I just recently got a '57 Buick Special with a 364and ,I ***ume a Dynaflow transmission... I remember as a youngster haveing to use type A in GM and F in Ford's ******s.... Is DexronII, what I am looking at here for use in the 57 Buick nowadays? ALSO how TOUGH/RELAIABLE are-were these Dynaflow transmissions really????
Type A is what became Dexron, and all it's newer derivatives such as Dexron II, Dexron III/Mercon, etc. Type F is limited to use on older Fords and maybe some others. All the newer auto trans use the Dexron/Mercon stuff. As far as reliability/toughness of a dynaslow? As long as you are not hot rodding they should be OK, but any high performance and they seem to have problems. They are not a high performance trans.
I used to have a '58 with a Flight-Pitch Dynaflow. Back then Buick actually had their own Dynaflow Fluid. I asked a guy that used to deal in vintage Buicks for a living about it and he told me that Dynaflow oil was actually a 20 weight oil as opposed to the 5 or 10 for F and A fluids. He contacted a manufacturer and asked him about the stuff and was told that its the same as hydraulic 20 weight used in tractors and stuff. He even told me that some of the parts inside the Dynaflow were ***embled in fluid at the factory and sealed. When he opened those parts in an old ****** he could see that the oil was not tinted pink like ****** fluid, but clear yellowish like hydraulic fluid. I never had the guts to fill my ****** with that, but then when it started leaking all over the place I sold the car anyway. Hopefully somebody else can verify what I was told.
Type F has a friction modifier needed by the clutch material in the older Ford transmissions. Generally, you can use type F in a GM trans BUT you'l have hard shifting....NEVER use Dexron or it's derivitives in a Type F trans...they will slip and burn out....I know...it happened to me TWICE when a shop that should have known better put in the wrong oil...