Dealer Said You Can't Drain and Fill WS Fluid

Just called the dealer to get their price for a drain and fill since I am sitting at my mechanic right now about to have them do it for $129.99, and the dealer said that since it is the WS fluid, I would have to do a full flush..? Is that true? I have read many guys here just doing drain and fill. My truck has 127k+ miles on it and the fluid has never been changed to my knowledge, hence why I want to just do drain and fill. Also don't want to spend almost $300 for the full flush the dealer quoted me.

 

Yeah you can but the tech better know what he is doing and know how to check it and fill it. It is highly recc. that you flush since a drain and fill only gets like 4qts out of the 12+ in the transmission.

 

That’s absurd.

 

IIRC the spec is 95-115 degrees and you read it with a scan tool. Pump the fluid in, get the truck to 96 Degrees and pull the check plug. Im sure your mechanic can do it, some say a full flush is bad but everyone has their own myths and legends they stick to, in the end its your choice. Drop the pan, clean the magnets, replace the pickup filter and fill er up.

 

I don't trust myself to do it, plus I live in a place where you can't work on your truck and don't want to do a transmission change in an autozone parking lot haha. Also, it is more of a piece of mind thing for me than anything, I don't mind paying a professional to do something that will help me sleep better at night I do only the most basic maintenance on my truck myself, like air filters and greasing UCA bushings and the like.

 

I’ve done several transmission drain and fills. Currently my transmission contains about 60% Valvoline MaxLife and 40% WS. Runs fine.

 

That's good to know, thanks!

 

Mine as well. I have started slowly converting mine to all max life. Shifts like new!!

 

Some tubing and a funnel makes filling so easy.

 

Do you have a fill hole? Mine is a "sealed" unit.

 

Yes indeed. Mine is sealed but if you check the passenger side of the trans, there is a giant bolt that’s says “ws”. That is the full hole

 

Ah so you just ran that tube all the way to the fill plug? Nice!

 

I hope this helps.

 

That is a clean looking engine bay! Nice!

 

Dealers, pfffttt. Mine's mix and mash too. No problems

 

Lots of people do this.... lots of HALP threads prove it

 

For the record, I did a pan drop, filter replacement, magnet cleaning and full flush with Valvoline MaxLife at 125k. Now at 150k and no issues except I did have to replace the transmission. Just kidding! No issues at all, shifts smooth as buttah with the fresh MaxLife

 

I also did a pan drop, replaced the strainer and refilled with WS - it shifts like buttah. I plan to do a drain n fill every 10-15k.

 

What did the inside of the pan look like?

 

The magnets had a little sludge on them but overall not too shabby. Cleaned up nice with just a few shop towels. I wish I took a before pic, but here is after.