transmission service

[twocamrys]

When I took my 1998 Camry in for a recent oil change, I was told that my transmission fluid was dirty and needed to be changed. After looking through all of my maintenance records, I could not find any evidence that my transmission fluid has ever been changed. Since my car is shifting fine, should I just leave the transmission fluid alone or should I change it as recommended? I know that flushing a transmission can sometimes cause damage but I wasn't sure about a simple transmission fluid change. I don't want to do anything that could possibly damage the transmission since I only plan on driving this car another year.

[Chris Crash]

Definitely change the fluid, ESPECIALLY if it's dirty. It's preventative maintenance. You might even do a couple drain and fills in rapid succession to simulate a flush.

[Yuko]

How many miles are on the vehicle? If it over 150K miles; a drain and refill is easier on the vehicle like Chris stated. A fluid exchange is fine too but a pressure flush can cause damage that some shops try to sale.

[Mike Gerber]

Click and Clack, the two brothers who do the call in radio show Car Talk on Saturday mornings on public radio, recently answered this question about the dangers of flushing the trans fluid on an old transmission. They said in their opinion this is a myth. They said OK, maybe 1 out of 100,000 cars had a problem after a flush, so this myth was created and has been circulating. In their opinion there is virtually no risk in flushing an old transmission.

Mike

[Chris Crash]

I think that's true to an extent, POWER flushing that most shops try to do can theoretically damage a transmission by breaking off particulate or damaging seals. Drain and refill is virtually worry free. And the DIY flushing on the stickies of this board also seems harmless to me.

[pmesfun]

Originally Posted by Mike Gerber

Click and Clack, the two brothers who do the call in radio show Car Talk on Saturday mornings on public radio, recently answered this question about the dangers of flushing the trans fluid on an old transmission. They said in their opinion this is a myth. They said OK, maybe 1 out of 100,000 cars had a problem after a flush, so this myth was created and has been circulating. In their opinion there is virtually no risk in flushing an old transmission.

Mike

Yup, I remembering listening to that. They're awesome, always listened to them on the way to church, but now I think its on Satudays.

[beige97camry]

click and clack are a couple of hucksters who couldn't cut it as real technicians and became radio/newspaper hucksters...my opinion and GM has said NO to flush of transmission so who do you trust, a huckster or corporate GM who could only have gained if they thought the process safe...take your choice.l

[JohnGD]

I4 engine? You should still drain/refill the differential. You may have trouble cracking open the bolts however. A drain/refill will still leave about 2/3 of the dirty ATF in there, so you should still be safe.

Transmissions often fail because of fluid degradation when it can no longer provide proper lubrication.

Originally Posted by twocamrys

When I took my 1998 Camry in for a recent oil change, I was told that my transmission fluid was dirty and needed to be changed. After looking through all of my maintenance records, I could not find any evidence that my transmission fluid has ever been changed. Since my car is shifting fine, should I just leave the transmission fluid alone or should I change it as recommended? I know that flushing a transmission can sometimes cause damage but I wasn't sure about a simple transmission fluid change. I don't want to do anything that could possibly damage the transmission since I only plan on driving this car another year.

[arabianobsession]

Originally Posted by beige97camry

click and clack are a couple of hucksters who couldn't cut it as real technicians and became radio/newspaper hucksters...my opinion and GM has said NO to flush of transmission so who do you trust, a huckster or corporate GM who could only have gained if they thought the process safe...take your choice.l

I am a wee bit curious......if GM said no to transmission flushing, then why do GM dealers offer transmission flushes?

[fenixus]

just drain and refill it 2 times (with some driving in between), then drain again, drop the pan and replace gasket and strainer, refill the 3rd time and you will be all right.

drain and refill the differential though, it's a separate chamber on i4 and even damn dealers do not touch it when servicing transmission (did power flush once at stealership, they lied to me about changing the diff fluid too).

many people claims their cars started accelerating faster after draining and refilling of old (original) ATF in differential me included.

[mr1114]

I've flushed high mileage transmissions before without a problem. Wouldnt hesitate to do it again. I feel better knowing all the fluid is replaced with a flush.

[pmesfun]

Yeah, the fluid was probably changed once on my old 96 Voyager van. We had it flushed 2 years ago and no problems, the flush actually helped the delayed shift into third.