Dexron III - Replacement for AWD Transfer Case

[swathdiver]

Ah ok yes you are correct! I have full time AWD which per my build sheet is the BW4482 transfer case. I am however a little behind on transfer case maintenance… Yeah I know bad truck owner. The last time I had it checked out was in March of 2019 before a road trip to mammoth mountain for a training camp…. Ooops. Lol. It was drained and filled just before that road trip with fresh fluid. It has seen a lot of miles since then so I’m probably WAY overdue for a transfer case service. So I will pull the maintenance records as the shop did it for me because I did not have time to do it on my own at home. I will see if the service write up mentions what fluid they put in it, I will also check to see what my owners manual recommends for fluid in the transfer case. I should probably try and get my transfer case serviced in the next few days. Will post back shortly.

Thanks Chase. The manual mentions Dexron III but that is no longer available and there may be a notice not to use Dexron VI in that particular case. Your records may hold the answer as to what is the latest fluid to use.

 

[Fless]

Thanks Chase. The manual mentions Dexron III but that is no longer available and there may be a notice not to use Dexron VI in that particular case. Your records may hold the answer as to what is the latest fluid to use.

You can still get Dexron III; it's just GM's licensing that expired.

 

[swathdiver]

You can still get Dexron III; it's just GM's licensing that expired.

Thank you for the correction!

 

[adventurenali92]

Thanks Chase. The manual mentions Dexron III but that is no longer available and there may be a notice not to use Dexron VI in that particular case. Your records may hold the answer as to what is the latest fluid to use.

So I went back through my maintenance records on my truck. I was correct in that the last time the transfer case was looked over the shop just topped off the fluid level. He didn’t put it in the work order because he just took care of it. So I have no idea what fluid was put in it. The Carquest up here says they carry dex III, so that may be what I pick up. Just not sure how hard is it to drain the fluid out of my transfer case and then refill it.

 

[bsamole]

This is what I use in my 1999 Tahoe

 

[Z15]

This information applies to 2007 and prior GM passenger cars and trucks.

Dexron III is being phased out as a product name. It is being renamed Manual Transmission Fluid and carries p/n 88861800 U.S. (88861801 Canada).

If fluid p/n 88861800 U.S. (88861801 Canada) is not yet available when servicing a manual transmission or transfer case, Dexron III can be used in its place.

The following diagnosis might be helpful if the vehicle exhibits the symptom(s) described in this PI.

Condition/Concern:
Unavailability of manual transmission fluid part number 88861800 U.S. (88861801 Canada).

Recommendation/Instructions:
If fluid part number 88861800 U.S. (88861801 Canada) is unavailable when servicing a manual transmission or transfer case, Dexron III can be used in it's place. DO NOT use Dexron VI in place of the manual transmission fluid in any manual transmissions or transfer cases as a failure may result.

Please follow this diagnostic or repair process thoroughly and complete each step. If the condition exhibited is resolved without completing every step, the remaining steps do not need to be performed.

 

[JimC01]

The manual for my 06 Denali XL calls for 1.5 qts of Dexron III to be used in the transfer case. This vehicle is AWD. Since Dexron III isn't available anymore, what fluid type should I use? I read that at one point, GM recommended Dexron VI because it was supposed to be backwards compatible, but soon after they put out a warning that it wasn't good for transfer cases.

Any recommendations?

genuine GM Fluid 88861800 Manual Transmission and Transfer case fluid, this is what I use.

 

[jimweis]

The manual for my 06 Denali XL calls for 1.5 qts of Dexron III to be used in the transfer case. This vehicle is AWD. Since Dexron III isn't available anymore, what fluid type should I use? I read that at one point, GM recommended Dexron VI because it was supposed to be backwards compatible, but soon after they put out a warning that it wasn't good for transfer cases.

Any recommendations?

Dexron III/Mercon is still available I just changed mine the 4th time at 200K ​

 

[DaDenaliDude]

I have an 07 Denali with AWD and my OM says to use the manual transmission fluid. Which is aka Dex 3. But I believe you can find the exact one by looking up the part number ending in 1800.

 

[nonickatall]

In units which use Dexron III, you can use Dexron Vl. In Unis which use Dexron VI you can't use Dexron III. Dexron VI is like Dexron III with better temperature stability and lubrication reserve....