Which ATF?

[subsince77]

I did some reading here, but didn't find what I was looking for. This is my first AT so bear with me.

 

This car is an 09 Outback and only has 18,000 miles on it, but it is my habit to change all the fluids when I get a new to me car. This week I am going to change the oil and start it on Synthetic.

 

Would it be silly to drain and fill the tranny at this point too? It is currently smooth as silk, and I'd like to keep it that way.

 

Do you guys use Subaru fluid or aftermarket? Which aftermarket? Again, the nearest dealer for me is 70 miles one way.

 

Is there a synthetic tranny fluid that I can/should use? It gets very cold here in the winter (-35) but not hot in the summer. We do run up and down mountains all the time though.

 

I have read many of you say that when you do a drain and fill on the AT, you do it three times. Would that apply to this car at this point in its life? Do you change the filter each of those three times or just drain and fill fluid?

 

Finally, I have always used Valvoline 75/90 synthetic in the rear diff. Is that a good choice for front and rear dif on this car?

 

Thanks

[Fairtax4me]

Check the owners manual for fluid specifications. As long as the fluids you buy meet those specifications you shouldn't have any problems.

[bheinen74]

ATF for that new of one is a Subaru only fluid. Not CHEAP. I would wait it out til at least 30k or more. Maybe spend that money on something else, like some better tires or something.

[GeneralDisorder]

For an '09 you MUST use the Subaru ATF. There is no aftermarket equivelent despite what the fast-lube joints will say about adding additives to normal ATF...... just don't do it. Get it from the dealer.

 

That said - you don't need to change it. 18k is nothing for ATF. Go to 30k at least.

 

GD

[davebugs]

What I did with the old GF's 06 Impreza.

 

I did the "redneck flush" drain and fill 3 times at around 50k when I did the first set of plugs IIR.

 

Then every second or third oil change I'd do one drain and fill. Partly because I didn't know how long I'd be taking care of the car and I though this would have the best results before the tranny service ended up being ignored or being done by a quick lube place.

[subsince77]

Thanks, that all helps. I have never liked autos, but had read so many good things about these on this site and another, that I thought I would give it a shot. One thing that seemed to be repeated often is that the Subaru transmissions are good, but be sure to maintain them. Having not done that before, I wanted to be sure I didn't get behind.

 

So far I have only driven it a couple hundred miles, but that was back over the passes from Denver to where we live in Western Colorado in mixed conditions from dry pavement to snow and ice. I was impressed with the sportshift. It works beautifully going both up and down. It shifts very smoothly and predictably. So far so good. We usually run our vehicles well up past 200K, so I want to keep it in good shape.

 

Sounds like I can wait a year or more to change the fluid so that's fine. I may just go ahead and get the synthetic in the engine and gear boxes.

 

Thanks