tranny fluid change?

99 cherokee just turned 100k. i have heard different opinions about changing the tranny fluid. my mechanic (who is exceptional) says not to change to because most of the time thats when problems do occur. in other words if there isnt a problem, dont mess with it. others have said change it at 100k, every 30k etc. let me here your opinions!

99 cherokee just turned 100k. i have heard different opinions about changing the tranny fluid. my mechanic (who is exceptional) says not to change to because most of the time thats when problems do occur. in other words if there isnt a problem, dont mess with it. others have said change it at 100k, every 30k etc. let me here your opinions!
Hmm Why would your mechanic tell you NOT to change the fluid? Not Wise advice if you ask me i would invest the money to have all the fluid replaced either at the dealership or at AAmco also if you plan on doing this yourself and want to replace the filter then i would take it and have it done its a pain to get the tube off of the pan worth the money to have it done at the dealership i spent $130.00 and it was well worth it cuz it took them over 4 hours to get that damn tube off :banghead:

i think hes too busy or something and the tranny didnt sound fun to him. weird to turn down business though. and he does work alone. but thanks i think i am going to get it changed.

I too heard a mechanic tell this to my brother in law after he had the fluid changed and started having tranny problems with his Mazda (90k miles).
He said either change it every 25-30 k or if it goes too long, just leave it. Something about once the fluid is left that long, all the parts get a good coating of varnish and the new fluid dissolves the coating and could expedite a problem coming up.
Now my disclaimer...I have no first hand knowledge on this, just passing along what I heard.

I have started changing part of my transmission oil every 2nd oil change. (10000KM).

I use a marine type pump for changing oil in the lower unit of an outboard motor with a 4 ft clear plastic tube (1/4" id) to put down the dipstick tube.

This lets me pump out a liter of oil in about 1 1/2 minutes. I pump out three liters and put 3 liters new oil in each time.

This will also work when I go to change the filter next time so I don't get oil all over when I pull the pan.

I think that if you change out a portion of the fluid more often that the "varnish" deposits may not disolve as rapidly and the chance of problems would be less.

The new fluid I am adding is the ATF+4 and the delayed 2-3 shift has improved noticeably in my grand cherk.

JD

tranny and motor still under warranty for 5k longer so i think im gonna go for the change.

[QUOTE=robvb525] I would advise you to change your transmission fluid
and maybe your mechanic. I had the same advice from a service manager at my dealership. I was getting a humming sound from my transmission and he said it was my serpintine belt. When I had him get down on his knees and listen to the transmission which clearly was the source of the odd noise he said the belt was reverberating down to that area! This was ridiculous. I thought he was smoking something so I took it to a highly recommended transmission specialist, not a chain but an independant specialist who has been taking care of transmissionsin the same building
for 35 years. He was able to tell me exactly what kind of transmission I had without even looking under the Jeep and immediately told me the noise was coming from a clogged transmission screen. This was a used 94 Cherokee with 100k miles on it and I would guess someone gave the previous owner the same bad advise. He changed the fluid and the screen and I never had trouble again. On my 2000 Cherokee, I change it every 20,000 miles. You could stretch it to 30,000, but why? It costs about 100 bucks or so and is cheaper than a new tranny. Do that and if you have the AW4 Japanese transmission, it will outlast the dang body of the Jeep.

Hi all,

I've posted to a couple other threads on the tranny oil change issue, and I'm now doing as JD says and changing my tranny oil every couple of motor oil changes. I'm lucky enough to have a drain plug in my pan though so I don't have the hassle JD does with the removal... If you don't have one, may I recommend going to the parts store and getting one (they make an add-on you can put on the next time you drop the pain in the a-- pan).

Personally, I think the mechanic who said problems occur is probably correct on that, just because the possibility of introducing contaminants exists, or because by the time some get around to changing the fluid a problem already exists. I suppose built up residue could be an issue, but unless the same oil has been in there forever and the tranny has been hot and slipping a lot, I wouldn't worry about it.

:2cents:

here's my BIG qustion: someone above said that it's hard to get the pickup tube off to change filter. how hard can it be? anyone have details on this particular backyard job? i'd like to drain, fill and change filter on my 4.0L 92 XJ. Or will one of you tell me to go to a PRO? Need to save money. Pulling engine soon..

Whats up! I have a 00 XJ that just turned 100K, I have done tranny fluid changes quite frequently, 20-30K NEVER had a problem. I am using Dextron/Mercro III in the AW4 tranny. Still running strong, in fact today I had to use it to pull a log that my 4x2 chevy 1500 wouldn't budge, pulled it with no problems. AWesome XJ!

gtmud, you are an example of a fact not many recognize - The automatic transmission as a general rule, is the most neglected part of a vehicle; specificaly the filter, oil and band adjustment.

Regular oil and filter changes and band adjustments are ignored in favour of saving some cash, mainly because of the longer service interval and also because of the relatively quick ownership turnover.

It is mostly when someone buys a used vehicle does the lack of maintenance become noticeable, though neglect eventually shows up with long term ownership too. Then there is always the failures that Murphy actually shows up with except he seems to get blamed for the ones that are preventable too.

JD

To touch on the pick-up tube question, if it hasn't been off before, it can be a bugger! I had to beat and pry and twist and finally, with the help of some WD it came loose. I put a little dab of grease on it before putting it back together to help release it in the future...

Now, JD, the band adjustment. Is that something a novice can do or is that strictly a shop job? How do you know if it needs done, or is it just something you do regularly...?

Not to add useless input, but if you cats had only just opted for an ax-15 equipped jeep... :slap:

Now, JD, the band adjustment. Is that something a novice can do or is that strictly a shop job? How do you know if it needs done, or is it just something you do regularly...?

A band adjustment is one of the periodic maintenance items in your owners manual..... Not sure what the interval recomendation is

If you can find your way around a service manual and are comfortable doing accurate and meticulous work it should go just fine.
You will need an accurate inch-lb click type torque wrench and the individual specs for your transmissions front and rear bands. The specs are specific to each model of transmission and sometimes even the year... follow the proceedure in the manual.

That said - the AW4 tranny in the XJ does not have an adjustment for the bands. If they are slipping, you need an overhaul!!!

If you have one of the numbered transmissions (32RH, 42RH etc) in any of the Jeep models, the front and rear bands are adjustable. It is a fairly straight forward proceedure and once you've figured out the proceedure and done it, it won't take long when you have the pan off already.

JD