Yes or no on a tranny flush?

by **Sputnik312** » Tue May 15, 2012 6:58 pm

Hey everyone. So in the last few weeks I have noticed my transmission shifting a little harder then it should and I have also been getting a few odd noises when selecting gears. Neither of these issues are horrible, but I checked the fluid and it appeared to be pretty dirty. The truck is currently sitting at 100,800 miles and has never had the tranny serviced. A friend of mine who goes to a tech school said not to do a flush because it will stir up debris and overall do more harm then good. Should I just drop the pan and replace the filter and leave the dirty fluid? Any input or suggestions would be greatly appreciated- thanks for all the help guys
Chris- Phoenixville PA

by **Mudwheelin** » Tue May 15, 2012 7:30 pm

I've heard the samething about tranny flushes doing more harm then not. Not sure on this man. Hopefully someone else chims in and can let us both know lol.

by **AceOfSprings** » Tue May 15, 2012 7:37 pm

Just went to mechanic myself, if it too dirty on high mileage cars, it could destroy the whole thing during a flush.

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by **chevycrew** » Tue May 15, 2012 7:42 pm

Instead of a flush, try draining and refilling the pan on every 3rd oil change. (from my trans builder)

Typically, by the time you notice a trans problem, its too late.

by **Sputnik312** » Tue May 15, 2012 7:43 pm

AceOfSprings wrote:Just went to mechanic myself, if it too dirty on high mileage cars, it could destroy the whole thing during a flush.

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Yeah thats what I heard as well. I'm not trying to spend $100 to shorten the life of the tranny lol

by **DirtyBacon04** » Tue May 15, 2012 7:45 pm

Well I guess here is a lesson in the value of "preventative maintenance". Xmsns should be serviced at 50k (as per the Chilton's Manual). Places like Sears can do a fluid swap w/o dropping the pan. They stick a straw through the servicing port and suck out all the old shit and then pump in new shit. Might be your best bet at this point. Even then, you're still treading water until your xmsn gives out completley. Make sure you have a AAA card handy.

by **Sputnik312** » Tue May 15, 2012 7:47 pm

chevycrew wrote:Instead of a flush, try draining and refilling the pan on every 3rd oil change. (from my trans builder)

Typically, by the time you notice a trans problem, its too late.

Ok thanks. That sounds good. What about the filter though? With the mileage I have would it be better to just leave it alone?

by **Sputnik312** » Tue May 15, 2012 7:49 pm

DirtyBacon04 wrote:Well I guess here is a lesson in the value of "preventative maintenance". Xmsns should be serviced at 50k (as per the Chilton's Manual). Places like Sears can do a fluid swap w/o dropping the pan. They stick a straw through the servicing port and suck out all the old shit and then pump in new shit. Might be your best bet at this point. Even then, you're still treading water until your xmsn gives out completley. Make sure you have a AAA card handy.

yes I know bacon lol. Any idea how much longer until it gets real bad? The truck has never towed anything it's entire life- thanks for the help though guys!

by **JCrayton99** » Tue May 15, 2012 7:57 pm

Yes, you said 100,800 miles? You have exactly 439 miles left.

by **Sputnik312** » Tue May 15, 2012 8:29 pm

JCrayton99 wrote:Yes, you said 100,800 miles? You have exactly 439 miles left.

Perfect - ill be sure to set a reminder on my phone

by **fishsticks** » Tue May 15, 2012 9:12 pm

Sputnik312 wrote:
chevycrew wrote:Instead of a flush, try draining and refilling the pan on every 3rd oil change. (from my trans builder)

Typically, by the time you notice a trans problem, its too late.

Ok thanks. That sounds good. What about the filter though? With the mileage I have would it be better to just leave it alone?

Changing the filter won't hurt you one bit. You're in more danger of your current filter clogging up and starving the pump.

by **NC_IslandRunner** » Tue May 15, 2012 10:23 pm

When I had mine serviced last year it was way low on fluid and burnt up pretty bad but had not even slipped once, I chose to rebuilt instead of risk breaking down. I go places AAA won't go and to get towed off an island could cost hundreds.

by **Sputnik312** » Tue May 15, 2012 10:44 pm

NC_IslandRunner wrote:When I had mine serviced last year it was way low on fluid and burnt up pretty bad but had not even slipped once, I chose to rebuilt instead of risk breaking down. I go places AAA won't go and to get towed off an island could cost hundreds.

Yeah that would suck. Since it is going to fail eventually I would just be buying it sometime with new fluid. Oh well I'll look into it a little more and let everyone know how it goes.

by **chevycrew** » Wed May 16, 2012 12:15 am

I would drop the pan, swap the filter, put new fluid in....

by **NC_IslandRunner** » Wed May 16, 2012 1:17 am

I had beat the shit out of my tranny too so I was being safe, I use to haul way too much weight. And it didn't help a guy I work with had his tranny go out in Alabama and the shop there screwed him bad, so I was gonna avoid that situation from happening to me. If you haven't been rough on it I would just drop the pan and change filter/fluid like a few others have already said.

by **06MidnightBlue** » Wed May 16, 2012 2:02 am

If I may add my $50...I had a transmission shop flush and refill my transmission.

As a standard practice they do it three times during the service. Each time more and more gunky crap came out and on the third flush the fluid is pretty clear.

I've never heard of this being done, but my boss has it done every 50K on his 600+ HP Mustang and has never had any problems. For that matter I haven't either since the service.

Hope this helps in some way.

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by **NC_IslandRunner** » Wed May 16, 2012 3:26 am

The key is having it done every 50k miles we are talking about 100k+ without ever having it done before, you get more wear when you run dirty fluid 2x's the standard mileage.

by **Sputnik312** » Wed May 16, 2012 8:36 am

Thanks for the help everyone! I'll start looking around to see who has the best deal on tranny services.

by **navigator** » Wed May 16, 2012 8:55 am

My manual says every 100k for "normal" usage and every 50k for "severe" usage.
I changed mine at about 85k(mostly highway miles) and it was still pretty red.

If I were you I would follow Steve's advice and drop the pan and replace the filter.
I would also order a new Dorman pan with the drain in the bottom so it is easier to do a drain/replace later.

I figure if you swap out 1/3 of the fluid this time see if it helps you or if you start having more problems. If things clear up maybe your filter was getting clogged. If it gets better I would do another drain/replace in like 5k miles and then again at my next oil change.

If it is still acting up I would make plans to get it to a repair shop.
One thing to note about the tranny pan is the bolts are tightened in inch lbs not foot lbs so they really aren't that tight.
I think it is about 120 inch lbs which I think is about 10 ft lbs.

YouTube Videos · by **Trail X** » Wed May 16, 2012 12:01 pm

chevycrew wrote:I would drop the pan, swap the filter, put new fluid in....

I concur, + do it yourself, save some money towards the trans rebuild. :fro:

If just changing the fluid kills your transmission, then it was on it's way out anyways!

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