Maintenance on a "sealed for life transmission

[Stewie]

I'm thinking of doing a drain and fill but I'm wondering if I should go through the hassle of dropping the pan to just change the filter.

There is about 18 bolts and would need to apply RTV sealant as it doesn't come with gasket


TIA

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Depending on your transmission type, the filter most likely is not even accessible without splitting the cases anymore. If's it's got a drain plug, drain and fills are all you should need. 30-50k is most typical depending on how heavily stressed your trans is, and how bad of a reputation the trans has.

What's your trans type & vehicle?

 

[Trav]

What car is this?

 

[JMJNet]

Just a tip, when you are asking question such as this, please put the car make and model and year.
There are literally 10000's of cars/trucks/moving equipment that each have different quirks and very specific procedures.
Without stating that particular vehicle, who knows what answer you will get.

 

[fenixguy]

As stated above, it's hard to say without knowing the specific vehicle in question. That being said, most AT filters are either inaccessible or, if they are, no more than a screen to catch larger particles. A lot of these particles will be flushed from the filter when the ATF is drained. I wouldn't bother replacing it. A true "sealed for life" trans (my Hondas for example) won't have a drain pan, just a plug.

 

[WobblyElvis]

Some "sealed" transmissions without a dipstick, make it very hard to determine the correct fluid level. The transmission must be brought up to operating temperature, run through the gears, and then the vehicle is raised and a fill and "level check" plug are then removed from underneath. Fluid is added until it flows out of the "level check" plug. This is done with the engine/transmission running in park. A little dangerous without a lift. Make sure you know the procedure before attempting the job.

 

[ARB1977]

My Tacoma is easy to change. I use a fusion app along with a kiwi 3 blue tooth adapter. Custom PID gives me transmission temp.

 

[MCompact]

I performed a drain and fill every 60k on my wife's X3; the transmission was working fine when I sold it at @198k.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Haven't read too much on sealed-for-life transmissions, but even most North American manufacturers are suggesting no maintenance for the first 150,000 miles. Many BITOGERS are using old school habits on transmission maintenance like every 30,000 miles for instance. Have fun. Flame suit on.

 

[SZR48207]

Originally Posted By: Snagglefoot
Haven't read too much on sealed-for-life transmissions, but even most North American manufacturers are suggesting no maintenance for the first 150,000 miles. Many BITOGERS are using old school habits on transmission maintenance like every 30,000 miles for instance. Have fun. Flame suit on.


For the average car owner who buys a new car every 7 years that's exactly around the mileage that they'd trade it in.

But anyone who drives in stop and go traffic in a hot region should change it out at least after the first 30k. The initial drain carries away a lot of the rough particulate. Subsequent drains can be every 40 or 60k. Fluid cleanliness is not the only factor. The additives that protect the internals can cook off if the tranny gets too hot as well.

 

[MCompact]

Originally Posted By: Snagglefoot
Haven't read too much on sealed-for-life transmissions, but even most North American manufacturers are suggesting no maintenance for the first 150,000 miles. Many BITOGERS are using old school habits on transmission maintenance like every 30,000 miles for instance. Have fun. Flame suit on.


ZF recommends a fluid change at 50k-75k miles/8 years if the 8HP autobox is subjected to severe operating conditions. Since my 2er also serves as my HPDE car I choose to follow the recommendation of the gearbox manufacturer over the recommendation of BMW.

 

[KrisZ]

There is no such thing as "sealed for life". The term was invented to discourage maintenance. Some manufacturers amke it more difficult than others, but there is always a way to at least partially change the ATF.

Filters, if they are internal, they usually do not need to be changed if the tranny has had some decent maintenance record.

 

[Trav]

Sealed for life in the hands of the first owner maybe and to Hades with the subsequent owners they are not the target of the new car sales campaign.
IMO every 50K is probably a good bet with synthetic fluid and change/clean the filter/screen and pan if its serviceable.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: Trav
Sealed for life in the hands of the first owner maybe and to Hades with the subsequent owners they are not the target of the new car sales campaign.
IMO every 50K is probably a good bet with synthetic fluid and change/clean the filter/screen and pan if its serviceable.


You don't mean service something that the engineers and designers deemed never needs service do you? That would mean you know more than they do.

j/k

All kidding aside, filled for life is one of the dumbest terms to come out of the auto industry in a long time.

 

[ridgerunner]

The wife had an 03 Pontiac GrandAm with this type of tranny. It was shot and replaced with one from a junkyard at 43K.

 

[Driz]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: Trav
Sealed for life in the hands of the first owner maybe and to Hades with the subsequent owners they are not the target of the new car sales campaign.
IMO every 50K is probably a good bet with synthetic fluid and change/clean the filter/screen and pan if its serviceable.


You don't mean service something that the engineers and designers deemed never needs service do you? That would mean you know more than they do.

j/k

All kidding aside, filled for life is one of the dumbest terms to come out of the auto industry in a long time.



Oh yea those are true words of wisdom If I ever heard any. The trouble is that it sounds good to the uninformed during a sales pitch. The real problem is that foolish people actually will come to believe it then the company gets to sell more cars . Talk about rewarding bad behavior

 

[OneEyeJack]

Doesn't sealed for life mean sealed for the warranty period?

I do a drain and fill on my 03 4Runner. It takes almost exactly 4 quarts. I think that in 04 they changed to a sealed for the warranty period and used a different fluid.

 

[WobblyElvis]

I have an 06 Chevrolet 4 speed that calls for no fluid changes out past 150,000 miles unless used in severe service. I've changed the fluid/filter once at 80,000 miles and a partial change at 150,000 miles. Now at 202,000 miles it still runs fine. I don't think transmissions need as much service as they used to.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Originally Posted By: Trav
Sealed for life in the hands of the first owner maybe and to Hades with the subsequent owners they are not the target of the new car sales campaign.
IMO every 50K is probably a good bet with synthetic fluid and change/clean the filter/screen and pan if its serviceable.


And that makes perfect sense to the bean counters. Only 1.3% of the cars in America make it past 200,000 miles. I couldn't find the percentage that are in the wrecking yard due to the transmission.

 

[Stewie]

Originally Posted By: SubieRubyRoo
Depending on your transmission type, the filter most likely is not even accessible without splitting the cases anymore. If's it's got a drain plug, drain and fills are all you should need. 30-50k is most typical depending on how heavily stressed your trans is, and how bad of a reputation the trans has.

What's your trans type & vehicle?


Mazda 3 14

it has a FW6A-EL tranny