Transmission issues

sorry, but new fluid is ALWAYS better. don't listen to these guys saying to leave the dirty fluid in there. it's just going to wear out the internals even faster.

 

Still driving my old 95 f150 and have never changed any fluid other than the oil. Two years ago had to add 1 liter of tranny fluid because the tranny was slipping because of being low(due to evaporation over time) and some gasket leakage. After adding fluid back in business, still shifts better than the taco(4speed vs. 6speed). A friend that is a mechanic said not to touch the tranny at all. My 86 ranger had the fluid changed, then I had problems.

 

At the end of the day, the transmission is nothing more than a big glorified hydraulic pump, that’s it.
Now think about the lowly P/S pump, how often do you worry about changing the oil on it and how long does it last?
But if it gives you peace of mind, change it so you may sleep better

I currently have a 16 year old tractor with a hydrostat transmission and I have never changed the ATF on it. Never ever, and it still has the same whine noise it had when new under load. And I sleep like a baby
How about that!

Cheers!

 

I had the aisin auto in my 01 tundra for 292k miles never apart just 15k non-synthetic dextron II 4 qt atf replace and refills. Never an issue. Even spoke with a local ACE transmission tech...claimed those transmissions have been very good rarely seeing one.

 

Hell, i've got an old new holland sperry/rand S-16 hydrostatic tractor from the 70's...never changed the oil or filter either. Still using it today.

 

Was it any actual auto tech or the service adviser working at the service counter? I worked as a adviser for a period and I can tell u there are services they will try to sell u in that u dont need. If fact, one of my Toyota owners manuals actually stated to follow the maintainence schedule in there and not what dealerships recommend.

 

Yeah that 80k was pretty dark. Maybe I might do 60k this time.

 

changing the fluid and flushing the tranny are two different animals. changing the 2 or so quarts in the pan is just scratching the surface, it will mix with the other 6 or so quarts in the tranny system. it would be like draining 2 quarts of engine oil out and adding 2 quarts and called it changed. anyone done an actual flush? is there a filter inside the pan?

 

smh...lol

Nah, better not wait till 60k, it'll be like the top (black) after 10k

 

I did the process a total of 4 times which was 9 quarts of new fluid I put in I believe if I remember. The fluid started pouring out red during the last drain. I would turn the truck on and cycle through the transmission after every drain to try and get as much old fluid as I could out. At first I was gonna take it to toyota to do the transmission fluid flush, but when I talked to a mechanic they said they don't flush it. Just a drain and fill. Thats when i decided to do it myself

 

Lol im at 5k miles since I changed the transmission fluid and it was a couple months ago. I can't imagine doing it every 10k 10k is way too much lol

 

Actually, I've drained AT fluid with 10K~ on it, and it looked close to new.

The discoloration is gradual.

 

FYI having worked at a transmission shop for almost 20 yrs, those guys were blowing smoke up your rear big time. They don't want you to change it because that's more work for them. I can guarantee they change it. If people changed their fluid regularly most transmission shops would go out of business.

I can't believe people fall for this crap. Its no different than changing your engine oil. But if any of you believe that crap, I got some ocean front property in death valley for sale.

As for old vehicles, ya you don't touch the fluid unless its been changed as its supposed to. Otherwise the new fluid breaks up any junk and starts plugging ports. So you drive it till it dies. Back in the older days though, transmissions were much simpler, much less finicky.

Biggest issue is too many old mechanics that can't comprehend things change over time. Want your stuff to last, you maintain it. Otherwise pay the repair bills when they fail a lot longer than it should.

There is a reason why my 03 Honda CRV has towed, hauled, gotten the crap beat out of it by me, 255k and still perfect, never a major repair. Because I actually maintain everything and change all fluids as needed.

 

Thought the new atf used in these transmissions are synthetic and don't require changing as often like years past.

 

I think the VOAs show it's not synthetic...
Toyota used to recommend 100,000 miles, then changed it to 60,000...
There's Aisin literature that says 2yr/12,000 mile...
Shit...modern atf only has a shelf life of, at most, 6 years.

 

Dealers need to earn more money...Car companies know this...to help them...they are designing all vehicles harder to service so as to force you to have local dealers service your car...
Engine check lights...Dealers want only there machines ( design for them only) so only the can can find the problems and buying a DIY equipment will be more specialize and costly...

the dip stick on the Tacoma’s cut cost..having dip stick on the trans? No tubes and stick..just bolt..

Expect the future...harder to DIY on most vehicles...
Aloha

 

I trust Scotty Kilmer on this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctpVCWjd8b4

 

Note that he qualifies his rationale by stating, “If the maintenance on the transmission hasn’t been maintained.” He is not saying that it is better not to do recommended fluid changes, but if the transmission hasn’t been maintained, it may be better not to change out the fluid, and definitely not to do a flush to avoid loosening up potential debris present in the transmission. That is far from the many statements on this thread where they recommend not changing the fluid at all, against both the vehicle manufacturer and Scotty’s recommendations.

 

i don't get just changing the fluid in the pan of the tranny, that would be like draining 2 qt of oil from the engine and adding 2 new quarts.
does the fluid in the torque converter circulate? is the fluid that is in there isolated from the flow of fluid thru the valve body?

 

Few makers put dipsticks in the AT transmissions and Toyota hasn’t for years. No AT dipstick on the 2nd gen taco either. BMW doesn’t even give you an oil dipstick anymore.

My F150, which is the most numerous vehicle sold in North America,has no AT dipstick, nor does my wife’s Camry.