Transmission: Flush it or Forget it ?
#1
05-14-2011, 02:47 PM
Transmission: Flush it or Forget it ?
Flush it or Forget it
Pat Goss of MotorWeek
For most drivers automatic transmissions make sense, but once you own one, you have to make a decision about maintaining it. And that means you have to decide whether or not to flush your transmission, or wait until later in the life of the vehicle and flush your wallet big time. I elect to flush my transmissions.
You see, back in the day what you used to do was you would drop the transmission pan, you'd replace the transmission filter, put a new gasket in it, and replace oh, maybe a quarter or a third of the total fluid in the transmission. Didn't really do anything and it didn't clean anything, and cleaning is really important. You see, here we have a torque converter. We know the term, it bolts to the back of the engine, and it uses hydraulic pressure to connect the engine to the automatic transmission. See this portion of the torque converter spins at the same speed as your engine, so if your engine is turning three thousand RPM, so's the torque converter. And it's filled with fluid, and the fluid is circulating as well.
Now, what that means is that this acts like a centrifuge. And any dirt particles that are in the fluid get flung out until they collect around this outside area of the torque converter. Now unless you flush, there's no way to ever clean that away. And if it isn't cleaned away, eventually it will build up to a point where it begins to flake off, those flakes can travel through the transmission, block fluid passages, cause slippage, slippage causes heat, heat kills transmissions. It's just that simple. Cleanliness is the key.
See we never want to have our fluid looking like this if we can avoid it. What we want our fluid to look like always is brand new, and that means we have to flush it. We should flush it every twenty-four to thirty thousand miles. And make sure the shop that does it uses the appropriate fluid for your car. One size doesn't fit all, and there isn't a chemical that you can dump into a universal fluid that'll make it fit all cars. That's foolishness.
Now here's a typical flush machine. It has hoses that connect into the cooling lines of the transmission. All of the old fluid is drawn out of the transmission and quarantined inside the machine, and it's replenished with new fluid. But the big difference, this machine uses chemicals that clean the inside of the transmission. It softens all of this dirt, the dirt is trapped in the machine, your transmission is clean. It can double, triple, quadruple the life of the transmission. In many cases, it will make the transmission last the life of the car.
Member's, post your thoughts on above article.
Do you agree or not ?
Pat Goss of MotorWeek
For most drivers automatic transmissions make sense, but once you own one, you have to make a decision about maintaining it. And that means you have to decide whether or not to flush your transmission, or wait until later in the life of the vehicle and flush your wallet big time. I elect to flush my transmissions.
You see, back in the day what you used to do was you would drop the transmission pan, you'd replace the transmission filter, put a new gasket in it, and replace oh, maybe a quarter or a third of the total fluid in the transmission. Didn't really do anything and it didn't clean anything, and cleaning is really important. You see, here we have a torque converter. We know the term, it bolts to the back of the engine, and it uses hydraulic pressure to connect the engine to the automatic transmission. See this portion of the torque converter spins at the same speed as your engine, so if your engine is turning three thousand RPM, so's the torque converter. And it's filled with fluid, and the fluid is circulating as well. Now, what that means is that this acts like a centrifuge. And any dirt particles that are in the fluid get flung out until they collect around this outside area of the torque converter. Now unless you flush, there's no way to ever clean that away. And if it isn't cleaned away, eventually it will build up to a point where it begins to flake off, those flakes can travel through the transmission, block fluid passages, cause slippage, slippage causes heat, heat kills transmissions. It's just that simple. Cleanliness is the key.
See we never want to have our fluid looking like this if we can avoid it. What we want our fluid to look like always is brand new, and that means we have to flush it. We should flush it every twenty-four to thirty thousand miles. And make sure the shop that does it uses the appropriate fluid for your car. One size doesn't fit all, and there isn't a chemical that you can dump into a universal fluid that'll make it fit all cars. That's foolishness. Now here's a typical flush machine. It has hoses that connect into the cooling lines of the transmission. All of the old fluid is drawn out of the transmission and quarantined inside the machine, and it's replenished with new fluid. But the big difference, this machine uses chemicals that clean the inside of the transmission. It softens all of this dirt, the dirt is trapped in the machine, your transmission is clean. It can double, triple, quadruple the life of the transmission. In many cases, it will make the transmission last the life of the car. Member's, post your thoughts on above article.
Do you agree or not ?
#2
05-14-2011, 04:22 PM
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: London, Ontario
Posts: 5,611
Its an interesting topic for me, because I sell Total oil and ATP Transmission stuff. Both lines (but especially ATP) claim to have "one-for-all". I sell them, but I don't believe any of it. I'm all about following manufactures specs. Last fall I flushed my tranny with genuine ACDelco DexVI (although I used the ATP gasket and filter). I still used genuine Dexcool, Mobil 1 and every other OEM perfect product suggested.
Why take a chance on someone else's science? Although there is some fellow MCF (bumpin') member's who overrule GM specs to me.
Why take a chance on someone else's science? Although there is some fellow MCF (bumpin') member's who overrule GM specs to me.
#3
05-15-2011, 09:08 AM
Thanks `Brent, for your post & sharing your experience concerning flushing & replacing trans fluid & Filter.We appreciate your contributions 4-Sure..
Below are some additional links on the Subject.
10 Min Atomatic Transmission Fluid Flush + Replacement (Most Cars)
www.CarReality.com Ever wanted to do a complete Automatic Transmission Service with a Fluid Flush and Fluid Change! Well now you can ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsdPAadc9fY
More videos for SHould auto transmission be flushed ? »
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How to Perform an Automatic Transmission Flush at Home | eHow.com
If you have an automatic transmission in your vehicle then you should have the transmission fluid flushed to keep your vehicle well maintained.
www.ehow.com › Car Repair & Maintenance - Cached - Similar
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Changing and flushing automatic transmission fluid
One reader added: Automatic transmission gaskets should not be coated with RTV. ... I just used the Transmission Flush recommendation by James Bottger and ...
www.allpar.com/eek/atf.html - Cached - Similar
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Member's please add your experience/knowledge & what you do to protect your automatic transmission...
Thank You
#5
05-17-2011, 07:55 AM
I do the old school pan drop and filter change every 25-30K. Saying it doesn't do anything is BS IMO. I've got 226K on an 89 Chevy truck, original tranny. And my Monte now has 142K on the original 4T65-E (known to be a weak tranny), which is still running great (especially with the aftermarket tune).
Also, it's more like half of the fluid that gets replaced in a pan drop, plus a new filter, plus you get to clean all the gunk/ etc out of the pan itself. In our 4T65-E Monte transmissions, we actually get a little more than half of the fluid replaced with a pan and filter change. It takes almost 8 quarts for a pan/ filter change, and the tranmission hold 13.5 quarts total. IMO if you do this as a regualr maint, then you are good to go for MANY MANY miles ahead....also worth noting, a pain drop/ fitler change cost less than half of most flushes, even when using a full synthetic version of Dexron VI.
Also, it's more like half of the fluid that gets replaced in a pan drop, plus a new filter, plus you get to clean all the gunk/ etc out of the pan itself. In our 4T65-E Monte transmissions, we actually get a little more than half of the fluid replaced with a pan and filter change. It takes almost 8 quarts for a pan/ filter change, and the tranmission hold 13.5 quarts total. IMO if you do this as a regualr maint, then you are good to go for MANY MANY miles ahead....also worth noting, a pain drop/ fitler change cost less than half of most flushes, even when using a full synthetic version of Dexron VI.
#6
05-18-2011, 08:46 PM
I agree with Mamonte. I have been driving and servicing my own cars and trucks for 37 + years. Regular service filter and fluid changes will definetly extend the life of your trans. My astro van is at 156k miles with 25k ATF and filter changes without any problems. Most of the 4t65e problems are due to little or no maint. Over heating lack of service etc. Not just the trans, also the coolant needs to be serviced since the trans cooler is putting an extra load on the cooling system Make sure your A/C and radiator fins are cleaned regularly. The Monte is a bottom feeder catching all the debris off our highways. Use the severe service tables for servicing. Money well spent.
#9
08-27-2012, 09:52 PM
What do you do if you have bought a car and the previous owner never followed the propper Maintence. Is it still safe to flush? Reccomended is 25-50k accoridng to the dealer here, however i bought my Monte with 76k on her, so is it still safe? And that is BS a tranny only lasting 80k, my Silverado 4x4 has 230k on the original tranny. Of course on my truck i bought it new and have flushed it evert 40k miles.
