Transmission fluid for DB9
 

I have a 2005 AM DB9 and thinking about changing the transmission fluid. I noticed there is not a single thread on this board about changing the transmission fluid in our auto boxes so thought this would be a good time to get some dialog going. I know AM claims this is a fill for life but as a guy who has worked on his own cars for many years that usually has bad consequences.

Has anyone used Pentosin ATF1 or ZF Lifeguard 6 in our transmissions? We have ZF 6HP so I would think any of those would work? Thoughts?

The ZF Lifeguard fluid 6 is the recommanded oil for the TT box,best to change the filter at the same time, you can use Land Rover ref LR007474.
You will need to unbolt the rh exhaust pipe to refill the box.

Dan are you not still selling the vehicle. email at velocitybts@yahoo.com please. I am in the market, my car is likely sold this week. thanks

The car still for sale but I'm not trying too hard. If it sells, great, if not I'll keep enjoying it. To be honest, I have had so many tire kickers, low ballers, and dealers call me on the car I just don't take anyone serious anymore...

Feel free to PM me and i'll give you the details on the car. :)

Dan

Received the below email from Pentosin regarding the ATF fluid in our cars. Looks like ZF Lifeguard 6 or the AM fluid is the only safe bet.

Just thought I would update this thread, because I'm sure as these cars age this will be brought up again.

Dan



"Hi Daniel,

We can recommend our Pentosin ATF1 fluid for your car; but for racing, we suggest that you stay with the original fluid for the car, which is the Shell fluid.

Thanks!


Bob Trevor
Manager, Sales Operations
CRP Industries, Inc.
35 Commerce Drive
Cranbury, NJ 08512"

I did lot of reading on this.
For automatic DB9, alternative to transmission fluid is Castro transmax import multivehicle can be found on amazon 3 cans of 1 gallon each.
On Castrol website if you look up fluid shell M-1375.4 which we have in DB9 from factoryor in our servicemanual , Castrol transmax is compatible/replacement substitute for it. Other choice is redline D6ATF


this is the reply from redline


" thank you for contacting redline oil, both ZF 6 speed automatic transmission would have called for the lifeguard 6 fluid/shell M-1375.4 fluid and the D6 ATF would be the recommended replacement"
Now this was in response to BMW 750li ATF fluid requirement but as I know from looking at pan transmission is almost same with minor modification, pan is exactly same, original fluid is also same so I think we can use same replacement fluids too


I recently did my BMW 750li, transmission fluid flush used total 6 gallon fluid to serial dilute and flush fluid, car is 2006 had 62k mile on it. there was gunk/metal on magnet in the bottom of the pan, fluid looked almost black. BMW also claims that its filled for "LIFETIME" but from my reading on BMW forums that means 100k miles.
I also replaced the pan which has built in filters.


When I got under my 2009 Aston martin DB9, transmission pan looked similar bit not wanting to take chance. I ordered pan from HWS AM form UK, transmission pan which arrived is exactly same as one I removed from my BMW including part numbers all symbols etc. It was like 60-80 dollars more for exact same part. For BMW I had ordered pan from fcpeuro.com they even matched lowest price on amazon.


If you order the pan don't order o ring or gasket separately its already included in the pan.


If someone wants I can post pictures of new AM pan from has and old BMW pan to prove. So save some money and extend life of your transmission.


What you don't want is toke cr to someone who used machine to flush all transmission fluid out and then fills it again with fresh one. In that way pressure can push shave metal particles back inside transmission moving parts and it can cause more damage.


The way I did it was (on BMW) drain fluid, about 4-5 qt comes out, fill it, start the can, cycle gears to drive, neutral, reverse and park few times, drain fluid again, rapt till fluid coming out is clear red. It took about 6 gallons.


There is very nice video on transmission fluid change on www.diye65e66.com, except location of drain and fill pled or how to reach them everything else should be the same.
http://www.diye65e66.com/videos/


After seeing my BMW's transmission fluid condition at 60k I am convinced that its worth to change trannyfluid at least every 60k miles.

Yea, I heard you can buy the pans from other makes that will fit our cars to save some money. Thanks for confirming!

The Pentosin ATF1 supposedly meets Shell M1375.4 spec, but their own engineers are not recommending it for the DB9, which tells me its probably on the very low end of the spec or isn't Shell certified. Since a transmission for this car is north of 20k spending an extra $100 for the correct ZF Lifeguard 6 fluid is the only option for peace of mind. I don't know how true this is but I was told there is no fluid that is certified to meet M1375.4 spec other than ZF's Lifeguard 6. I know some manufactures claim to meet this spec but it actually isn't certified by Shell.

Have you located lifeguard fluid. I don't think we can find it at least in USA. Faintly remember as being sold in 20gallon barrels or something like that.

Yea, I don't see a problem with getting it in the states. I did a google search and had quite a few vendors pop up.

Yes. I had tried looking for shell m 1375.4
I also now found amazon, eBay, thectsc.com selling those.

If you do a google search for ZF Lifeguard 6 you should get lots of hits on google. My understanding is, the Lifeguard 6 is the only Shell certified m1375.4 fluid. I don't think Shell makes a transmission fluid that we can buy for our cars in the states.

Transmission Fluid
 

Thanks for all the replies. When I first start car I hear metallic noise coming from tranny area. Goes away after 1/2 mile. Was going to put in shop tomorrow for front pads and figure have that checked and have proper fluid with me. Only 30k so if anything probably a little low. Thanks Frank

Frank out of curiosity what year is your car? Is there any slipping going on (sigh of low fluid)?

06 db9 Titanium Silver

No Slipping, just metallic ringing area of trans. goes away 1/4 mile or less. Thanks for asking, Frank