Technical 6 spped aisen auto box on multijet ATF change

davidthelodge · Mar 29, 2012

To be safe I want to change mine, what Auto Tran Fluid are you all putting in your auto box ? Fiat dont sell it. I can only see one top up point, a haxagonal counter sunk bolt on top of the auto box visible from looking in the endgine bay at the top of the auto box. Is this where you fill ? How do you know when its full as their is no dip stick ? I cant even see a drain plug, is there one?

I know its supposed to be filled for life, but mine has had drive shaft changes I want to be 100% of the correct fluid and the level, Thx all David

notorious · Mar 29, 2012

Drain screw somewhere on the side if i remember correctly and selenia GI V or something like that is the fluid (green color same as the PS fluid) GM also has it (look in my changing the PS fluid DIY post there is a picture and part number for both Fiat and GM).

DoIDon'tI · Mar 30, 2012

There are a couple of threads on here about changing the ATF, do a search or have a look at my posts. Fiat do sell the correct fluid, it is Tutela GI-VI and I've changed mine twice - no problem getting hold of it. The drain plug incorporates a level tube and is (amazingly enough) at the bottom of the gearbox - you can't miss it with the undertray removed.

davidthelodge · May 3, 2012

Just to let you other 1.9/2.4 m/jet auto owners know that the Fiat recommeded oil for the AWTF-80SC 6 speed auto, which is Tutela G1/V1 is the same as Vauxhalls p/number 93165147, but Vauxhalls is £9.48 per litre and Fiats is £13 per litre. Vauxhall call the box the AF40-6. In fact I am told the oil is actually Mobil ATF 3309, usually lableled as car manufactures own brand, ie Tutela/Volvo/Ford/Vauxhall/Land Rover/Saab etc who all use the same auto gearbox.

Mine has now been flushed and changed, it was filthy black. I was told by an auto box specialist that some other car manufactures who fit the same gearbox, with the same original fluid fill, recommed oil changes from 30,000 miles intervals upwards and the general opinion of auto box specialists its best to change it every 50,000 miles max. Some auto box specialists re-fill with Dexron 111 and say its a waste of money putting in the above AW-1 recommended fluids as its basically Dexron 111 and almost the same, I am still not 100% convienced so I went for the safe but expensive option. Changing procedure seems very complecated, the auto box garage who did mine told me they remove the battery from the car with the engine running to be able to top up and check the level with the engine running, i.e. oil pump running/circulating the fluid - not sure I believe that ! - David

halilson · May 10, 2012

Just to throw a curve ball into the mix, it took 4 dealers (3 Vauxhall and 1 Fiat) before I finally found some Transmission oil...and then it was red!!

I tried Fiat 1st, because I work next door to a dealer, but they were a joke. I won't bore you with the details but after waiting hours for them to tell me that they don't stock the ENGINE oil that I was after and they would have to order it, the service manager checked the computer and then handed me their Matrix oil - for manual gearboxes. He was convinced that mine was a manual as the 2.4 didn't come with the auto...

I politely left and rang the local Vauxhall dealer who told me that he had shelves full of the stuff. On arrival it was the red oil and the wrong part no for the Aisin box. I rang another one who didn't stock it but would order it for me. He confirmed the part no and colour but said it would take a couple of days. I left the order with him.

This morning I happened to be passing the main dealer in Exeter, so I popped in. They had plenty of the red stuff in stock, but I pointed out that it should be green, so he returned with the green oil. I checked the part no's and the green was the wrong part no but could be used as steering fluid too (as has been mentioned elsewhere) but the red oil was the right part no. The service guy was extremely helpful (and patient) and thoroughly researched all the vehicles that use the Aisin AF40-6 box and confirmed that the red oil was the correct one. His only explanation is that the new stock may have changed colour.

How are we supposed to use the right parts and fluids when even Fiat don't have a clue?

Anyway I purchased the Red oil, part no: 93165147 as it is listed as the correct one for our boxes, but I'm still not convinced that I've got the right one.

davidthelodge · May 10, 2012

You have the right Vauxhall one, it is red. Mine took just under 4 litres.
I almost bought the car you have B4 u in November, ex that dealer in Canvy island, but he put the price up from £2995 to £3300 after he changed the cam belt and I told him I would'nt pay more than the original price. Eventually he dropped it again to £2995, but I had bought a 1.9 auto by then. Dont worry too much about the oil, many of the good auto box specialists just put Dexron 111 in. I spent hours on the net trying to figure out what this oil was as my local dealers could not get the Fiat one and I dont like paying £13 per litre. Best to drain, then refill run for 20 miles and drain and re-fill again as u cant get the 3-4 litres out of the torque converter. Did u find a cure your tiptronic side of your gearbox ?

dave · May 10, 2012

shop4parts do Tutela GI-VI for £10.03 +vat - 10% ff donated member discount, free to collect from stanford ai show probably if you ask them to take it.

they list it for the 6 speed auto but in a bravo, i cant find a diesel bravo with our box fitted, is it used in a petrol bravo?

halilson · May 10, 2012

That's a relief! Thanks for the tip. The guy at the Vauxhall dealers knocked 20% off so I paid £30 for the 4 litres :O)

I phoned a local gearbox specialist who are confident that they can fix the box, but at £60 per hour, I'm going to pop in 1st and find out how much to assess the fault. The auto side works brilliantly so I'm not in any hurry to throw money at it. I am very surprised that there isn't more info on the Aisin auto, seeing as it's fitted to so many cars. Once I have sorted my DPF out I can focus on the gearbox.

I think that the car was a bargain at £3k but it was only within my budget because he took my old car in px. Plus I live 350 miles away so it was a simple case of drive my car to Essex and drive the Croma back. Otherwise I would probably never have bought it.

davidthelodge · May 10, 2012

£30 for 4 litres was cheap, I paid £9.48 p/litre, they dont even sell 5 litre containers. My mpg on the 1.9 auto is very vaiable, town work as low as 32/33mpg, but on a long motorway run @ 75-85 mph I got 48.3mpg. Bit off topic but whats your 2.4 like on fuel ? My Stilo JTD wagon has averaged 47.9 mpg over the last 2500 miles and will do 55 mpg on a motorway run and never returns less than 42 mpg. No nice autobox though !

Info on the net is mainly linked to Saab's & Volvo's with this autobox in the U.S.A.

dave · May 10, 2012

mine seems to be using more fuel lately what could cause that on a diesel? i changed air filter any thing else?

davidthelodge · May 10, 2012

heavy right foot, air con being on, air temperature being lower than in March, brakes binding, wheel alignment being out maybe after pot holes/speed humps (just had mine done, front & rear), poor supermarket diesel. Thats about all I can think of, but my Croma is supposed to be my economical car as I also have a 4.7 V8 Jeep. TBH I am delighted with the MPG on a run, but not around town, its because its an auto, so I guess I am 6 mpg down according to the offical average figure ! Once its on the motorway in 6th I guess its as economical as the manual

halilson · May 10, 2012

Yeah it was £7.90 + vat but for some reason he gave me the discount! Not complaining and definitely go there again.

On a recent trip to London and round Kent, so mainly motorway but some town driving, I got 42 mpg. On the way back from Essex at 70 - 80 I returned 44mpg. I went to Silverstone at a more brisk pace (80 - 100) and it dropped to 38. My weekly routine is a bit of dual carriageway and some city driving and I average 37 - 38 mpg, which I think is very impressive for an auto with the power available. I'll let you know what the difference is after the remap.

Doofer · May 11, 2012

I've just done a 1400-mile driving holiday to Scotland and back, in my freshly serviced 1.9D 6-speed manual. After the journey up, I got the average up to 54mpg. After some blasting around towns/hills and the journey home we ended up at 51mpg.

I did cruise at just under 60mph to get this though - it makes a huge difference to mpg and is well worth a try as an experiment. It's also much quieter and more relaxing. Plus it doesn't actually make much difference to journey time - it just feels much slower.

halilson · May 11, 2012

I did the gearbox oil change this morning and it definitely needed it! The oil was black and, despite nothing wrong before, the gear changes are even smoother now. It took exactly 3.3 litres to refill it. I will do it again in November when the car gets it's annual service. At least I will only need to buy 3 litres this time as I still have 0.7 left :O)

dave · May 11, 2012

been reading this thread preparing myself for a fluid change, but today i managed to get in contact with the guy who used to own my croma, he told me it had a new gearbox not long before he sold it, so i reckon i have at least another 40k miles before i have to worry about changing my fluid now.

davidthelodge · May 12, 2012

Hi Halilson, how did you get the level correct/know how much to put in ? Engine running or not, gearbox oil level set when cold ? I did'nt do mine myself so am curious ! I was told my level was set with the battery off and the engine running. i.e over filled with the engine running and they let the rest drip out from over the top of the internal level tube. Very odd - Thx

dave · May 12, 2012

haynes vectra manual says.
1. fill by fill hole until fluid comes out of checking hole.
2. put plug back in check hole add half a litre more.
3. start engine and move gear stick between p and d stopping for 2 seconds at each position for 2 seconds.
4. with engine still running remove level check plug less excess run out until its just drip
comes out. if no fluid comes out repeat 1 and 2

halilson · May 12, 2012

Firstly, I measured the amount that came out, just to satisfy myself that I was replacing the correct amount. Obviously this only works if the gearbox is at the right level in the first place!

Then I replaced the tube/outer drain bolt and slowly filled the gearbox until it started to drip out the drain hole (there is no need to remove the battery for this, I just used a length of pipe), this took two litres. I then started the car and shifted up and down the box and kept topping up, until it started to drip out the drain hole again (much easier with two people).

I had 0.7 litres left which means It took 3.3, just as described elsewhere. Because the oil is so expensive, I think it's better to do it this way, rather than just blindly filling up and draining off the excess.

dave · Nov 2, 2012

http://www.shop4parts.co.uk/?name=store&op=Details&ProdID=5166&sku=12663

Baldzhiev · Aug 7, 2013

Hi all! This is my first post in here, and I want to say many thanks to everyone here about all the Threads and the Solutions given to them about the minor problems that Fiat Cromas have.

I am writing to say that I have changed the gearbox oil of my Croma 06, 2.4 multijet, 6 speed automatic transmision and that I am very, very happy about the result. The shifts are smoother, the overall reaction and performance of the car and the gearbox are different, and everything is different in the most good sense of the things! I have made the change it in the authorized service of AutoItalia here in Bulgaria and that the oil is red, the price was near 29 euro 1 litter, and the whole
"manipulation" was less that 150 euro with the work and etc. So if anyone is thinking of changing oil, it will probably be a good thing to do. Here is one big BUT though. Almost everyone warn me that there is a 50/50 chance the transmision to become worse and then a repair is needed and the price of the repair here in Bulgaria starts from 300-400 euro as minimum price. But I have taken the risk and I am happy that I did. I have taken pictures ot the Oil, my car had taken almost 3 litres ( minus 200ml ), the important thing that they haven't sucked all the oil from the box, so there were maybe 1/3 old oil, I know that changing all the oil is sometimes bad, especially about transmissions, the color of the oil is red as I said, and here are the pictures of the box that I have taken :