For anybody who hasn't changed their trans fluid

If the shop you had the transmission service performed at said they changed all the fluid you can expect that all the fluid was replaced . This includes the oil in the pan , the oil in the cooling system lines and the oil in the torque converter . In the old days there use to be a drain bolt on the converter that you would loosen to allow the converter to drain much like a typical engine oil pan but a lot of manufacturers have gone away from the plug on the converter in newer vehicles . If the shop used the transmission pump to move the old fluid out , the converter has new fluid as well as the cooling system . I would still call the shop for a better explanation of how they replaced the fluid without a flush machine . Yes , all the fluid can be replaced without a flush machine . Its best you call them for an explanation of how they did it .

 

I wonder how you can drain the torque converter of its fluid.

 

To drain the torque converter you " must " disconnect the output transmission cooling line from the transmission and run the truck using the transmission pump .
When you take the pan off , only half of the transmission fluid comes out . The remainder of the fluid is inside the torque converter and the cooling system .
The only way to get all the old oil out if you are doing this at home is to use the cooling line flush procedure .

 

Labor time guide shows 27.6 hours to remove, completely disassemble, clean, rebuild, and reinstall your transmission. That is just the labor. So $2500-$3400 price tag is a pretty good deal considering. Here at my shop the rebuild cost would be $2725, plus tax.

This is why I recommend using a full flush machine to do the job. A machine flush, when done PROPERLY, will flush out the entire transmission, including the torque converter, and cooler lines. I used to do them all the time when I was working at the dealerships.

 

Haha I wonder if my trans would shift better if I got a fluid exchange/flush. I might look into that, although my fluid still seems okay.

 

Doesn't matter, the trucks gonna rust apart before your trans is dead anyway

 

When we do flushes its not the machine doing the push pull of the fluid, its the transmission pump doing it no electrical 12v plugs here. I still don't know why people are afraid of this FLUSH term. The only way your trans going out on you is if it hasn't been change for thousands of mile like exceeding pass the manufactures recommendation. A full flush is the best way of getting all the fluids out.

 

They're afraid cause a lot of shops use a machine that pushes the fluid through the trans apparently.

 

I changed the front differential oil and looks like it was never changed. Cool story I know. Kinda sad that no one ever changed it. I'm around 168k.

 

You at work Angel ?? I'm hungry...

 

A used trans out of a wreckers yard would definitely get a machine flush at start up. Maybe a double with fresh filters in place each time.

Who knows how it was treated. Mileage doesn't tell you crap when it comes to Automaytags.

 

I don't think my trans fluid has ever been changed in my truck. Has 177k miles and the fluid is brown. Would you suggest a flush or just a change of fluid?

 

If it's brown it's bad fluid. Should be red, almost pink. I've been told if it's black, just let it go. Changing it will make it die. Idk about brown fluid

 

Remove the pan and inspect the magnets and filter . Thats going to be your base line for a pan dump or a full flush . Take a picture of the material on the magnets and post it on here . You need to know whats laying in the pan . Without knowing this , you are taking a big chance if you were to do a flush . Red fluid does oxidize as it ages and I would consider brown normal for the mileage on your truck . I am sure your fluid has lost most of its coefficent of friction by now .

 

I have 219K and have never done a tranny flush. I check the tranny fluid once and while and its reddish brown. My shifts are pretty smooth except for freeway merging where I have push the pedal down a little further. Do you guys recommend I do this tranny flush also? Yall have me paranoid now that my trans will take a crap!

 

It's a toss up. Some people never do and get 300k miles out of it. But to me, putting that many miles on trans fluid would be like putting 30000 miles on my engine oil. Everything wears out, and fresh fluid is always better

 

Amazed at the mileage quotes on this thread. 50K would be my absolute max before fresh fluid and filter with a 4x4 auto. If you tow alot, cut that number in half or less depending.

 

Dont flush .........., Take the pan off , check the magnets and clean filter . Is anything laying in the bottom of the pan ?
No reason to worry if your transmission is functioning well . If you find a bunch of metal sitting on the bottom of the pan or stuck inside the filter and the transmission still functions fine , all I would do is button the pan back up and fill the trans with new fluid .

 

This was in the bottom of mine......

 

How many miles?