Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Transaxle ATF+4

Originally posted by fastcougar:

---

Well, my personal take on this everlasting headache of a topic is this:

Ford is a company out to make money. I feel that this "spec" is more an accounting decision than an engineering one. By specing a fluid that only they make, they can VERY easily deny warranty claims, thus boosting profits as warranty claims eat into profits and compound losses. Now, as if that's not enough, they have effectivly forced you to buy the "honey" at $20/quart (cost them at most $4-$5) or run the risk of a warranty denial.

Remember, an engineer calls for a stud, an accountant calls for a bolt. Tally up the number of bolts vs. studs in our drivelines and you can see who is winning the engineer vs. accountant battle. Bottom line is this ... the bottom line is what's most important for Ford and specing "honey" is good for the bottom line.

---

I'm sorry but that's the funniest thing I've ever read on the lube subject. Do you have any idea of what it cost ford to develop the honey? They had ATX fluid spec'd. It's not the greatest but it worked fine. Some where along the line they discovered it was a sub par lubricant for the transmission so they had Castrol in Germany develop a better fluid. I'm sure that cost Ford quite a bit. Remember the honey came as factory fill on later transmissions and a TSB was put out to put it in early trans. with shifting issues. I don't think a few gallons of oil a year in the USA(almost all auto's!) is going to put up the Ford share prices that much!