First time and late fluid change for 4L60E

[i6pwr]

The trans fluid in this 4L60E (2003 Envoy 4.2) is likely original at 120K. There are no symptoms of flare or slippage and has been driven easily it's entire life, no towing or jack-rabbit starts.

The current (2nd) owner has had the vehicle since about 25K and hasn't changed the fluid. Fluid isn't dark but slightly brown with the slightest hink of pink and doesn't smell remotely burnt or even abnormal...just absent is the fresh fluid smell.

My question is.... should I change all the fluid now, or change the pan capacity and let it go for a while then after maybe 1K miles flush everything?

My gut says not to change all the fluid initially to avoid excess cleansing but not sure.

 

[Whitewolf]

If I were you I would change using a GENUINE DEXRON-VI and as you suggest run it for some miles then change it again. Don't panic if the DEXRON-VI fluid goes dark, it does that and that means that it is working the way that it was designed to work.

 

[i6pwr]

I was thinking of 3-4 qts of SuperTech then change flush to either Dex 6 or Maxlife.

 

[umungus1122]

Supertech Dex6, $4 qt. and licensed. I wouldn't use their Dex3 "equivalent".

 

[eljefino]

Go do it. I'd use maxlife dex/mer but all are good choices. Do a regular pan drop not a flush and get the filter.

 

[Turk]

I got the same 4L60E in my 2003 185k GMC Sierra.

Change it with Mobil 1 or Amsoil ATF Synthetic.

 

[Whitewolf]

Originally Posted By: Turk
I got the same 4L60E in my 2003 185k GMC Sierra.

Change it with Mobil 1 or Amsoil ATF Synthetic.

Sorry mate but I disagree with you.

 

[matrass]

I have a 2002 trailblazer and changed mine out to amsoil atf on the last change. I dropped the pan changed the filter and flushed though the tranny cooler line. when I changed mine I had 30,000 on the oem fluid and it looked great. the pan etc looked really clean. I do tow a 20ft bassboat so I change mine more often.

 

[Turk]

Originally Posted By: Whitewolf
Originally Posted By: Turk
I got the same 4L60E in my 2003 185k GMC Sierra.

Change it with Mobil 1 or Amsoil ATF Synthetic.

Sorry mate but I disagree with you.


Yea, I guess you're right and I'm wrong. Especially since you gave no reasoning to disagree.

185,000 miles on the same year 4L60E Transmission, mostly towing a 3,000Lb Boat and not one single issue on what I said & did isn't good enough.

Pardon me, I'll dismiss that great track record since it apparently means nothing.

 

[mechanicx]

I would use Dex 6 and just do the flush all at once rather than mixing about half of the new fluid with the old. You're probably going to need closer to 6-7 qurts with the pan drop. You could do the pan drop and the line flush later on but you're going to go through a lot more fluid to get a full change.

 

[Rhymingmechanic]

Does the pan have a drain plug, or was it deleted by 2003?

If it has one and if you can get it loose, that's an easy way to do a first change. I might see how the drain and refill goes, and then drop the pan and change the filter next time.

I'll stay out of the Dexron VI vs. other recommendations, since I have no experience with the VI in my 2001 model 4L60E.

 

[i6pwr]

Originally Posted By: Rhymingmechanic
Does the pan have a drain plug, or was it deleted by 2003?



No drain plug but the lines at the cooler are ridiculously easy to access. One spring clip and the line pulls out, attach a 5/16 hose and start it up, drains the pan in a couple seconds.

Only thing is I wouldn't change the filter if I did it this way, not until I changed all the fluid. Only concern I have is clogging the filter so maybe the the best choice is to change the filter twice.

I'm thinking I shouldn't change all the fluid just yet, since I don't know the condition of the trans. I changed mine every 30-45K and have 181K on it but I replaced the seperator plate at 168K since I was getting 2-3 flare and the check balls had hammered the plate pretty bad. Along with a couple accumulator pistons the trans shifts like new, I also added a vette servo which helped tremendously....wish I did that at 120-130K to further prolong the life.

 

[LotI]

I just went throughout the same thing . 2004 Buick Rainier.. After spending a bunch of time on BITOG, I dropped the pan after 119k miles. This was my parents car from new to ~90k, then my wife's DD. probably no service because the interval is 50k severe, 100k normal. The fluid was dark but not burned.

Dropped the pan, changed the filter but not the seal. Refilled with 4 qts and pumped that out through the cooler line. Sealed everything up and refilled the pan. I Used Red Line D4 ATF and will probably change again at 150k. My wife notices the difference in shifting so all is good.

I was just under the truck to replace the downstream O2 sensor and noticed a fresh leak at the prop shaft with pretty crimson fluid so it's cleaning in there. Another day, another repair...or I could just blame the synthetic oil

 

[Falcon_LS]

Personally I would do a pan drop, replace the filter and refill with 5 quarts of Dexron-VI. Drive it around for a short while, and repeat. This application only takes about 12 quarts anyway.

I did this on my '05 Envoy with 57,000 miles on the clock and was still on factory fill (Dexron III). Fluid came out pretty dark. I did 3 changes with ACDelco Dexron-VI - the fluid looks good, and shifts super smooth.

 

[ledslinger]

Drop pan, change filter, do a cooler line flush until fluid changes color.

 

[[email protected]]

I would drop the pan and change the filter/fluid every 50,000 miles and siphon out fluid through the dipstick every 20-25,000 miles when I had my 2002 Envoy with the 4L60E. Just sold it with 170,000 miles. Towed a 10,000lb boat once or twice a year. That trans was definitely not babied.

The fluid would never really darken too much. I added another magnet in the pan. I used supertech dex. Could always tell when it was time for a fluid refresher because the 1-2 shift would get "mooshy" even after I had the PCM tuned. Changing the fluid would return it to shifting like new again.

To answer the OP's question... personally if it were me, I would siphon out through the dipstick tube first - do a partial change first, due to the trans unknown service history. Change out 5 quarts or so, drive it for 1-2 thousand miles, then drop the pan and change the filter/fluid.

 

[WishIhadatruck]

I would drop the pan, change the filter, and fill it back up with Dex VI. I've been using Dex VI in my 4L60E in my wagon for the last few years and it seems to be working great. I changed it over at 120k miles or before and am at 169k miles now. I do a fair amount of towing as well, 5600lb travel trailer. Since you won't be getting anywhere close to all of the old fluid out, you should probably change out some more in a few thousand miles.

I ran Mobil 1 in my Grand Prix (different trans. 4T60E) for the first 90k miles and Dex VI for the next 90k miles and did a UOA both times. The Dex VI looked better. I was doing pan drops every 30k miles during both of those 90k mile intervals where about 8 quarts gets changed out.

 

[Islandvic]

my 2 cents...

Drop pan and change filter.

Refill w/ Super Tech Dex VI ( I used it in my 2005 Suburban Z-71)

Drive around for a week as normal.

Flush with the cooler line method with more Dex VI.

Top off with Lubegard Red bottle.

Or use Amsoil ATF. That's what I used in my 2000 Silverado...

 

[wtd]

Originally Posted By: Turk
Originally Posted By: Whitewolf
Originally Posted By: Turk
I got the same 4L60E in my 2003 185k GMC Sierra.

Change it with Mobil 1 or Amsoil ATF Synthetic.

Sorry mate but I disagree with you.


Yea, I guess you're right and I'm wrong. Especially since you gave no reasoning to disagree.

185,000 miles on the same year 4L60E Transmission, mostly towing a 3,000Lb Boat and not one single issue on what I said & did isn't good enough.

Pardon me, I'll dismiss that great track record since it apparently means nothing.

Years ago I ran Mobil 1 ATF in my 98 Chevy K1500 with this transmission and it did not like this fluid. Trans always felt like it was slipping. I switched back to a conventional Dex III and the problem went away. This was back when the truck only had around 20,000 miles on it. I bought this truck new and back then it had never towed or hauled anything and I did not abuse it so I'm not sure why it didn't seem to like the Mobil 1. Truck has almost 125,000 miles on the original tranny with no repairs yet.

Wayne

 

[SteveSRT8]

You always want to change the filter first so a pan drop is required. Drive it a week or so and then do a full exchange.

We use a 5 gallon bucket and a length of hose. Start it up, let it run until you see a bubble, then shut it down immediately and refill the pan, repeat until the color changes to brand new.

Do this ALTERNATELY at 30k miles severe service or 60k miles easy service and your trans may out live the car or truck it is in.

Re: fluids we only use dexVI vi in our fleet trucks. It's a great spec, WAAAAYYY better than dexIII