the bat, the dead horse is only a red carpet of horse hair left, but by all means - do continue if you wish. Maybe your personal guarantee of paying the difference in cash will convince any fence sitters left.
