2.0 JLR Automatic Transmission Oil

[imdavid7997]

Hello everyone, I have few questions to ask everyone here because i'm a bit confused about the transmission oil of my 2.0L 2021 JLR with 8 Speed Automatic Transmission.

1. ATF+4 vs Mopar 8&9 Speed vs ZF Lifeguard 8 ? Which one is the correct ?
2. Base on the manual, it should be the Mopar 8&9 Speed. However, can I use the ZF Lifeguard 8 instead ?
3. Base on the manual, it should be the Mopar 8&9 Speed. However, when I drain the oil to see it's quality, I see the color is red (I assume it's the ATF+4), why is it ? My car was bought at the Jeep dealer and never do the transmission oil change service. It's a brand new car (EU Specs).
4. For next trans oil change, do I need to flush or drain ? I worry that drain will not pull out all the old red oil out. I think Mopar 8&9 Speed and ZF Lifeguard 8 are all in dark green color.

Thank you beforehand for your input everyone!

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[Odyssey USA]

ATF+4 is for the transfer case. I used the 8&9 speed fluid for the transmission. You can get a 6 qt pack on Amazon for about $90.

 

[Speed331]

The ATF+4 os for the trasfer case. The ZF Lifeguard 8 is for the actual transmission.
Changing the Tcase fluid is a straight forward affair and should be done on a regular schedule.
The ZF8 transmission is a horse of a different color, however. It's touted as a 'lifetime, no service' transmission, but I'd say you should change the fluid somewhere between 80 and 100k miles.
To do so, you have to drop the pan - there's no drain plug btw. You'll want to replace the filter and the pan gasket (some videos say you don't, but why chance it?). The procedure for filling is somewhat involved as well. It requires multiple shift sequences @ temp, followed by repeated fillings, to get it just right.
Not an impossible job, by any means. Just tedious ond time consuming.
I'm @ 75k on mine right now, so I have this to do in the fall for sure.
I've thought about replacing the pan with one that has a drain plug, but as you still have to drop it to change the filter, it only offers a slight uograde in convienience.

 

[Old Dogger]

The ATF+4 os for the trasfer case. The ZF Lifeguard 8 is for the actual transmission.
Changing the Tcase fluid is a straight forward affair and should be done on a regular schedule.
The ZF8 transmission is a horse of a different color, however. It's touted as a 'lifetime, no service' transmission, but I'd say you should change the fluid somewhere between 80 and 100k miles.
To do so, you have to drop the pan - there's no drain plug btw. You'll want to replace the filter and the pan gasket (some videos say you don't, but why chance it?). The procedure for filling is somewhat involved as well. It requires multiple shift sequences @ temp, followed by repeated fillings, to get it just right.
Not an impossible job, by any means. Just tedious ond time consuming.
I'm @ 75k on mine right now, so I have this to do in the fall for sure.
I've thought about replacing the pan with one that has a drain plug, but as you still have to drop it to change the filter, it only offers a slight uograde in convienience.

Great response..

 

[imdavid7997]

ATF+4 is for the transfer case. I used the 8&9 speed fluid for the transmission. You can get a 6 qt pack on Amazon for about $90.

Thank you for your response! In my country, it's $38/quart which make me want to shift to use the ZF Lifeguard 8 instead. So, you only need 6qt when you replace yours ?

 

[imdavid7997]

The ATF+4 os for the trasfer case. The ZF Lifeguard 8 is for the actual transmission.
Changing the Tcase fluid is a straight forward affair and should be done on a regular schedule.
The ZF8 transmission is a horse of a different color, however. It's touted as a 'lifetime, no service' transmission, but I'd say you should change the fluid somewhere between 80 and 100k miles.
To do so, you have to drop the pan - there's no drain plug btw. You'll want to replace the filter and the pan gasket (some videos say you don't, but why chance it?). The procedure for filling is somewhat involved as well. It requires multiple shift sequences @ temp, followed by repeated fillings, to get it just right.
Not an impossible job, by any means. Just tedious ond time consuming.
I'm @ 75k on mine right now, so I have this to do in the fall for sure.
I've thought about replacing the pan with one that has a drain plug, but as you still have to drop it to change the filter, it only offers a slight uograde in convienience.

Thank you for your response! So, you mean I can use the ZF Lifeguard 8 instead of Mopar 8&9 Speed ? If it is, it would be nice because the ZF is easier to find here in my country. However, i'm still concern about my current fluid (from the factory) because it's red color not green like the ZF or Mopar, have you ever checked your fluid color ?

 

[Speed331]

Thank you for your response! So, you mean I can use the ZF Lifeguard 8 instead of Mopar 8&9 Speed ? If it is, it would be nice because the ZF is easier to find here in my country. However, i'm still concern about my current fluid (from the factory) because it's red color not green like the ZF or Mopar, have you ever checked your fluid color ?

Just for clarity;
The 'red' fluid is coming from a drain plug? That is not your transmission. It's the transfer case - it is what switches gear ratio for 2wd/4wd high/low.

The Transfer case fluid is standard ATF+4 and is red.

The ZF8 and Mopar 8&9 is green and for the transmission only, and is a much more complicated procedure to change.

 

[imdavid7997]

Just for clarity;
The 'red' fluid is coming from a drain plug? That is not your transmission. It's the transfer case - it is what switches gear ratio for 2wd/4wd high/low.

The Transfer case fluid is standard ATF+4 and is red.

The ZF8 and Mopar 8&9 is green and for the transmission only, and is a much more complicated procedure to change.

Last time that I went to local mechanic shop and I asked the mechanic to check my trans oil, I think they unplug the bolt where we inject trans oil to get a little bit of sample. However, will go and check again if it's really a red color. If it's a red then I might have to do a flush.

 

[Odyssey USA]

The ATF+4 os for the trasfer case. The ZF Lifeguard 8 is for the actual transmission.
Changing the Tcase fluid is a straight forward affair and should be done on a regular schedule.
The ZF8 transmission is a horse of a different color, however. It's touted as a 'lifetime, no service' transmission, but I'd say you should change the fluid somewhere between 80 and 100k miles.
To do so, you have to drop the pan - there's no drain plug btw. You'll want to replace the filter and the pan gasket (some videos say you don't, but why chance it?). The procedure for filling is somewhat involved as well. It requires multiple shift sequences @ temp, followed by repeated fillings, to get it just right.
Not an impossible job, by any means. Just tedious ond time consuming.
I'm @ 75k on mine right now, so I have this to do in the fall for sure.
I've thought about replacing the pan with one that has a drain plug, but as you still have to drop it to change the filter, it only offers a slight uograde in convienience.

The revised pan gasket is much more cheaply made than the original on my ‘21 so I reused it despite having the new part number on hand.

 

[Odyssey USA]

Thank you for your response! In my country, it's $38/quart which make me want to shift to use the ZF Lifeguard 8 instead. So, you only need 6qt when you replace yours ?

It’ll end up taking about 5.5qts. If you go to the link in my sig, you’ll be able to find my how-to video on doing what you want to do.

 

[Speed331]

Just for reference, this is where the drain and fill plugs are on the Transfer Case

There is no drain plug on the actual transmission. You have to drop the pan to change the fluid.

Honestly, you would know if your ZF8 had regular ATF in it instead of the required ZF fluid. At best it wouldn't shift well -if at all - at worst it would eventually destroy the transmission.

 

[Speed331]

The revised pan gasket is more much more cheaply made than the original on my ‘21 so I reused it despite having the new part number on hand.

Good to know.
I've been toying with replacing the pan with this one,

Not so much for the drain plug, but for the extra heat dissipation. More and more 100+ days here in the Vegas summers have me considering giving it a bit of extra help.
I do a ton of slow stop and go driving as well as 50ish miles a day on the highway.
Temps always look good, so I might be looking at something I really don't need.

 

[Odyssey USA]

Good to know.
I've been toying with replacing the pan with this one,

Not so much for the drain plug, but for the extra heat dissipation. More and more 100+ days here in the Vegas summers have me considering giving it a bit of extra help.
I do a ton of slow stop and go driving as well as 50ish miles a day on the highway.
Temps always look good, so I might be looking at something I really don't need.

With regular driving, seems it couldn’t hurt at least. And if you have an engine skid, even better.

 

[imdavid7997]

Just for reference, this is where the drain and fill plugs are on the Transfer Case

There is no drain plug on the actual transmission. You have to drop the pan to change the fluid.

Honestly, you would know if your ZF8 had regular ATF in it instead of the required ZF fluid. At best it wouldn't shift well -if at all - at worst it would eventually destroy the transmission.

But I think we can unplug the bolt where we inject new trans fluid to get a bit of sample ?

 

[Speed331]

But I think we can unplug the bolt where we inject new trans fluid to get a bit of sample ?

Yes

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