Transmission Fluid Question (With Pictures)

[Oldblue98]

Not a chance in hell I'd change that if it was my truck. I've seen it many times when the service writer sells the job because he wants the commission coin and the trans never works right again. If it's shifting fine top it off, put in a good additive product and run it.

I remember the days of non detergent oil and guys just had to flush a old engine out that was gummed and full of sludge ! Most would use kerosene or even diesel fuel to do the deed, usually was not long smoking and excessive oil use began after all the build up was washed away from the rings etc... Transmissions is kind of same theory, And it is my idea if it has not had preventative maintenance up to this point let sleeping dogs sleep, no flush just change filter and top off.

 

[Knuckle Dragger]

Seen that a bunch too. Trans flushes are just part of the new service called "wallet flush" Dealers and independent repair shops are doing everything they can to get a piece of the maintenance dollar. If you look at the maintenance schedule from the manufacturer for most cars and compare that to the one size fits all 30,60 and 90K services you'll see they add a lot of stuff the factory didn't recommend. If you say something they take a page out of the cable TV industry and tell you that's just "part of our package" and you're stuck paying for it anyway.

Most modern cars use the same trans fluid for 100K anymore. That's like the 3,000 mile oil change myth. Jiffy lube started that crap.

 

[Oldblue98]

Seen that a bunch too. Trans flushes are just part of the new service called "wallet flush" Dealers and independent repair shops are doing everything they can to get a piece of the maintenance dollar. If you look at the maintenance schedule from the manufacturer for most cars and compare that to the one size fits all 30,60 and 90K services you'll see they add a lot of stuff the factory didn't recommend. If you say something they take a page out of the cable TV industry and tell you that's just "part of our package" and you're stuck paying for it anyway.

Most modern cars use the same trans fluid for 100K anymore. That's like the 3,000 mile oil change myth. Jiffy lube started that crap.

3,000 mile oil change goes back to the Dino oil days ! Full synthetic change at 3 K is a waste. But I have to admit I am old school and old habits are hard to break, I still service oil and filter at 3 - 4 K

 

[Knuckle Dragger]

Everything seals much better with the new stuff and the oil doesn't get near as fuel saturated as it did "back in the day" But the dealers are still going to push the 3K number. I remember when you had to tune every 6-12K or the car would run like crap, and set the alignment at least twice a year. I rebuilt and least three Chevy front ends a week. So much I just got bored banging bushings and hanging tie rods all day. Now how often do we change suspension parts at the shop? That's a lot of the reason they push the K services so hard. We lost revenue with the big ticket non warranty failures and need a new revenue stream.

 

[someotherguy]

I rebuilt and least three Chevy front ends a week. So much I just got bored banging bushings and hanging tie rods all day.

If you miss all that suspension work, you could get a job at the Dodge dealership.

Richard

 

[Knuckle Dragger]

If you miss all that suspension work, you could get a job at the Dodge dealership.

Richard

I gave up the commission game a long time ago. Fleet work for me, and no Dodges allowed

 

[Oldblue98]

I gave up the commission game a long time ago. Fleet work for me, and no Dodges allowed

Better known as brand X vehicles lol Owned lots of old Dodges back in the day and if you could keep the front end under them and reverse gear working they were not so bad

 

[df2x4]

Another vote for drain and fill/replace filter here. I wouldn't flush it personally.

 

[El Tigre]

I would not flush. I do like the new GM spec.fluid Dex-VI however. I would drop,and clean the pan. Change filter,and refill with Dex-Vi... This process is the least likely to damage anything. Do this every year,or two for best results...

 

[Lizey93]

I know this is the same truck that you plan to tow with. Seeing the condition of this fluid I wouldnt reccoment that you do any heavy towing. As said before the fluid has many impurities in it. These impurities acutally help the trans have more friction causing the clutches not to slip. Sometimes when you change it and they loose that extra help from the fluid they begin to slip. This trans is definetly worn and very near the end of its life. You can swap the fluid and change the filter but its hard to tell if its too late.

I’ve decided I’m not going to tow anything with this until the trans lets go for good and I have to replace it