Saturn trans. fluid change

[Thermo1223]

Well my father-in-law is turning into quite the DIY because of me.

So his wife drives a 2000 SL2 w/ an auto. Well it has rounded 100k and has never had a transmission fluid change or flush or even filter change. It uses a spin on filter and has no pan just a drain plug. It shifts perfectly for it's age. It's not as smooth but no faults and never any problems. He wants to change the filter and cut if apart to see what it caught in all those years. I would think a semi-flush is in order and was gonna use Valvoline Maxlife for older transmissions for the fill since it is up there in mileage. Any suggestions?

 

[TomJones76]

I would personally treat it as a black box and not service it at all.
I think 100K is too high for a first ATF change. Too many horror stories.

 

[Whimsey]

I wouldn't do any kind of total fluid exchange and definately not a flush

with 100,000 miles on the original fluid. But using the drain plug to empty the pan and change the filter would be beneficial to the life of the tranny. You are adding SOME fresh fluids and a new filter. There's still is plenty of old fluid left in the TC to dilute the new fluid so the tranny is not exposed to too much cleaning power

. In fact I would do it again at the next two oil chnges to really dilute the old worn out fluid with new fresh fluid in a slow manner so as not to dislodge "junk" too fast but to slowly clean it with a mix of old and new ATF.

Whimsey

 

[deepsquat]

100000 miles without a change ...I really hate to say it, but i would run a bottle of ARX through it ( follow the directions on the site)...plus you would have 6 0z or so left over that you could put in your engine.

 

[The Critic]

Why is everyone fussing about 100K for the first fluid change.

ATF experiences little to no blowby, and does not receive the same contamination that is experienced with engine oil. Besides, its a fairly sealed system.

GM specs a 150K service interval on Dexron III (H) currently, and specs the Dexron III (H) as lifetime fill in the SRX/STS transmissions, so why worry?

Besides, Honda specs a 100K service interval with their GrpI/II ATF in MOST apps.

Back to the point, go to walmart and pickup a gallon of Supertech Dex III ATF and a spin-on filter from the dealer. Drain and refill, change the filter, and be done with it.

Our 96 Saturn SL2 has 84K on it. First fluid change was done with Pennzoil Dex III (G) with an OE spin-on filter back at 35K, and the fluid ONLY was changed at 70K.

Shifts just fine despite the thing leaks after being hit by a rock.

Michael

 

[V1]

Go get that puppy changed no matter what the mileage. I agree with people who say that if a tranny starts goofing off, new fluid won't ruin it - that it's probably damaged already. Here is why I lean toward that theory.

My girlfriend's '91 Plymouth Sundance has about 108k miles on it, and I don't think its 3-speed tranny has ever been serviced. It started acting up recently. Every person I talked to about it said that the old fluid was probably holding the darn thing together, and not to change it because it might break. So, I left it alone.

Well, it's been 2 months since then, and the tranny is just awful; slow, hard shifts, noise, slippage... Whether or not new fluid would have stopped that, I don't know. However, I do think that it would have been worth the risk to try.

 

[vicmackey]

These guys telling you not to service the trans are telling the same old wivestales over and over.

Service that trans. If the trans is so bad that a fluid service can kill it the trans is already dead. I put 180K on a 700r4 transmission in a 1992 Camaro with one fluid change (pan drop and filter change) at 125K miles. The car drove like new when I sold it.

 

[unDummy]

Thermo, you have a drainplug and screw on filter. It doesn't get better then that.
Start a fluid/filter change regimen.

VI, its still worth a try. That tranny is a great test candidate for "bottle rebuilding".
Service the GF's tranny now

 

[Thermo1223]

Sorry this thread got away from me, I was going to reccomend he do what Whimsey said. Just slowing replace the fluid over numerous oil changes. No jump to synthetic just plain ol' Dexron III, and I heard Maxlife was fairly good dino so I figured thier ATF can't be far off.

It has absolutely no problems just shifts a tad firm, surprising as the older trannies I come in contact with are sloppy as all ****. This is the opposite, even bounces back 35mpg at 80mph.