complete tranny fill

Could someone please give me some advice on this one. I would like to do a complete tranny service. Flush, fill, and filter.. :loser: ........ How do I completely drain the tranny. I've done the filter and 5 qt job at about 75K, but now I'm at 130K, and would like todo a complete flush. I have done all the repairs on this thing myself, thanks to this forum, and I always look forward to the next weekend project.

thanks
JKdon

I would suggest that you take your truck to a reputable shop, and do a complete flush of the tranny, THEN drop the pan, and change the filter and top off the fluid.

The flushing will replace 100% of the fluid, and free up debris which will be trapped in the filter....drop the filter and clean/replace and install the pan , top off the fluid and you will be good to go.

The fluid transfer machines make the process easy.....

Just my 2.5 cents... :icon16:

I agree with TonyMazz, I just spent 96 dollars on a complete tranny flush and filter. It's the best way to change it all out. No more hot trans fluid baths for me.... Good Luck

Yeah - no shame in taking the easy way out on this one - I had mine flushed too, even though I like to try things on my own first. They have a machine now that repair shops use to hook to two different spots on the tranny and pump new fluid in as it sucks old fluid out until it's clean. Make sure you get a place that has one of those. Mine was free (except for the fluid), since my Dad is a service manager of a Toyota shop and used the machine on my 98 Blazer with a GM adapter he had.

Using gravity to drain it won't get all the old fluid out of the torque converter and all, so a power flush is much better.

thanks for the info guys, I am calling around today. I will make sure they have the flushing machine. What about the transfer case? should I drain and fill that myself, or does the fluid pass from the tranny during the flush.

thanks again
Jkdon

thanks for the info guys, I am calling around today. I will make sure they have the flushing machine. What about the transfer case? should I drain and fill that myself, or does the fluid pass from the tranny during the flush.

thanks again
Jkdon

You should be able to...BUT...you need to know what kind of fluid/transfer case you have.

I am going through that myself....

If you have the automatic transfer case you will want to use AutotrakII fluid (from a dealer).

Note my TSB posted today....also do a search on Transfer case fluid and you'll see what I mean...

I guess bottom line is as some else said .."if blue comes out blue goes in" (autotrak)......

To be sure call a dealer parts department, give them your last 8 digits of the vin number and they'll tell you exactly what transfer case you have hence what fluid belongs in there....

That said after you do that...yes you can save your self a bundle doing it your self....will take about 2.4 quarts.....

I was told that the flushing thing is bad.

Dropping the pan and replacing the lost fluid and filter is all that is needed.

The shop said that 80% of the time when they do a flush, the tranny takes a shit within a year.

The dislodged dirt travels to other parts of the tranny where is doesn't belong.

I was told that the flushing thing is bad.

Dropping the pan and replacing the lost fluid and filter is all that is needed.

The shop said that 80% of the time when they do a flush, the tranny takes a shit within a year.

The dislodged dirt travels to other parts of the tranny where is doesn't belong.


Have you changed your opinion on flushing? You were an advocate - right?

I was told that the flushing thing is bad.

Dropping the pan and replacing the lost fluid and filter is all that is needed.

The shop said that 80% of the time when they do a flush, the tranny takes a shit within a year.

The dislodged dirt travels to other parts of the tranny where is doesn't belong.

WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED to you
:headshake BLAZER LT

All Quotes from you ?????????

:confused:1...

And just to let you know, you can most of this stuff by yourself and save yourself some serious money.

The ones I would leave to the shop is the cooling system and the transmission flush and refill and the tranny filter.

:confused:2... Just make sure they flush before they drop the pan and change the filter.

Should be about 130-150 but it is worth it.

Trannys are so expensive.
:confused:3...
Flushing and filling the tranny is best to be left up to a shop.

You can NEVER get all the fluid out properly in the driveway.

The tranny pan only carries about 50% of the fluid whereas the rest is in the torque convertor.

The shop will hook up to the tranny cooler lines and will pump in new fluid and remove the old in one easy process.

Then they will drop the pan and replace the filter and the lost fluid in the pan.

Then everything is completely fresh.
:confused:4...
One thing is, when you drop the pan and filter, you don't get all the fluid that is in torque convertor which in some cases could be up to 50% of the total fluid volume.

You need to flush the system before you change the filter so that the whole transmission gets new fluid.
__________________________________________________ ________
What dirt stays around, I don't understand ???????
I had my trans flushed and filter replaced on my old 1994 Astro van, at 80,000 (first time) I Sold the van at 130,000 5 years later. The present owner of the van has 166,000 miles on it and not a single problem with it. How much dirt can stay in a transmission when the old fluid is pumping out while new fluid is pumped in at the same time?
Hey BlazerLT..
I think that shop you talked to does not want you to change the trans fluid ever so the will get your business later down the road. Whatever the shop told you, just seems like bad advice to me.

You should be able to...BUT...you need to know what kind of fluid/transfer case you have.

I am going through that myself....

If you have the automatic transfer case you will want to use AutotrakII fluid (from a dealer).

Note my TSB posted today....also do a search on Transfer case fluid and you'll see what I mean...

I guess bottom line is as some else said .."if blue comes out blue goes in" (autotrak)......

To be sure call a dealer parts department, give them your last 8 digits of the vin number and they'll tell you exactly what transfer case you have hence what fluid belongs in there....

That said after you do that...yes you can save your self a bundle doing it your self....will take about 2.4 quarts.....

The TSB that you posted gives RPOs NP4 and NP8, all you guys have to do is check the rpo sticker in the glovebox

WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED to you
:headshake BLAZER LT

All Quotes from you ?????????

:confused:1...

And just to let you know, you can most of this stuff by yourself and save yourself some serious money.

The ones I would leave to the shop is the cooling system and the transmission flush and refill and the tranny filter.

:confused:2... Just make sure they flush before they drop the pan and change the filter.

Should be about 130-150 but it is worth it.

Trannys are so expensive.
:confused:3...
Flushing and filling the tranny is best to be left up to a shop.

You can NEVER get all the fluid out properly in the driveway.

The tranny pan only carries about 50% of the fluid whereas the rest is in the torque convertor.

The shop will hook up to the tranny cooler lines and will pump in new fluid and remove the old in one easy process.

Then they will drop the pan and replace the filter and the lost fluid in the pan.

Then everything is completely fresh.
:confused:4...
One thing is, when you drop the pan and filter, you don't get all the fluid that is in torque convertor which in some cases could be up to 50% of the total fluid volume.

You need to flush the system before you change the filter so that the whole transmission gets new fluid.
__________________________________________________ ________
What dirt stays around, I don't understand ???????
I had my trans flushed and filter replaced on my old 1994 Astro van, at 80,000 (first time) I Sold the van at 130,000 5 years later. The present owner of the van has 166,000 miles on it and not a single problem with it. How much dirt can stay in a transmission when the old fluid is pumping out while new fluid is pumped in at the same time?
Hey BlazerLT..
I think that shop you talked to does not want you to change the trans fluid ever so the will get your business later down the road. Whatever the shop told you, just seems like bad advice to me.


I know I was one for the flushing of transmissions, but everyone can learn new things that might be different than what you may have known in the past.

The transmission shop was not trying to sell me anything. They could have said to do it and have me spend more, but they said it could cause more harm than good.

I was just unselfishly letting people know what I learned.

I have been told, if your transmission has not received regular service through its lifetime, a flush could possibly loosen deposits that are better off left alone. I would agree with that. I have a link for a Do it yourself procedure that will get 99% of the old fluid out. Don't shoot me its for a Ford, but i use this for my other truck. The steps for draining should be similar, but I would use caution, and make sure you know what type and how much fluid you need for your application.

http://www.ford-trucks.com/article/idx/9/057/article/Changing_ATF_Fluid_in_a_E4OD_and_4R100_transmissio n.html

Dusty

I have been told, if your transmission has not received regular service through its lifetime, a flush could possibly loosen deposits that are better off left alone. I would agree with that. application.

Dusty

I agree with this statement. Here is where the problem or the catch is. If you do regular flushes, you will never have a oil breakdown related problem with your tranny, it will be clean, never accumulate enough debris to destroy anything. If your hard parts don't fail (eg sun reaction shell), you'll get many many miles from it. If you don't do regular flushes and one day you decide to do one, you could ruin the tranny because of the above mentioned post. If you have ever been inside a 4L60e you will understand where you will have your problems(eg valve body oil passage screens, two of them, shift solonoid screens, EPC screen) these screens can become clogged with clutch material, metal material, dislodgd from the new oil. If these restrictions become signifigant enough, you lose proper oil pressure signal and begin to destroy, or burn up your transmission. If you don't change your fluid and continue to drive with worn fluid(transmission has MANY friction modifiers, additives, that protect and make your transmission operate properly) your fluid will eventually wear out, further accelerating wear on transmission parts, and your in for a rebuild. Changing just the pan oil helps inject some new oil and more importantly some fresh additives and friction modifiers, which helps. The good part of this is that a new filter is being installed, and will help collect all that material. Another area of concern, and its usually overlooked is the tranny oil cooler, especially the aftermarket installed ones. These coolers are great for reducing transmission operating temperatures, but they too can become clogged very easly as a result of transmission material floated through with the tranny oil. The material clogs the passages within the cooler restricts line pressure back to the tranny and eventually burning up your trans. Even a partial clog will eventually burn up your tranny too. When you flush your tranny, or do oil and filter changes, its also a very good idea to flush out your tranny oil cooler. Transmission parts places have a cleaner especially just for that, maybe some good parts places too can get it for you. Either way if you do regular flushes, you will be way better off, and most likely not have any problems.

The question is - What is frequent? I bought my 98 a few months ago w/72k o it. It now has 84k on it and I'm going to be changing the fluid - I don't think it's been done before. I know the previous owners and they took care of the truck and gave me all the invoices to boot. The tranny was one thing I think they overlooked.

The question is - What is frequent? .

That IS the question...I agree. I guess it all depends on how you drive your truck, if you tow, basically what temperature it operates at. I know these trucks don't have a transmission temp, but you can safely assume if you tow a trailer, drive stop and go, drive in hilly areas, and drive in constant hot weather, that your transmission is running hotter - working harder.

That IS the question...I agree. I guess it all depends on how you drive your truck, if you tow, basically what temperature it operates at. I know these trucks don't have a transmission temp, but you can safely assume if you tow a trailer, drive stop and go, drive in hilly areas, and drive in constant hot weather, that your transmission is running hotter - working harder.

This is true, but how can a person know this when they are going to get their transmission serviced in their used truck they just bought.

It is obvious that if you do regular flushes if everything is clean and tidy, but most people don't live in a perfect word where every factor is laid out in front of them.

If you dump the pan and the filter every one or two years, you can avoid possibly having any problems.

Especially in city driving, you should change the fluid at worst every two years regardless of mileage.

City driving is merciless on transmissions with the constant changes.

Personally, knowing what I know now. If I didn't know the operating conditions of the transmission before I got it, I would not do a flush. I would drain the pan and change filter. I would also install a drain plug (Autozone or any parts house) to make it less messy next time, and also change fluid and filter on a more frequent basis.

That said, I have had a flush done on a 80k truck with the only other verifiable change done at 24k, with no problems. knock on wood

Dusty

I know I was one for the flushing of transmissions, but everyone can learn new things that might be different than what you may have known in the past.

The transmission shop was not trying to sell me anything. They could have said to do it and have me spend more, but they said it could cause more harm than good.

I was just unselfishly letting people know what I learned.




I agree with you...as the pro's have also told me if your tranny is
a) operating good
b) not going through hard severe service....droping the pan every 36-50K replacing the filter, etc and refilling with fresh 5+ quarts is all you need.

Last time I did that, the tranny shifted very smooth....I have 18K on that service and will bring it in again nearer to fall...but plan on dropping the pan and doing it again....

I agree with you...as the pro's have also told me if your tranny is
a) operating good
b) not going through hard severe service....droping the pan every 36-50K replacing the filter, etc and refilling with fresh 5+ quarts is all you need.

Last time I did that, the tranny shifted very smooth....I have 18K on that service and will bring it in again nearer to fall...but plan on dropping the pan and doing it again....

I agree with you but I need to add one more thing.

First thing is that I would do a change on a 1-2 year basis regardless of mileage.

City driving is equal to double the equivelent highway miles when comparing work, wear and tear.

Mine is due for a change and it is showing symptoms of that. For one, the fluid is starting to get a little brown and secondly, when the transmission is hot through stop and go traffic use, it will start to have a weird 1-2 change.

This is a sign that the fluid is degrading and losing its cooling capacity and probably thinning out a bit which will reduce system pressure.

This is true, but how can a person know this when they are going to get their transmission serviced in their used truck they just bought.

.

Thats why its a gamble when you buy used...you take a calculated risk when purchasing used. Thats the nature of buying a used automobile. I purchased my '93 new and I have serviced the tranny every 25-30 kms, with a full flush I do myself. That truck runs and shifts as good as the day I picked it up new. My '95 I bought used and well, I am still in the process of finishing up a complete tranny rebuild...I guess the previous owner forgot about the regular transmission service.

i have a 71 mustang with the c4 tranny. dropped the valve body and all the fluid from the converter came out as well. refilled and is fine. i have a 95 jimmy with 77,000 miles on it and had the tranny flushed at 69,990 miles. the tranny fluid was brown mostly from rust since the truck sat 6 months before i got it. the guy who did who is a friend of mine also said that he has seen trannys come in need a flush and from a year to a month the tranny takes a dump. mines fine but the fluid was changed every 2 years. i got the paper work from who owned it before so i knew it was fine.