[bdmcd15]

i know this subject is batted around alot... i'm debating on changing the tranny fluid. i've got 188k on the ride, had the tranny flushed at 100k. seems to work fine, had a transmission guy tell me to leave it alone until it dies...said the detergents in the new fluid might churn up junk. i just started towing a 11k fifth wheel and am concerned that no maint. might not be good. what do you think? drop the pan and change the fluid?

 

[arisley]

[ QUOTE ]
had a transmission guy tell me to leave it alone until it dies...said the detergents in the new fluid might churn up junk.

[/ QUOTE ]

Think he might want to sell you a tranny?

 

[bdmcd15]

good point...he's pretty trustworthy guy, known him awhile. specialty transmission in duncanville. he hooked me up bigtime on my expedition when i lost a couple gears. but...bottom line is...he sells transmission for a living. my fluid is brown and nasty, i hate to be 1500 miles away and lose the tranny with rig hooked to the back when it could have been avoided with some pro-active maint.!!!

 

[aklim]

Yes but if you dance around a fire at midnight naked with only a chicken, preferably dead, covering your genitals and wave a duck over your head, you will be fine.

What a load of BS. Why not leave the oil as it is then? You wouldn't want to release gunk into the oil pump.

 

[bdmcd15]

i'm not exactly sure what your doing with dead chickens and the sort, but whatever. different strokes for different folks!
That's what his line of thinking was....leave it alone, don't stir up junk to foul the pump...i don't know???? seems to be a pretty common answer, but it goes against my obsessive desire to maintain and prevent.

 

[aklim]

[ QUOTE ]
i'm not exactly sure what your doing with dead chickens and the sort, but whatever. different strokes for different folks!
That's what his line of thinking was....leave it alone, don't stir up junk to foul the pump...i don't know???? seems to be a pretty common answer, but it goes against my obsessive desire to maintain and prevent.

[/ QUOTE ]

If you clean the thing out every now and then, I don't see what you have to worry about. I have seen sediments at the bottom. It is normal. However, where would the junk go to? The filter is the farthest place it can go to. That is what your filter is there for. to make sure the junk doesn't get to the sensitive parts of the trans.

 

[bdmcd15]

so would you change the filter as well?? Seems reasonable to me.

 

[pabrannan]

Just dropping the pan doesn't give you a very good change. Go to "faqs" just under the TheDieselStop.com banner and see what a complete and proper tranny flush consists of. So simple a cave.....well you know. And it is so simple that you can do it yourself. Much easier with two though. I wouldn't hesitate in changing, whatever might be wrong is already wrong and it's only a matter of time anyway. Filter change, why not.....

JMHO..........

Paul B

 

[aklim]

[ QUOTE ]
so would you change the filter as well?? Seems reasonable to me.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'd drain the pan, unbolt it, drain TC, replace filter, refill and be happy.

 

[calico5string]

Although I don't have an auto in this truck, I have worked on (built) a number of FordvC-6's in years past...sooo, here's my 2-cents worth:
The problem is that the modern "power-flush" machines WILL break lose alot of crap and sediment and get it out into the system. Alot of transmission shop "recomend" this...but they sell/fix trtannys. But, it IS a good idea to drain and refill (with a filter change!) from time to time. However, if your fluid is "dark brown and burnt smelling", then you may be a little (actually, alot) overdue for the service.

So like he^^^ said, drain the pan, unbolt it, drain TC, replace filter, refill and be happy.

That'll keep you goin'...

 

[aklim]

[ QUOTE ]
The problem is that the modern "power-flush" machines WILL break lose alot of crap and sediment and get it out into the system.

But, it IS a good idea to drain and refill (with a filter change!) from time to time. However, if your fluid is "dark brown and burnt smelling", then you may be a little (actually, alot) overdue for the service.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have my trans power flushed every 30K and maybe that is why I don't have much sediment and crap to break loose.

Well, if the fluid is dark brown and burnt smelling, what have you got to lose? It is probably on the way out anyways.

 

[GrampyJim]

88,000 miles between transmission services is hardly "obsessive maintenance"....

I would forgo the flush and do a fluid/filter service. Right around 02/03 is when torque converter drain plugs disappeared... look for one, you may be lucky.

Your tranny guy is on the money..... waiting this long could have allowed major deposits to build in the torque converter (think centrifuge) that might not be completely removed during the flush process but softened enough to haunt later..... usually a long, long way from home....

 

[DENNY]

I would consider doing a full fluid flush as discribed on this site. BUT!!! I would not do it the weekend before a long trip. Plan on doing the fluid change when you will be around home and driving local for a while just in case you have problems.
DENNY

 

[Oneof6]

[ QUOTE ]
i know this subject is batted around alot... i'm debating on changing the tranny fluid. i've got 188k on the ride, had the tranny flushed at 100k. seems to work fine, had a transmission guy tell me to leave it alone until it dies...said the detergents in the new fluid might churn up junk. i just started towing a 11k fifth wheel and am concerned that no maint. might not be good. what do you think? drop the pan and change the fluid?

[/ QUOTE ]

188K?, 88K between changes? What usage have you had and what fluid were you running? Gages, run it hot ever? Also the last "change" was it a full flush or just a pan drop and pan fill? All these things play a part in it, the decision. I think that your load has made the decision for you, need to flush, twice. Once to clean it out then shortly after to clean up any loosened materials. But, at ANY rate, if the trans lasts another 100K that would be good, if it went tomorrow you have had more miles on yours than many get that were maintained more often than you have done. You are approaching or into a range that just getting it rebuilt would not be a bad idea anyway, probably not much life left in it anyway with the minimal maintenance you have done. And your load, that 11K fifth wheel, is the deciding factor, want to be on the side of the road or pulling it down the road? Me, I if the rest of the truck was in good shape I would get a BTS trans build and never worry about it again.