Should I change my ATF in 99 Buick Regal?

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Last weekend I used the Mityvac 7201 to pull out 6.5 quarts of ATF out of my 1999 Buick PAU @ 127900 miles. Last drain, filter change and fill was about 25k ago. Used ATF was slightly brown on the paper towel test but definitely brown in the waste bucket. No burnt smell.

Refill was Chevron Dex VI purchased at Amazon using prime at $50 for 12 quarts including NYS tax.

This is the second drain and fill of Dex VI (25k-30k interval) for this vehicle with all prior being Dex III with no ill effects.
 
I definitely recommend the shift kit, saved my 2001 Grand Prix that I owned from new until 230k miles, just sold it last summer. I put the shift kit in at 120k miles and it worked perfect 99% of the time after that, occasionally it would still shift hard when hot after city driving. I ran Mobil 1 Dex III(h) for the first 90k miles did a UOA. Ran it the next 90k miles with Dex VI and the UOA looked even better even though I had shifting issues in that time period that the shift kit fixed. I did pan drops and filter changes every 30k miles and only flushed it at 90k and 180k when I switched fluid types. At 180k I tried Redline D4 to see if the thicker fluid would help and knowing I wouldn't have to worry about shear. It made no difference that I could tell. I would stick with Dex VI. I later put Redline D6 in it, no change going to that either at 210k miles. At 230k miles when I got rid of it, it was running and shifting great.

UOA at 90k and 180k
 
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Is there any major difference between the transgo shift kid that Memphis recommends, and similar transgo shift kits on amazon which are $20+ less?

What about the filter and gasket?
 
The allomatic filter comes with a round seal for where it fits into the transmission, but does not come with a gasket for the pan.
 
OK. I went ahead and bought a filter at NAPA, who said Allomatic makes their filters. I got that with the OEM gasket and it came with the seal as well.

Now I'm just waiting on the TransGo kit, which should arrive friday. Thanks guys!
 
OK, so I got the TransGo kit in!

I had to buy new screws because my torque wrench locked up and I ended up breaking the head off one of the screws. (Does screw material matter? I did it based on hardness)

I didn't want to do a "dry" fluid exchange, so I figured I would drain and fill now, then in a couple months do it again with the new gasket and filter. The fluid was awful dark. I'm thinking original. It smelled roughly like mothballs.

Anyway, I put the new springs in (MUCH stiffer than the OEM ones) and got it all back together.

I tell you what, though. That shift kit is absolutely awesome! I thought that the shifts were going to be more rough since it replaces the "smoothing" that OEM transmissions have. But it is far smoother, and it is especially more decisive in which gear it's supposed to be in.

It also downshifts much easier. Normally if I was pulling out of a corner, it would quickly shift up to 3rd or 4th before I could have a change to accelerate on the straightaway. SO I would be stuck accelerating in 3rd gear unless I almost completely floored it.

Now, it goes right down to second and I get the kick I've been wanting.


Thanks a ton for recommending this kit!
 
That's good to hear! What transmission fluid did you use this time?

If the fluid was really bad looking you should consider the pan drop in a shorter than normal interval.

FWIW, Dave at triple edge recommends a pan drop every 30k with a healthy transmission so I'd probably do another one well before that to help catch up the maintenance. Maybe one every 10k then back to 30k intervals?
 
I used Valvoline MaxLife Dex-Merc. Stuff smells horrible new. Thats why the mild mothball smell worried me. Good thing I got it out. Almost black with a slight reddish/brown tint. Hardly the bright lipstick red it should be coming out at.


I'm not sure when the last trans fluid change was done. I bought the car at a discount given the dealership hadn't done their usual maintenance on it. That was the only fluid I hadn't changed right after buying the car. (I did power steering, brake, about 3 coolant flushes and 2 oil changes in this past year.)

Another BITOG user posted a fantastic how-to post which included an optional fluid flush where you would run the car for a few seconds with the pan off to flush out the remaining fluid. I didn't want to risk $2000 worth of damage to a $4000 car, so instead I kept the old filter and gasket, put in new fluid (and the shift kit). That way it has time to really mix in there, and in a month or so, I will replace the fluid again using the new gasket and filter.

I wrote an excel sheet to keep track of my car maintenance, and predict dates at which each procedure should be done in the future. But yeah, I plan to do maintenance MUCH more regularly than the previous owner. (Coolant was mud. Trans fluid was dark. SC oil was never changed.)
 
I used ACDelco OEM stuff. The stuff cost its weight in gold. I also had to special order it online.

When I went to AutoZone and asked them about supercharger fluid, they just looked confused. Apparently the hadn't heard of it before.

I heard that other stuff could work like 5W-30, but I wasn't going to risk it.
 
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