complete tranny fill

[BlazerLT]

Originally Posted by blazes9395

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.

[Lt_Dusty]

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

[TonyMazz]

Originally Posted by BlazerLT

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....

[BlazerLT]

Originally Posted by TonyMazz

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.

[blazes9395]

Originally Posted by BlazerLT

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.

[metallica21156]

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.