Is pan drop ok to do for the life of the car or is flushing recommended? At 65k right now

 

flushing is smoke an mirrors and not required. a pad drop is a nessesary step when servicing your transmission, its required to change the filter.

 

Agreed. I always did pandrop and filter on my automatic tranny vehicals. Part of why I descided to get a manual this time arround.

 

... also don't forget to clean off the magnet.

 

Changing fluid does work, wouldn't discount it.

Although, if you are willing to drop the pan, it will be much better as you can almost fully drain the system and change the filter.

Those transmissions are supposed to be fill for life though right?

 

The manual says not to use an engine flush on our cars. It is not recommended and can void the warranty...

Needless to say the local goodwrench at my dealership told me we had to do the engine flush, so I did it...

 

We are talking about transmission, not engine.

Dealerships will tell you anything, that's how they make money. Engine/fuel system flushes are nothing more than an additive that they run through the system then greatly overcharge you for.

 

Dropping pan will only drop about 60% of fluid as u don't get the fluid out of the converter. But spill an fill is best cause u can change filter. Also replaces the gasket which is bound to leak anyways. If ur really worried about all te fluid do a spill and fill without a new gasket. Full it up and run thru the gears and do another one and gasket and filter and call it a day

 

Thats interesting,
I remember seeing one of those Chris Hansom dateline things takling about Quick Oil change places pressureing people into doing engine flushes,
and it shows Honda, Ford and alot of other manufactures say NOT to, because it breaks loose oil gunk that can move down stream and clog small holes and then cause partial oil starvation to some bearings or what not.

 

They are if it isn't harsh conditions. I beat the Crap out of this car plus the supercharger

 

I did quick oil change for a year after highschool. They most certainly do push any type of product. It is how they make money. Oil changes @ around $40 only net a small profit. It's the air filters, wipers, batteries etc that make the business work. We actually got a small commision ex: 50 cents for an air filter, 1.50 for a battery etc not much but it would add up over the two week pay period, Especially when winter is coming tons of batteries/wipers are being replaced. Almost paid for my weed so not too shabby.

From what I've read I would not go overboard on useing an engine flush product but don't mind throwing it in every 25k or so. When doing an engine flush or dumping anything in the engine we would run it for a few minutes w/ product in then change the oil/filter right after. A warmer engine is ideal everything flows a little nicer.

I've seen the same products in dealerships (not same brand but a dealer version), and have had them offer it numerous times, but declined because it's mostly a money grab.

 

The only additive I would ever do to my car is a coolant conditioner just before I do a flush because it will ... Try... And renew the rubber coolant hoses and keep em from cracking. But I wouldn't do it at the recommended interval for a coolant flush an that's the only time most people do it. So again useless.

To the op. spill and fill w/ filter change and be done.

 

Getting the tranny in my old '01 Grand Prix "power" flushed was the worst decision.

It messed up the tranny and I had to have it rebuilt at AAMCO for $2,800.

Just dropping the pan and refilling is more than most people do for their cars.

 

exactly. flushers really arent used that much in actual shops anymore because of the issues they can cause.

what happens in an automatic transmission is when the fluid gets old it starts to break down and turn to sludge, much like engine oil. it will get into all the rubber seals on the clutch pistons and accumulators, and as time goes on more builds up. now you flush the transmission and a couple things can happen. transmission fluid has a lot of detergent in it, its designed to keep material from building up, it suspends debris and will get picked up in the filter. what happens is the sludge all starts breaking free and it starts getting into the valve body and solenoids.

the problem with not dropping the pan is you dont change the filter. older transmissions used ot use screen filters, if you had to clean them the transmission needed an overhaul cause there has to be a hell of a lot of material in the filter to plug it. modern transmission with dacron filter media needs the filter changed as it can plug up rather easily. alco cleaning the magnet is an important step, the magnet is needed to keep the metal debris in the pan, cause if it doesnt stay there itll go into the next magetic thing, the speed sensors or solenoids.

gm transmissions are not considered fill for life. dexron III fluid used in the 2005 models is rated for a 60,000 mile service life, dexron VI is rated for 100,000 mile service life. its rather conveniant that the service life of the transmission fluid is the same as the powertrain warrenty. from whats i have seen, id be servicing these transmissions every 40,000 miles regardless of what fluid it has. servicing them before they need is better than servicing them when the fluid has broken down.

just for the record, im a transmission builder. ive learned a few things about servicing transmissions over the years.

 

This will be on my agenda when i change my regular oil.

 

Sharky it seems like you know your ****. Would you mind helping a bud out? I'm hitting near 60k and would like a tranny service soon, What exactly should I ask for so I don't get jipped or sound dumb? I would prefer the best service for my tranny even if it's a bit more expensive. Thanks.

 

At 60 k I would drop pan and filter change. Leaving it too long like sharkey said means u mag as well not change cause the debris will real loose and **** up solenoids and such

 

Next week or so ill get it done.

 

first off, find a reputable transmission shop, stay away from the quicky lube places, they are not properly trained to service your transmission and will cause headaches. when you book an appointment tell them you would like to have your fluid and filter changed, and if they do try to upsell you a flush decline it. a pan drop service on one of these cars should take about an hour, depending on the shops procedures.

at my shop, our service entails a road test prior to doing any work, generally we will scan it and check for codes and check the shift adapt values, put it up on the hoist and give the car a once over (checking mounts, axle boots, etc), then remove the pan and wash it, change the filter, put it together and fill it with fluid. if the customer insists on a flush we will at this point flush it. just to give you an idea on pricing (it does vary a lot though) a service on a 4t45e at my shop is $129.95

 

Thanks for info sharkey. I was thinking of doing it myself. Do you know how much fluid a pan drop is?

 

dropping the pan and changing the filter will take roughly 7 quarts, pick up 8 to be safe.