4L60E - How often for fluid changes?
4L60E - How often for fluid changes? About to do my first oil change on the new motor (about 4000 miles on it right now) and I got a built 4L60E put in around the same time so it also has close to the same mileage. I've heard to change tranny fluid out about every 10-15000 miles, is it bad to do it every oil change (3-4000 miles)? Will that shock the tranny to be getting fresh fluid every 4000 miles instead of say, 10-15?
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If the fluid looks & smells ok, leave it alone. It does not get polluted as oil does, so it does not need to be changed at any particular interval. Monitor the fluid, and when it starts to change (starts to smell & look burnt) do a "complete" change of transmission oil.
Last edited by PBA; Dec 12, 2006 at 10:08 PM.
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It does get "polluted" by sludge/particles, and the additives get degraded by heat; ATF is very sensitive to heat.
Religiously every 15K, or right away if it got overheated for some reason.
Otherwise 4K is just wasting money/time.
Religiously every 15K, or right away if it got overheated for some reason.
Otherwise 4K is just wasting money/time.
It certainly wouldnt hurt it to change that often but is agreed not nessesary , changing every 10-15k would be considered well beyond excellent maintenence
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Combustion processes inside engines produce acids, carbon and other contaminants that cause engine oil to break down. That is why we change engine oil very frequently.
The only byproducts produced by transmissions is debris that does not break down the fluid... clutch, bearing and bushing material and thats about it. The steel particles find their way to the magnet and cause no harm. Any of the other particles typically can be found in the filter.
So... as previously stated the fluid should be changed because it breaks down. Heat kills tranny fluid. We recommend fluid and filter changes every 30 - 40 passes on our non street / track only units. And for street cars with high stall converters we recommend fluid and filter changes every 15k miles or once a year, more often if it is seeing track time as well.
Use your own judgememnt and you'll be fine. Anthing more often than 10k for a street car is too often.
g
The only byproducts produced by transmissions is debris that does not break down the fluid... clutch, bearing and bushing material and thats about it. The steel particles find their way to the magnet and cause no harm. Any of the other particles typically can be found in the filter.
So... as previously stated the fluid should be changed because it breaks down. Heat kills tranny fluid. We recommend fluid and filter changes every 30 - 40 passes on our non street / track only units. And for street cars with high stall converters we recommend fluid and filter changes every 15k miles or once a year, more often if it is seeing track time as well.
Use your own judgememnt and you'll be fine. Anthing more often than 10k for a street car is too often.
g
I have a truck pan on my trans with the drain plug. I drain and refill every other oil change. And if you don't need to drop the pan, I would hardly consider it a waste of time (10 minutes) or money (12 dollars).
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Originally Posted by kaos_
About to do my first oil change on the new motor (about 4000 miles on it right now) and I got a built 4L60E put in around the same time so it also has close to the same mileage. I've heard to change tranny fluid out about every 10-15000 miles, is it bad to do it every oil change (3-4000 miles)? Will that shock the tranny to be getting fresh fluid every 4000 miles instead of say, 10-15?
by the way you can not change your transmission fluid properly or completely without the proper equipment. if you drop the pan you will only change half of it. properly servicing it will change all 16 quarts and will clean it too with a cleaner.
Last edited by mullenh; Dec 12, 2006 at 10:42 PM. Reason: ad
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If you go by a certain interval, be it mileage or time, you can miss when the fluid goes "south". Monitoring the fluid is the safe and logical way of doing it. Monitoring the fluid, means checking it once in awhile, and when you do something that is out of the ordinary, ie. tow with the vehicle, going to the mountains, a racing event, etc., you get the picture. Then check the fluid, and you will see the changes if any, at the beginning, and that is the time to change the fluid. If you wait for a certain interval, you could possibly do damage to the unit. If you see a change in the fluid (starts to look & smell burnt) then do a "complete" change of transmission oil.
I would agree watching fluild color and smell after racing ,towing etc is the best determining factor of when to change it, Personally I change mine once a year
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Originally Posted by mullenh
every 30,000 miles will be perfect. your transmission hold about 16 quarts of fluid and is not subjected to the heat enviroment of an engine. so it has 3 times the fluid and a mild enviroment and will last longer. just don't push it to much past 30,000.
by the way you can not change your transmission fluid properly or completely without the proper equipment. if you drop the pan you will only change half of it. properly servicing it will change all 16 quarts and will clean it too with a cleaner.
by the way you can not change your transmission fluid properly or completely without the proper equipment. if you drop the pan you will only change half of it. properly servicing it will change all 16 quarts and will clean it too with a cleaner.
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I agree with the "total" change of fluid, anywhere from 12-13 quarts of oil needed, as this is the only way of doing this, but I would install a new oem filter (look for the Sealed Power, filtran, SP, microfelt trade mark's) along with this.
Last edited by PBA; Dec 14, 2006 at 12:33 AM.
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Originally Posted by PBA
I agree with the total change of fluid, as this is the only way of doing this, but I would install a new oem filter (look for the Sealed Power, filtran, SP, microfelt trade mark's) along with this.
Originally Posted by joecar
...1. Replace filter, pan, fluid, do not start engine yet...
Originally Posted by joecar
I can change all my fluid (pan and TC) using no special equipment, and without removing the trans.
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Originally Posted by mullenh
how much is all? dropping the pan only get half of it which is not bad you just need to do it twice as often. be sure you clean the filter too. the down side is that you are not cleaning out the transmission. again you transmission hold about [B]16 quarts of fluid, dropping the pan get about 8.
Originally Posted by joecar
The link shows how I do it (all the fluid)...
My 4L60E holds about 12-13 qts; my pan is about 4-5qts.
Does a truck/deep pan hold 8 qts (3-4 extra qts...)...?
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From: Philly
transmission fluid changes should follow about this schedule:
1.) for high performance applications (towing, heavy and frequent track use), the trans fluid should be changed every 10k-15k
2.) for average usage (daily driving with the occasional "drive it like you stole it" attitude"), 25k-30k miles. i think just about everyone on tech should change their trans fluid and filter every 25k-30k since we are performance oriented people who all occasionally race our car and have some mods to it, also.
3.) 50k for normal driving. this is what you do for grandma's taurus.
1.) for high performance applications (towing, heavy and frequent track use), the trans fluid should be changed every 10k-15k
2.) for average usage (daily driving with the occasional "drive it like you stole it" attitude"), 25k-30k miles. i think just about everyone on tech should change their trans fluid and filter every 25k-30k since we are performance oriented people who all occasionally race our car and have some mods to it, also.
3.) 50k for normal driving. this is what you do for grandma's taurus.
