Matt64341 Posted July 18, 2007 Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 I'm going to get my transmission fluid changed soon, but i dont know if it is worth it to pay $130 for someone to do it, or if its easy enough to do myself. I was also wondering if the complete flush is worth the extra money or if just a change is good enough. I've heard of people just pumping it out through the stick, which is definitly easier, but that doesnt clean the magnet or change the filter, so i'm thinking that i should stay away from that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
latinopikachu Posted July 18, 2007 Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 drop the pan. Even I could do it. The only thing is replacing the gasket with some sealer or something, and then figuring out the correct fluid level. I would probably drop the pan, replace the fluid, take a 5-10 mile drive under various gears and conditions, and then drop it again and put more fluid in just to make sure its clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankzao Posted July 18, 2007 Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 a complete flush is better.... it replaces the fluid from the torque converter as well........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginph Posted July 18, 2007 Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 It depends on your mileage... I'm going to get my transmission fluid changed soon, but i dont know if it is worth it to pay $130 for someone to do it, or if its easy enough to do myself. I was also wondering if the complete flush is worth the extra money or if just a change is good enough. I've heard of people just pumping it out through the stick, which is definitly easier, but that doesnt clean the magnet or change the filter, so i'm thinking that i should stay away from that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt64341 Posted July 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 a little under 84,000 now but i am not sure about what was done before i bought the car at 77,000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginph Posted July 18, 2007 Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 84k miles? I did mine a while ago. It is at 106k miles and i dont think it was changed before. I suck it out through the filling pipe on the top, fill with fresh fluid, drive a little and suck out fill in again. That way i changed about 80% of it. I spent $25 for supertech fluid and red lubegard additive. I plan to drop the pan next summer.. Whatever you do except flush will change about half of the fluid. You or your mechanic can drop the pan and clean the magnets. You dont really need to change the filter but while you are there why not? Flushing it the best.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt64341 Posted July 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2007 how important is cleaning the magnet and replacing the filter? because it really sounds so much easier to take it from the top and when money is a little less tight maybe i could get the full service done. $25 sounds much better than $130. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mts Posted July 19, 2007 Report Share Posted July 19, 2007 Depends if you want to clean the system or just change the fluid.... that is like changing your oil in the engine and leaving the dirty oil filter there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt64341 Posted July 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2007 i don't like how it sounds when you put it that way... but reminds me, i need to change my oil soon. i would love to save money and time, but i dont want to hurt the car at all by taking the easy way out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginph Posted July 19, 2007 Report Share Posted July 19, 2007 Well i am tight on budget and just changed the fluid. Better than not changing it for the entire lifetime of the car. If you are broke you should be ok to just change the fluid, easy way. I changed it at 106k miles and it was still working ok. I still feel the shifts tough.. Magnets, they hold the small particles in there and they will continue to hold them. If they cant, you have the filter.. Of course i am not saying cleaning the magnets is nothing but i dont thing it is as bad as not changing the oil filter.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt64341 Posted July 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2007 i just checked the fluid today and it was brown and there were some small bubbles on the stick. i decided to go along with a quick change and soon i will do a full flush. i bought 8 quarts of supertech transmission fluid, a container for the old fluid, and an additive. it cost about $30 and took about an hour because it took a while to pump the old fluid out. there is a noticable difference in shifting, and i bet it will be even better with a flush later on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mts Posted July 19, 2007 Report Share Posted July 19, 2007 Well i am tight on budget and just changed the fluid. Better than not changing it for the entire lifetime of the car. If you are broke you should be ok to just change the fluid, easy way. I changed it at 106k miles and it was still working ok. I still feel the shifts tough.. Magnets, they hold the small particles in there and they will continue to hold them. If they cant, you have the filter.. Of course i am not saying cleaning the magnets is nothing but i dont thing it is as bad as not changing the oil filter.. Magnets only hold onto so much... then the rest plugs the filter.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renboy Posted July 21, 2007 Report Share Posted July 21, 2007 Clean the magnet, not only is the 'filter' a small step up from completely useless, but the magnet can give you a good idea of what's going on inside your tranny. I have a question though, why did you pump the old fluid out? There's a drain plug on the bottom of the tranny. You can have all the fluid removed in under two minutes, even less if the fluid is hot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt64341 Posted July 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2007 Clean the magnet, not only is the 'filter' a small step up from completely useless, but the magnet can give you a good idea of what's going on inside your tranny. I have a question though, why did you pump the old fluid out? There's a drain plug on the bottom of the tranny. You can have all the fluid removed in under two minutes, even less if the fluid is hot. oh... i didnt think of that, it would have made it much easier... but now that this fluid has been on my mind i think i will get it flushed before winter or at least drop the pan and repeat what i did with a new filter and clean magnet. and use that drain plug. when i was pouring the old stuff into a container it looked just like chocolate milk... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mts Posted July 21, 2007 Report Share Posted July 21, 2007 Sounds like it was emulsified with water.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt64341 Posted July 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2007 Sounds like it was emulsified with water.... that doesn't sound good... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mts Posted July 21, 2007 Report Share Posted July 21, 2007 Could be very bad... is there a tranny cooler installed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt64341 Posted July 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2007 no, i was considering one but havnt yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mts Posted July 21, 2007 Report Share Posted July 21, 2007 OK then... maybe someone mixed transmission fluids... that is bad too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt64341 Posted July 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2007 ok, then im guessing that it needs to be flushed as soon as possible. and if it does, i do have some extra money in the bank for problems like this, so i will be able to get it done in the next week or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shinta786 Posted July 22, 2007 Report Share Posted July 22, 2007 Aha.........good you guys told me....CHANGE THE GEAROIL. My mercedes vito (how do you call it in the USA?) has about 400 000km.....and I never changed the gearoil. good tip thnx! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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