Trans flush or pan drop?

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I have about 60k on my Jeep Liberty transmission since the rebuild. I'm getting conflicting information - would it better to do a pan drop or take it do the dealer to do a flush. It's a 42RLE.

Thanks!
 
It's got about 209k on it. It's a long term keeper/toy so I want to do what's best for it!
 
A flush gets almost all the old ATF out and is more cost effective if you want to exchange almost all the ATF for new. If you just want to "refresh" the fluid and get several QTs of new stuff in there, then a pan drop is fine.
 
4 Jeeps in your sig, so you may be a good person to ask. My mom wants a "CRV sized" SUV. What engine/trans combo is the most reliable in the Jeep lineup?
 
I know 2 guys who own trans shops and both said to never do a flush. They said D/R every 30k miles or so will do it.
 
Originally Posted by rob1715
I know 2 guys who own trans shops and both said to never do a flush. They said D/R every 30k miles or so will do it.


What was their reason? They don't want to be responsible?
 
Originally Posted by Donald
Originally Posted by rob1715
I know 2 guys who own trans shops and both said to never do a flush. They said D/R every 30k miles or so will do it.


What was their reason? They don't want to be responsible?

If it is safe to do flush, why should they think anything is going to fail?
Oh yeah, transmission manufacturers do not recommend flush.
 
Get an aftermarket transmission pan that has a drain plug, so you never have to drop the pan again
smile.gif
 
Transmission Fluid Exchange

For those interested, here's the fluid change method I use on all my cars that don't have a torque converter drain:

1. Pull the transmission dipstick (located near the firewall in most cars). Fresh fluid is translucent and cherry red. Some darkening is normal, but if it is reddish brown or mustard color and smells like burnt varnish, it is worn out.

2. Make sure the fluid is warm.

3. For pans that don't have drain plugs, remove all pan bolts except for the corners. Remove the bolt from the lowest corner, then loosen the other corner bolts a turn or two. Carefully pry the pan to break the gasket seal at the lowest corner. Drain mostly from this corner. With good technique you can avoid or at least minimize the red bath.

4. Remove pan. Inspect the pan before cleaning. A small amount of fine grey clutch dust is normal. However, if you find metal shavings, there has been transmission damage. Remove all old gasket material. Clean the pan and magnet with solvent and wipe dry so there is no harmful residue. Shop air can be used to clean the magnet. Hammer back any pan damage from previous overtightening.

5. (Optional) Drill hole in pan at low point and install a drain kit available from most auto supply houses. Make sure the kit protruding inside the pan doesn't interfere with anything on the transmission.

6. Replace filter. If it's a metal screen filter, it can likely be cleaned and reused.

7. Position gasket on pan. Some gaskets have four holes slightly smaller than the rest to allow four bolts through the pan and through these smaller holes to hold the four bolts and gasket in place.

8. Hand tighten pan bolts in a criss-cross pattern. After that, use a torque wrench to tighten bolts to proper ft-lbs as per manufacturer.

9. Refill the transmission using only the amount shown as "refill capacity" in the owners manual (or an equal amount that was drained), using the type of fluid specified for the vehicle.

10. You now have replaced the trans fluid and filter according to manufacturer's requirements. Fluid is changed in the pan only.

You can stop here and go to Step 16 if you just wanted a regular drop-the-pan fluid change. For a complete exchange of the fluid (including transmission body and torquer converter) continue with the next steps.

11. Obtain the total system capacity of the vehicle from the manufacturer. Have this amount - plus a bit more - of fluid readily available.

12. Disconnect the oil cooler line from the transmission cooler. Tickle the ignition to find the flow direction. Direct the stream of fluid toward a receptacle. It is better to use a clear length of hose with a shoplight laying next to it so you can see when all the old fluid has left the system.

13. Start the engine, let it idle to pump out old trans fluid until you start seeing air bubbles.

14. Stop the engine. Refill transmission through fill tube with fresh fluid - same amount as pumped out (usually about 2-3 quarts). After the first iteration, it helps to shift the transmission through the detents, pausing at each one, to get the old fluid out of the circuits.

15. When either the fluid color brightens or the total capacity has been replaced, shut the engine off and re-attach the oil cooler line. All trans fluid has now been changed.

16. Button everything back up. Clean up the mess.

17. Recheck the fluid level. With the car on level ground, set the parking brake and the transmission in "Park" or "Neutral." Let the engine idle for a few minutes. Shift the transmission through all detents, pausing momentarily at each position, before returning the lever to "Park" or "Neutral." Check the fluid level again and check for leaks. Refill fluid so it is slightly undercharged. This way it can be properly checked and topped off after a long drive.
 
I got the fluid done in my '05 Sport Trac religiously at 30K. I THOUGHT the Ford dealer was dropping the pan & changing the filter at 30K & 60K. I found out at 90K that they were just replacing fluid.

As 90K was out of warranty, I took it to Kwik Kar, and requested a pan drop & filter replacement. From the way the filter insides looked, I see no way fluid was traveling through it.

Now I just take my cars to a franchise, instead of a dealer to have this specific job done, as the Chevy dealer balked at dropping the pan on the Canyon at 30K. Fine, my money spends elsewhere.

I will always drop the pan & filter on tranny fluid changes. I just find that, for whatever reason, dealerships don't want to do it.
 
Originally Posted by edyvw
Originally Posted by Donald
Originally Posted by rob1715
I know 2 guys who own trans shops and both said to never do a flush. They said D/R every 30k miles or so will do it.


What was their reason? They don't want to be responsible?

If it is safe to do flush, why should they think anything is going to fail?
Oh yeah, transmission manufacturers do not recommend flush.


Well the thinking is by the time people get to thinking about their transmission, it has a problem and has never been serviced.

Best to ask the owners of the transmission shop how they would service their own transmission to have it outlast the vehicle.
 
I always drop the pan and change the filter. The drain plug just allows for less of a mess. The filter change is the objective, I suppose you could do the flush after the filter change if you really wanted to get maximum fluid out of the tranny.
 
Originally Posted by Donald
Originally Posted by edyvw
Originally Posted by Donald
Originally Posted by rob1715
I know 2 guys who own trans shops and both said to never do a flush. They said D/R every 30k miles or so will do it.


What was their reason? They don't want to be responsible?

If it is safe to do flush, why should they think anything is going to fail?
Oh yeah, transmission manufacturers do not recommend flush.


Well the thinking is by the time people get to thinking about their transmission, it has a problem and has never been serviced.

Best to ask the owners of the transmission shop how they would service their own transmission to have it outlast the vehicle.

That is why transmission manufacturers do not recommend.
Also, flush it but do not change filter? So what happens if something is stuck in the filter?
 
Donald got it above. "...by the time people get to thinking about their transmission, it has a problem and has never been serviced." It's disheartening to side with a dealership but you can't blame 'em for wanting to distance themselves from a big, hairy situation. They can't be required to educate the customer base.

edyvw asked, "So what happens if something is stuck in the filter?". If it's a discernible piece of something-even a 1" long hunk of gasket- likely nothing will happen.
Transmission filters are rock catchers. The element in every one I've ever removed was completely clean "cloth".

WylieCoyote's tale of a plugged up filter is a rarity. I bet accumulation of such magnitude is "transmission specific".
Probably another boo on GM. There you can vilify his dealer because they didn't do what he asked for. They are lice, after all.
 
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