Allrighty my Monte friends, I have a question. I can't decide what the best method of maintenance is for an auto transmission. I have an 03 LS, mostly stock, with 84k miles on it. I need this car to last me a long time, and I am looking at what to do with the tranny to lengthen its life. The tranny fluid is orange and is not burnt smelling, and it shifts perfectly. That being said, all I can find anywhere is opposing information regarding whether a flush is good or not, and whether a fluid and filter exchange from dropping the "pan" is good enough. I don't really trust any shop or even a dealer, as they have these machines that hook up to a car for 40 minutes and they charge 150 for a service that costs them one fifth of that (not to say it may be beneficial, but I realize their advice is often profit driven) What have been your experiences/ what do you recommend?

 

its not hard to do but do it quickly though dont delay do to the collor of it. drop the panis not hard to do but do it slowly so you can direct the drain of the oil. it will be about around 8 quarts of dex 6 synthetic. also dont forget the filter as well. you may have to do it twice because of the color of the fluid. you dont want that to mix and drive because the fluid also travils threw the torque converter so you might want to do it twice to be satisfied. also knowing all of it is out of the trans

 

i usually do a drop pan and fill then about 12k on the fourth oil change i get the flush done just to make sure every thing is clean. with yours to be honest i actually thaught about it it would be wise to drop the pan after you do the flush because you can get to the filter and it will make you feel beater to know you have a new filter. plus the color that you mentioned the fluid is you bet it is worse in the torqu converter and it will need it.

 

I recommend the flush. It cleans out all the old transmission and replaces it with fresh new fluid.

It's like comparing changing part of your oil or all of your oil. I recommend the flush.

 

idk about the long term effects of a flush, but i just had one done at 30,000 and im going to again at 60-75.

it makes your shifts a lot smoother, and like quarter said it either changing 1/3 of your fluid or all of it.

some people swear by dropping the pan and changing the filter, then filling up. they say its cause if you flush and its really bad{chips,sludge} can clog your lines. i say if you do it when your suppose to and everythings still fairly clean you shouldnt have to worry about that.

 

I recommend a pan drop and filter change! When you drop the pan and change the filter, you will be replacing about 7.5 of the 13 total quarts this tranny holds. So a little more than half the fluid gets changed, and you get a new filter. This is the safest way to go, and very cost effective. Flushing CAN cause problems, not saying it will, but it can.

Also, when you change the fluid, I recommed upgrading to Dexron VI it is the latest spec, and the best fluid to replace with!

 

I took mine to get flushed. It's well worth it.

 

If you get a flush, make sure to find a place that can do the pump inlet flush.

 

138500 miles and never serviced.Flush or quick change?If I flush I probably have lots of trash in there.if I do the quick change what fluid would I use?

 

Definitely just drop the pan and change what fluid comes out (about 7.5 quarts) and change the filter. Use Dexron VI fluid. It is the latest GM spec for ATF, and far superior to any Dexron III fluid. I've been using Valvoline Dexron VI with good results.