Will my method of ATF flush work?
Will my method of ATF flush work? I've been dreading on doing the automatc transmission fluid + filter swap but can't leave it off forever. After a hour of researching through the forums, I've come up with a odd but (I think) safe way to swap the fluid + install the filter.
I have the following ...
+ New deep transmission fluid pan with drain plug.
+ New transmission fluid filter
+ lots of transmission fluid
My method ...
Since I have to drop the pan to replace the filter and install the new pan (with a drain plug
) I was going to top off ATF so the pan gets full and drain it multiple times until the fluid looks brand new.
Would this work? I don't want to risk starving the transmission of fluids nor do I want to pour as I drain since I'm going to be working on the car myself. Also, how many quarts come out of the stock pan? I couldn't find a clear answer. I've read either 2 or 5 quarts
.
Also, a side question. How hard is it to install a transmission fluid cooler? I saw a post that had pictures but it was dated back in 2006. Where might a good location be?
Any input or advice is appreciated.
I have the following ...
+ New deep transmission fluid pan with drain plug.
+ New transmission fluid filter
+ lots of transmission fluid
My method ...
Since I have to drop the pan to replace the filter and install the new pan (with a drain plug
) I was going to top off ATF so the pan gets full and drain it multiple times until the fluid looks brand new. Would this work? I don't want to risk starving the transmission of fluids nor do I want to pour as I drain since I'm going to be working on the car myself. Also, how many quarts come out of the stock pan? I couldn't find a clear answer. I've read either 2 or 5 quarts
.Also, a side question. How hard is it to install a transmission fluid cooler? I saw a post that had pictures but it was dated back in 2006. Where might a good location be?
Any input or advice is appreciated.
I've been dreading on doing the automatc transmission fluid + filter swap but can't leave it off forever. After a hour of researching through the forums, I've come up with a odd but (I think) safe way to swap the fluid + install the filter.
I have the following ...
+ New deep transmission fluid pan with drain plug.
+ New transmission fluid filter
+ lots of transmission fluid
My method ...
Since I have to drop the pan to replace the filter and install the new pan (with a drain plug) I was going to top off ATF so the pan gets full and drain it multiple times until the fluid looks brand new.
Would this work? I don't want to risk starving the transmission of fluids nor do I want to pour as I drain since I'm going to be working on the car myself. Also, how many quarts come out of the stock pan? I couldn't find a clear answer. I've read either 2 or 5 quarts.
Also, a side question. How hard is it to install a transmission fluid cooler? I saw a post that had pictures but it was dated back in 2006. Where might a good location be?
Any input or advice is appreciated.
I have the following ...
+ New deep transmission fluid pan with drain plug.
+ New transmission fluid filter
+ lots of transmission fluid
My method ...
Since I have to drop the pan to replace the filter and install the new pan (with a drain plug
) I was going to top off ATF so the pan gets full and drain it multiple times until the fluid looks brand new. Would this work? I don't want to risk starving the transmission of fluids nor do I want to pour as I drain since I'm going to be working on the car myself. Also, how many quarts come out of the stock pan? I couldn't find a clear answer. I've read either 2 or 5 quarts
.Also, a side question. How hard is it to install a transmission fluid cooler? I saw a post that had pictures but it was dated back in 2006. Where might a good location be?
Any input or advice is appreciated.
Thats a way waste of trans fluid cause the fill tube goes right into the pan. Yes it will flush whats in the pan but there is like 2 or 3 times more fluid in the trans and converter. I'm not totally sure how to do a complete flush, but flushing the pan 3 times is a waste. Just drop the pan and you can clean the pan really good with brake cleaner. The filter just pulls off and slides in. Just make sure the round rubber seal in the trans at end of filter is there and doesn't get lost.
What you could do, and it will probably take TONS of fluid is fill the pan with new fluid drive the car for abit, drain pan and fill. Drive vehicle and keep doing that a few times. That will flush the trans. Trans shops do flushes too but i'm not sure how they do it. Hope that helps bud.
What you could do, and it will probably take TONS of fluid is fill the pan with new fluid drive the car for abit, drain pan and fill. Drive vehicle and keep doing that a few times. That will flush the trans. Trans shops do flushes too but i'm not sure how they do it. Hope that helps bud.
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 24,241
Likes: 89
From: Turnin' Wrenches Infractions: 005
You know, let me restate the above post......The idea sounds so stupid I just can't make it make sense in my head how someone dreams this up. I mean people have been doing fluid/filter swaps since before the OP was born likely and yet thats still not good enough for him. So he dreams up a plan to beat a method thats been working for decades, not to mention trans have been redesigned since then and Im sure the engineers knew the method the consumer would use to swap trans fluid/filter. Or maybe nobody told them 
Thats a way waste of trans fluid cause the fill tube goes right into the pan. Yes it will flush whats in the pan but there is like 2 or 3 times more fluid in the trans and converter. I'm not totally sure how to do a complete flush, but flushing the pan 3 times is a waste. Just drop the pan and you can clean the pan really good with brake cleaner. The filter just pulls off and slides in. Just make sure the round rubber seal in the trans at end of filter is there and doesn't get lost.
What you could do, and it will probably take TONS of fluid is fill the pan with new fluid drive the car for abit, drain pan and fill. Drive vehicle and keep doing that a few times. That will flush the trans. Trans shops do flushes too but i'm not sure how they do it. Hope that helps bud.
What you could do, and it will probably take TONS of fluid is fill the pan with new fluid drive the car for abit, drain pan and fill. Drive vehicle and keep doing that a few times. That will flush the trans. Trans shops do flushes too but i'm not sure how they do it. Hope that helps bud.
You know, let me restate the above post......The idea sounds so stupid I just can't make it make sense in my head how someone dreams this up. I mean people have been doing fluid/filter swaps since before the OP was born likely and yet thats still not good enough for him. So he dreams up a plan to beat a method thats been working for decades, not to mention trans have been redesigned since then and Im sure the engineers knew the method the consumer would use to swap trans fluid/filter. Or maybe nobody told them
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 24,241
Likes: 89
From: Turnin' Wrenches Infractions: 005
I appreciate you wanting to get new fuild in it. However, I dont like all these gimmicky ways of flushing an auto trans. I say either let a service center flush it for you with a machine and be done with it, or option 2 change it again within a closer interval to account for the dirtier then normal fluid that was left in the trans. An FYI, I have seen 50k trans fluid that was slightly dirty but still seemed to be in relative good appearing shape.
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There is a very easy way to flush your trans like what is accomplished with a T-Tech. Find the return cooler circuit. Disconnect it and point it into a gallon jug with 2 quarts marked. Drain the pan, clean it, install new filter. Fill the pan to stated capacity. Have a helper there to start and stop the engine. Have them start it and watch for flow. Have them slowly go through the gears this first time and have them turn off the engine when two quarts have been purged. YOu want to do this until either the fluid turns bright red or your total capacity has been reached.
This method is just like using a T-Tech only you have to do the work and dont have the cool connectors. It will purge about 98% of the old fluid. Any trace amounts left in the one cooler line will not have any impact on the new fluid. This is called a DIY cooler line flush/exchange. A similar method is posted on amsoil.com and is under "transmission flush". FWIW transmission flushes only do damage when a "flush chemical" is used or the transmision is already on its way out. This urban legend needs to be put to bed. Also, synthetic atf or conventional is fine as long as you conform to the factory spec (ie DEX III or VI).
This method is just like using a T-Tech only you have to do the work and dont have the cool connectors. It will purge about 98% of the old fluid. Any trace amounts left in the one cooler line will not have any impact on the new fluid. This is called a DIY cooler line flush/exchange. A similar method is posted on amsoil.com and is under "transmission flush". FWIW transmission flushes only do damage when a "flush chemical" is used or the transmision is already on its way out. This urban legend needs to be put to bed. Also, synthetic atf or conventional is fine as long as you conform to the factory spec (ie DEX III or VI).
yes this is what i meant too. I tryed some tractor/trans fluid in mine after i got it built, and it didnt do worth a ****, so all i did was drop the pan change the fluid in it. Drove the car around for a while, then dropped the pan and changed it again. This got out most of it doing it this way because it wasnt straight to begin with.
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Joined: May 2006
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The easiest way to change all of the fluid. You will need 2 extra quarts of fluid over your capacity. Drop the pan, install a new oem filter (Filtran, Sealed Power, SP, or Microfelt is the filter ID), new Duraprene pan gasket. Torque pan bolts to 65-75 inch pounds. Fill the transmission with five quarts, have the top line at the transmission going into a bucket. Now have a funnel in the dipstuck tube and all of the bottles open and start the motor with the transmission in park. Add fluid as fast as it is filling the bucket, as soon as the fluid color changes to the new color, stop the motor, reinstall the transmission line, and start the motor and top off the fluid. Now you have done a 98-99% transmission fluid change. This is the cheapest and best way to do this.
The easiest way to change all of the fluid. You will need 2 extra quarts of fluid over your capacity. Drop the pan, install a new oem filter (Filtran, Sealed Power, SP, or Microfelt is the filter ID), new Duraprene pan gasket. Torque pan bolts to 65-75 inch pounds. Fill the transmission with five quarts, have the top line at the transmission going into a bucket. Now have a funnel in the dipstuck tube and all of the bottles open and start the motor with the transmission in park. Add fluid as fast as it is filling the bucket, as soon as the fluid color changes to the new color, stop the motor, reinstall the transmission line, and start the motor and top off the fluid. Now you have done a 98-99% transmission fluid change. This is the cheapest and best way to do this.
This is exactly how I'm going to do it.
