How To Find Type A Automatic Transmission Fluid

A reader asks: Does AMSOIL have a Type A ATF? I’ve got an older vehicle that requires a Type A automatic transmission fluid.

Our answer: We have two products that meet the Type “A” ATF specification. They are:

• “ATF” AMSOIL Signature Series Multi-Vehicle Synthetic ATF
• “OTF” AMSOIL OE Series Multi-Vehicle Synthetic ATF

Type A ATF History And Compatibility

The Type A automatic transmission specification was created by General Motors in the late 1940’s.

Type A ATF was used in the automatic transmissions of every car maker on the market from 1949 to 1958. After that, other auto makers started to offer their own ATF specifications.

The “Type A, Suffix A” specification replaced Type “A” in the late 1950’s. Dexron “B” fluid later replaced Type A, Suffix A.

All iterations of Dexron B, Dexron II and Dexron III ATF products are backward compatible with Type A and Type A , Suffix A fluids.

Newer General Motors specs such as DEXRON VI, DEXRON HP and DEXRON ULV are NOT backward compatible with applications requiring a Type A ATF.

To sum up, to find a Type A ATF, simply look for an ATF that is compatible with the Dexron III specification. Dexron III ATF was specified  for General Motors vehicles until 2006. Therefore, it is commonly available. While the label may not list the old Type A spec, note that GM states that Dexron III is a suitable replacement for Type A.

Related: Can Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid Be Used In Older Cars?