01/14/11
Is the Mobil-1 ATF an acceptable substitute for the ESSO LT 71141 mentioned
in the ZF-5HP24 manual?

 

Yes. The Mobil fluid meets the specs of the Esso fluid.
Some may differ.

 

Mobil bought Esso. The Mobil 1 is now the Esso LT71141. So much for magic ATF.

 

Another nice piece of data for my XJ8 folder for vital JAG bodily fluids.
Thank you both for the info.

 

test point-
heh, heh.

 

Originally Esso LT71141 was a semi-synthetic oil and you could not buy it in quarts. They sold it in L bottles in europe.

Esso is "S" "O" for Standard Oil -- The Rockefeller standard oil. In the early 70's the name changed to Exxon for marketing reasons in the US and a few other places.

Then Exxon and Mobil merged.

So Mobil 1 is not the same as the original Esso LT 71141. Mobil 1 is fully synthetic. But Mobil 1 meets the spec of LT 71141. You can still buy Esso LT1141 (although it is now labeled as Mobil LT 71141 and sold by the L)

If you go to the Mobil site it will tell you Mobil 1 meets the spec but they will not tell you it is guaranteed for a ZF box.

I believe the ZF oil is still semi-synthetic -- they claim additives and actually sell two different versions depending on the box.

But since ZF says you can use an oil that meets the spec of LT 71141 you can use Mobil 1 ATF.


It may just be like the fluids for the Mercedes boxes. You have continual innovation in fluids, they discontinue the old fluids but the new fluids are backwards compatible but the reverse is not true. Some believe that the older MB boxes (XJR's) work better with the original fluid as supplied.
But Mercedes does not charge as huge a premium for the fluid as ZF does.

 

A number of other suppliers claim to meet the LT71141 spec also for around $5 a quart.

Guaranteed? Guaranteed for life?

 

"Guarantee" is the word I used to express the situation -- that Mobil makes no claim for Mobil 1 other than the spec. Some companies do list applications.

15 years ago, cars did not last as long as they do today. The idea of transmissions regularly going past 120k and engines past 150k was not a reality. The part synthetic fluid of this period had a service life that exceeded the estimated life of the component.

 

Does anyone else see the absurdity of the phrase "guaranteed for life"? It's not your life, but the gearbox's, and when it blows up, IT"S LIFE IS OVER!

 

Most of the early failures in the ZF boxes were due to metal fatigue in the A drum. No lubricant could have stopped this.

 

Dan has mentioned the weakest part of the ZF box. Mercedes had a bearing problem in the earlier units that they fixed around Y2K - also nothing to do with the fluid.

But, often the fluid was blamed. I believe fluid is to blame for some of the failures -- but its normally from using the wrong fluid or not filling the box correctly.

 

If you look at the Mobil spec sheets carefully, you will see that Mobil calls out another transmission lubricant as the equivalent to LT71141. It is a synthetic blend with a similar name. Down near the bottom of the list.

For the full synthetic, it does not call out LT71141, but the interesting bit is the list of ZF type approvals. If you cross the type approvals with the ZF requirements you will probably find that it is an implied equivalent or upgrade.

On that basis, you could use either one depending on preference for full or semi synthetic.

 

I don't know how often ExxonMobil releases data sheets -- or how they differ from country to country -- lots of them around. So some confusion is created.

But EM does have M1 ATF as meeting the specification of LT71141 - you can even find discussions of it from Mobil. What they will not say is that M1 ATF can be used in a ZF transmission - only that it meets the specification of LT71141. I used the word "guarantee" in my post to illustrate that Mobil will not make any guarantee regarding the use of the fluid for a given application. This is different than "sealed" or "lifetime" fluid -- under normal conditions. I don't ever remember seeing the word "guarantee" in any literature from ZF or Jaguar

The semi synthetic formula is most likely the original formula -- it has changed names over the years.


I no longer own a car with the ZF box - if I did I would look for the original semi synthetic fluid.

I'm not sure what Jaguar is doing with the Mercedes box in the XJR -- MB no longer sells the original fluid as they have come out with a newer fluid that is backward compatible with the original 5 speed fluid. The old fluid is still widely available on the shelf in some areas -- but I have no idea if it is still being manufactured. Jaguar may have a lot of it. Same box is used in many Porsches - I have never priced it at the Jaguar dealer.

 

I used the Mobil stuff in my car when I had the fluid changed. I have 12 litres of it left and have advertised it for sale on the forum. I am in the UK and if anyone is interested PM me. S.

 

Well, I still don't get it. Yes, or No?

I went to the Mobile website, looked up the question - and here's how Mobile dealt with it...

Question:
Does Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF Meet the Requirements for ZF Transmissions?
I have found out that Mobil is recommending the Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF as a replacement for the Esso LT 71141 ATF used in BMW transmissions. I have a 1998 BMW 750iL with a ZF 5HP30 transmission, does Mobil Oil guarantee this product as meeting all the requirements of the ZF transmission?
-- McGarvey Cline II, Gainesville, FL

Answer:
No. We do not guarantee that the product meets all the requirements of ZF transmissions, which are very extensive depending on the transmission type/model year. ExxonMobil does say that this product is suitable for use in this application based on the type and quality of the recommended fluid, Esso LT 71141.

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