4eat trans flush

[silverone]

Hello again everyone in Legacy land. Ive been reading threads all morning and a lot of people seem to recommend a trans flush on these cars. I know this is not advisable to do this on a older domestic vehicle, I have 1st hand experience because I saw what it did to a to a dodge truck a/t, it turned the fluid black! Imo, unless you can verify that a flush has been done at regular intervals, I don't think its advisable. I would rather do a couple fluid drains and filter changes. Whats your opinion on this ? Has anyone else had a bad experience with a trans flush on an older vehicle?

[JamesDewe]

I think you are right on all counts. Did you read those threads here? All the one I see here say exactly that... don't use a shop that forces new fluid in while forcing old fluid out. It inevitable loosen crap in your tranny and it gums up something else.

 

Everything I've read here says to drain the pan, refill, drive a while, and repeat the process, maybe up to 3 times for the best result.

 

I did this with my 1998 legacy 4eat, and it solved my torque bind issues.

 

I agree with you completely... I wouldn't do a flush in a vehicle that doesn't have a solid maintenace history of flushes being done prior.

[SpecBamf41]

i need to do this, my awd is not Not to par with my standards. plus i get a little bit of binding while turning. hopefully its not to late.

[silverone]

I think you are right on all counts. Did you read those threads here? All the one I see here say exactly that... don't use a shop that forces new fluid in while forcing old fluid out. It inevitable loosen crap in your tranny and it gums up something else.

 

Everything I've read here says to drain the pan, refill, drive a while, and repeat the process, maybe up to 3 times for the best result.

 

I did this with my 1998 legacy 4eat, and it solved my torque bind issues.

 

I agree with you completely... I wouldn't do a flush in a vehicle that doesn't have a solid maintenace history of flushes being done prior.

Thanks for the reply, and yes I read those threads here . Although I couldn't tell you where I read them I was all over the place, lol . Imo a service shop that does a trans flush should be required to warn a customer about potential damage to their transmission !

[silverone]

I'm not saying the government should require it, it would just be good business !

[broknindarkagain]

I don't do flushes on any car with over 100k miles, regarless of service history.

 

Drain and fill is the safer option....always

[monkeyposeur]

This is good stuff to know! My SS w/4EAT has about 150k and I was wondering what I should do. It was very well taken care of before I bought it, but I will go with the drain and fill to be safe. It shifted fine before I pulled the motor.

[JamesDewe]

Yeah guys, we are not breaking new ground here. There are several threads about the 4eat and flushing.

 

When I changed mine (150,000 miles) I'm certain it was the original fluid. It was black and it stunk. I did 3 changes, and by the time I got to the 3rd round (within 3 weeks) my torque bind was gone and shifting was light years better.

 

The search function was my friend.

[silverone]

Yeah guys, we are not breaking new ground here. There are several threads about the 4eat and flushing.

 

When I changed mine (150,000 miles) I'm certain it was the original fluid. It was black and it stunk. I did 3 changes, and by the time I got to the 3rd round (within 3 weeks) my torque bind was gone and shifting was light years better.

 

The search function was my friend.

 

Im sure this is not a new idea, but the way quick oil change places push trans flushes, people need to be warned once and a wile. They make big money on this! Imo its a big rip off. thanks for all the replys.

[Frank B]

The term "tranny flush" is misleading in itself. The way I've seen it performed is one cooler line is disconnected from the car and each end is connected to the "flush machine". There are no pumps other than the one in the tranny. As the engine runs, turning the tranny, turning the fluid pump in the tranny, the fluid is pumped into the "flush machine" which is nothing more than a big cylinder with a piston. Like a big hydraulic cylinder made out of clear plastic. As the fluid is pumped into the bottom of the cylinder, the piston goes up, pushing clean new fluid above the cylinder into the tranny at the same pressure that the tranny is designed for since the tranny pump is doing it. When you see clean fluid coming into the bottom of the cylinder, you stop the engine and you then have a complete fluid change. Which is really all that you want. The "flush" happens when an addative is added to break up the gunk and varnish in the tranny. Which you really don't need, tranny fluid has so much detergent in it that just having new fluid will do the job. If you don't replace the tranny filter before or after the fluid change, you risk clogging the filter.

The damage or ruined trannys are from lack of maintenance thru the years, not the fluid change. That's why auto manufacturers changes to synthetic or semi-synthetic tranny fluid. With these long tune up intervals and 100,000 mile warranty, people were only chaning the engine oil every 3000 miles because some guy on tv said so. The car makers didn't want to keep spending money on warranty work so they required a "special fluid" which was nothing more than synthetic or a blend.

 

You can exhange the fluid at home with some clear hose and a bucket, search youtube for that.

Just make sure that the right kind of tranny fluid is used! Just because the new dexron 6 supersedes the dexron 3, doesn't meen it's better. The dexron 6 is a lighter viscosity oil for better fuel economy. A lighter oil may not be a good thing for a worn older tranny. Read the manual and use the right stuff.

 

Also consider adding a tranny cooler, plumb it up downstream of the cooler in the radiator, in the return line.

good luck.