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Synthetic ATF VS Demand Drive

36K views 79 replies 32 participants last post by  hatzie 
#1 ·
I cannot remember if this question has been ask but I thought it might be interesting. Who uses ATF and who uses Demand Drive and why. One of Bobs old friends from Quadsquad named Cob turned me to ATF years ago at Taylor Park Co. We were riding and he told me that he has been using ATF for years and it worked great. I started using it after that and I have not looked back since. I have used it in numerous ATV's over the years and my current rides have 11400, 10800 and 2400 miles on them with ATF and not one single problem out of the Hilliard. I use it because real world testing has proved it works just fine in the hilliard even if it is not the recommended fluid.

Ronnie
 
#3 ·
Yea some dude on here named Ronnie suggested ATF4 and thats why I use it. It actually quieted that clunking a little bit. Also, thanks man for posting those test results and your experiences and for being somewhat of a labrat lol.
 
#5 ·
I still have the demand drive fluid in mine..........think I have enough fluid for one more change. Will be swapping to ATF after that.
 
#6 ·
My Diff is an 8oz fill...
Tractor Supply UTF J20D rated fluid is around $30 for 2 gallons.
1 gallon of John Deere Hy-Gard J20D is $28 plus shipping on Amazon.
At those prices for Hilliard approved fluids why bother with ATF?


From orbit on my Android.
 
#9 ·
Why order it when I drive right by a parts store nearly every day when I can get it for 8 bucks a quart. Just not into ordering stuff unless I have to and it would go bad if I bought it by the gallon or 2 gallons. Why bother with ATF? It works just as good as the tractor fluid and it is convenient for me. Thank you few guys for posting. I thought this might be a little different from the oil debate but I guess nobody wants to voice an opinion on it. Lots of views but no replies.

Ronnie
 
#7 ·
My old "friend" Cob. Maybe a bit of a stretch there. lol. That's one person I didn't shed a tear for.
The demand drive fluid is one that I will likely never experiment with. I can get four fluid changes out of one quart. I think I can deal with buying one quart a year to service both atv's.
Someone has to get things stirred up here.
 
#8 ·
Bob he did piss off a bunch of people in his time on Quadsquad. . He was always up for a good argument mainly with the Hondu guys as he called them. He spoke his mind no matter how it made people feel. When I rode with him for those few days he was a total different person on the trail. He cooked everyday for everybody and never had a bad word to say about anything.

Ronnie
 
#21 ·
I never did ride with him. He had his bad accident on Moab Rim trail, and never rode again after that. About that time that forum really took a turn for the worse. Sometime after that I turned in my moderator keys because I really didn't want to be associated with the group of folks running that circus. It had turned extremely political and racist, as well as all the in fighting among the long time members. Shortly after he died I was banned for life from that site by that d**k that took it over. He was scared to death that I was trying to "steal" those members by telling them about COATV. :shhh: :supergay:
 
#13 ·
I've had a quart of Demand drive for the last year in my garage that I still have to use up, but I'll switch after that, but I'll probably just go to Napa and get the Mobil 424 or LT which comes as a direct recommendation from Hilliard as you already are aware of I'm sure. If Napa can't get that in the same day I'll probably just put ATF in.
 
#14 ·
Really? I wish I knew that before last weekend. I bought a quart of Demand Drive from the stealership last weekend and they charged me almost $14. Can you use ATF in the ADC side of the Front Diff too?
 
#18 ·
Holy crap! That figures to be $3.50 per change... That's robbery! How dare they over charge us so much. :biglaugh: :rotflmao:
 
#22 ·
Amsoil front drive fluid is what the Scrambler gets...Reason? Because that's what I feel comfortable using.
 
#31 ·
If I wanted it in two days I'd order it in two days. Having a local TSC, tractor dealerships and heavy truck dealers, and multiple retailers that are powersports oriented shopping online is pointless.
Keep the money local by supporting the local economy.[/QUOTE]

While I do agree with you, the local economy needs to hire some people at least half interested in what the store sells. Most of these cats nowadays have no idea about what they have on a shelf. My local Ace is so bad I literally avoid the 'help' that greets me. "Can I help you?", "yes, stand over there out of my way" lol.
 
#41 ·
I want to thank you for this info ( and others here as well ). I have many Polaris customers and I have always used the high dollar Polaris lubes. Reading this will save me money on oils, and saves the customer some bucks as well. I have, however, saved myself and customers money on engine oil. I buy the 0W40 Mobile One syn for about $26 ( plus tax ) for the 5 quart jug at Wally World. Because of the "wearing exhaust cam lobe issue" on the older Polaris's, I do always use syn oil when I do oil changes.
 
#44 ·
Was just at Tractor Supply day before yesterday.
A 2 Gallon jug of Traveler UTF ( The same stuff as John Deere Hygard J20C that Hilliard recommends ) is $17.99 US.
The diff holds 5-8oz of oil... 8 quarts is somewhere between 32 & 51 changes. That's a lifetime supply for just over the cost of 1 quart of the Polaris oil.
 
#45 ·
Well thank you Hatzie, I know what I'm penciling in on my errand list for this weekend.
 
#49 ·
I purchased my 570 sportsman about 8 months ago, just changed all the fluids at 20hrs on the machine. I didn't get to ride at all this winter due to work but I used the polaris trans and dif fluid. Went with rotella/purolator filter for oil.

I can say this I need to get smaller funnels that allow the fluids to trickle in the fill holes those locations were a pita to fill even with my smallest funnel. Going to get a small flex one for next changes. Poured a few drops of liquid gold on the garage floor refilling both trans/Dif

I really enjoyed reading all the great info and research all you guys did/do as far as fluids on these machines. Saved me a lot of time when I bought mine. Appreciate it.
 
#50 · (Edited)
I can say this I need to get smaller funnels that allow the fluids to trickle in the fill holes those locations were a pita to fill even with my smallest funnel. Going to get a small flex one for next changes. Poured a few drops of liquid gold on the garage floor refilling both trans/Dif
Get one of the small pumps and hose they sell for filling outboard lower units. Works great.

 
#56 ·
If you live in an area that has swamp coolers there's a light turbine oil for oiling the blower shaft bearings called a "zoom spout oiler", the oil that's comes with it is nice, and I use that oil for reassembly of guns after refinishing, because you can put a tiny drop of oil deep down into a mechanism. It has a retractable little tube that extends about 8" into hard to reach places. The container holds 4oz. If you're worried about "contamination" just empty the oil into a different container and wash out the residue with alcohol or brake parts and blow it dry. Then fill with whatever lubricant you want to put into wherever and know that 4oz is what it holds. I've got a pile of these that I use for all kinds of tough to reach things, like filling the "nazi juice" on my 98 Cabrio convertible top pump reservoir. (I need to replace one of the cylinders because it leaks)

I have yet to do a complete fluids change on my quads, hence my membership here, but I plan on using the ZSO bottle to do the hub oil and front diff for less grief and hassle.

D.
 
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