High Mileage Transmission Change

[SatinSilver]

I'd do a simple drain and fill first. Wait 500 miles or so. Then another drain and fill. On the third one I'd drop the pan, change the filter, top off with new ATF and a quart of Lubegard Red. The car will a slow and gentle cleaning in the trans without risking stirring up particles that my clog something up. This is what Honda recommends for their units which have a ton of small internal passages that can easily clogged.

After the dealer changed out the rear main seal on my Accord I immediately noticed a flair from 1st to 2nd. Greaaat. Took it back the next day and they test drove it and agreed. Their solution was a drain and fill. Which completely solved the issue till I sold the car 100k miles later.

Now if the car had regular ATF service changes then by all means give it a full fluid exchange.

 

[i_hate_autofraud]

You have the same transmission I do, the GM 4T65E 4 speed. The oil filter is on the pick-up side
and is easily obstructed enough that shift quality is seriously effected all of a sudden. The filter
only catches non metallic wear particles from the clutch plates not wear metals from the gears and bearings.
The magnet in the pan does that.

The filter needs to be changed for sure and replaced, and the old ATF that comes out. DON'T do the flush!
Be sure to clean the pan and the magnet in the pan, if it is the small square magnet, get a big ring
magnet instead, it would be placed at the far right end (paas side) this would be just under the
differential.

Because you are a 2006, it's right around the time they put in the cheap magnet, there's a TSB from
GM on that, google "4T65 magnet" or "4T65E magnet". Problem is right now you don't know what you
have inside.

You can make a note to check the style of magnet in there and get a big one for later when you
drop the pan again, later if you want. Note that the Torque Converter will still have old ATF in it, but
you'll be better off.

Don't tow anything with a 4T65E, that speeds up wear and shift problems!

 

[mrdctaylor]

I had this dilemma when my parents gave my daughter their 2002 Chevy Trailblazer back in 2014. It had 152K miles on it and had never had a transmission service. It was shifting fine. I decided to drop the pan and replace the filter. I did this at 152K miles along with 4-5 quarts to get it back to full. About 5K miles later, I used my fluid extractor to swap out another 3 quarts or so. 3K miles later, I swapped out another 3 quarts or so. This last time was in 2015. I've left it alone since then. It current has 175K miles on it and is shifting perfectly. YMMV.

PS. I used Supertech Dex VI.

 

[DeafBrad]

OP, there are different opinions about what to do. At the end of the day, you will need to decide what to do and own your decision.

Having said that, this is what I understand to be happening: assuming there are not other issues, the old fluid gets depleted. What happens then is the debris that was held in suspension in the fluid drops out, and ends up everywhere in the transmission. New fluids have the proper amount of additives in it, and that ends up picking up the debris and the fluid loads up with debris and problems crop up.

My Grand Caravan had around 125,000 miles before (I believe) it got its first fluid change which was a pan drop. I did several pan drops, and then ended up removing the cooler line and doing a flush. It was fine. About 10,000 miles later the torque converter started shuddering. I did another flush, and all is good.

What I believe happened is the flush resulted in the new fluid loading up, which resulted in the shudder. The second flush took care of that.

If it were mine, I would do at least do a few pan drops. As the oil starts to do its job, you may need a few more pan drops to get everything good. But at the end of the day, it is your decision and you must own it... regardless of what happens.

 

[Artem]

Soooo.... if the above is true, that would mean all these manufacturers with "Lifetime" transmission fluid are essentially designed ticking time bombs. Tranny wears out around 150-200k miles, forcing you back to the dealership for a new car. Brilliant!!

I've always been the one to change transmission fluid often. 60k miles drain and fills have kept my car's shifting smooth.

The oldest is a 98 Camry V6 which we got new in 1997. 300k miles on it. Still shifts smooth. It's had Mobil 1 Synthetic transmission fluid in it for probably 220k miles now, changing every 60k.

 

[thooks]

You will never cause a failure by changing the fluid. You aren't going to "knock something loose" by changing the trans fluid. If it goes out 3,200 miles later, it was going to do it whether the fluid was changed or not.

 

[DoubleWasp]

I have done high mileage trans fluid changes on a LOAD of GM transmissions (100+), including my own fleet of GMs that I bought with the business. Here's what I can tell you:

1. Exchanging the entirety of the fluid doesn't hurt anything any more than a partial does. Every single one of mine received a complete fluid exchange plus 4 extra quarts run through.

2. Use a gosh darned external filter. Sonnax did a study that showed that whether you do a partial or a complete, the amount of circulating contaminants increases steadily after any type of introduction of new fluid. Catch that stuff. Don't let it roam free.

3. Add some neodymium magnets (N52 grade) to the transmission pan.

4. Change the internal filter.

This has been a winning combination for me and all the transmission we have serviced. Not one has come back with a failure as a result.

 

[i_hate_autofraud]

Originally Posted By: DoubleWasp
I have done high mileage trans fluid changes on a LOAD of GM transmissions (100+), including my own fleet of GMs that I bought with the business. Here's what I can tell you:

1. Exchanging the entirety of the fluid doesn't hurt anything any more than a partial does. Every single one of mine received a complete fluid exchange plus 4 extra quarts run through.

2. Use a gosh darned external filter. Sonnax did a study that showed that whether you do a partial or a complete, the amount of circulating contaminants increases steadily after any type of introduction of new fluid. Catch that stuff. Don't let it roam free.

3. Add some neodymium magnets (N52 grade) to the transmission pan.

4. Change the internal filter.

This has been a winning combination for me and all the transmission we have serviced. Not one has come back with a failure as a result.



Add some neodymium magnets (N52 grade) to the INSIDE of transmission pan. Mags on the outside are wayyyy less effective
thru .050 to .100" tranny pans!!

 

[thooks]

Double Wasp,

Could you detail how one would add an external trans fluid filter on a Toyota transmission behind a 5.7L V8?

 

[Alfred_B]

Originally Posted By: thooks
Double Wasp,

Could you detail how one would add an external trans fluid filter on a Toyota transmission behind a 5.7L V8?


With great difficulty

 

[DoubleWasp]

Originally Posted By: Alfred_B
Originally Posted By: thooks
Double Wasp,

Could you detail how one would add an external trans fluid filter on a Toyota transmission behind a 5.7L V8?


With great difficulty

Think so?

http://www.tundratalk.net/forums/tundra-...stall-pics.html

 

[DoubleWasp]

Originally Posted By: i_hate_autofraud
Originally Posted By: DoubleWasp
I have done high mileage trans fluid changes on a LOAD of GM transmissions (100+), including my own fleet of GMs that I bought with the business. Here's what I can tell you:

1. Exchanging the entirety of the fluid doesn't hurt anything any more than a partial does. Every single one of mine received a complete fluid exchange plus 4 extra quarts run through.

2. Use a gosh darned external filter. Sonnax did a study that showed that whether you do a partial or a complete, the amount of circulating contaminants increases steadily after any type of introduction of new fluid. Catch that stuff. Don't let it roam free.

3. Add some neodymium magnets (N52 grade) to the transmission pan.

4. Change the internal filter.

This has been a winning combination for me and all the transmission we have serviced. Not one has come back with a failure as a result.



Add some neodymium magnets (N52 grade) to the INSIDE of transmission pan. Mags on the outside are wayyyy less effective
thru .050 to .100" tranny pans!!




At this point, I didn't believe that needed to be said anymore.