LazyLlama

im just wondering if changing my fluid could damage my transmission it has 167000 km(104000 mi) ive only had it for the last 5000 km and dont know if the fluid has ever been changed after looking around it seems like it might break down after a little bit and dont want that to happen to me.

blue birdy 87

It doesnt hurt to change it

fervernt

you're gonna get mixed opinions. I'm personally against changing it. I've talked to quite a few people and I've heard some pretty bad stories where they changed the fluid and after they did it wouldn't shift at all. I was also talked out of getting it changed by a shop. They told me the same thing. Is it pretty dirty? smell bad? Or are you just wanting to change it for more of a preventative maintenance thing.

subroc

iTrader: (2)

As far as im concerned there is no harm in changing it. Ive heard the same thing from others in the past that its not a good idea to change old fluid from a trans that has never been flushed out before, and that after doing so their transmission was toast. I say if that was true then their trans had problems to begin with, and that the flush just brought them to light sooner.

Me personally i have flushed every auto trans car ive had. The first car had 120k miles on it and had sat in one spot for 3 years. I flushed it wand it was like night and day how smooth it shifted.

Also dont bother just dropping the pan and changing the filter and the 3-5 quarts that you get in that way. There are around 11-12 in the whole trans and the only true way to do it is to flush it either yourself or bring it somewhere that has a flush machine.

ShawnsRS

I changed the fluid in mine 6 months ago. When I first got the car 2-3 shift would slip if I was really on it and now I have to let off the gas and let it shift so it doesnt slip. The car had 124000 when I bought it...
Not saying yay or nay just my experience.

89rs454

Damn i never heard of this myth? Just change it, besides you get to see if there is any metal in the magnet. Me personally i have never had a problem changing Trans fluid. It's kind of like the sea foam myth, that it can make your car knock after using it, I say it's one big fat ******* coincidence.

formula forever

when I owned my gta years ago the fluid was very old. I changed it and 2 weeks later I was buying a rebuilt tranny. Was it because of the fluid change? Who the hell knows. But I change the trans fluid on a 98 rave 4 that had original fluid in it and its been over a year now and going good. If its black I would leave it.

89rs454

Can anyone come up with some science behind this myth? so let me get this straight, you buy a new transmission fill it with fluid and that's it? Go as far as chocolate fluid will take you? Sounds legit.

fervernt

naw from what I've heard it's supposed to be a regular(like every 60000 mi) fluid change. If you go to long without doing it(120000mi) then it causes your trans to start wearing prematurely. It then needs the extra particles in the fluid(metal shavings, or whatever it is that wears off the clutches and such) for added friction. when you drain out that fluid, and replace it with fresh stuff, it doesn't have the friction it needs to change gears anymore. At least, I think it's something like that lol. I'm no expert on how a trans works, but I've heard the stories, and I'd just as soon not take the chance. I ESPECIALLY wouldn't have a trans flush done, but that's from personal experience. had an old '80 buick with a bunch of miles on it, trans shifted fine, but fluid was dark. decided to have it flushed, and within a month it gave out and I was putting in a new trans.

blue birdy 87

I dont understand how changing the fluid can be bad. If you put back in the same amount and fluid then thats exactly what happened when new. Also if you changed the fluid because you were worried about it going bad it could have just been its time.


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sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

There's a persistent myth about this:

Skillet notices one day that his trans has started slipping. Never really thought about in all the years he'd had the car. Decides he needs to do SOMEHTING quick. So he changes the fluid.

About a week later, the trans finishes dying; new fluid somehow failed to put the clutch material laying in the bottom of the pan back on the clutches, or restore the rubber seals that had turned to dust and cracked, back to pristine rubberiness.

But of course Skillet doesn't know this; all he knows is, his trans used to work, and he changed the fluid, and now it's broke.

THerefore, Skillet never having taken a statistics class where they pound into you about "correlation is not the same thing as causation", gets the idea that the fluid killed his trans.

Enough Skillets do this, and pretty soon, you get a myth.



Go ahead and change the fluid. Can't hurt, and may even help.

redneckjoe

i disagree with the skillet analogy.
if its burnt and smells burnt,...yes its on its last leg.
changing the fluid will just speed up the time it takes to die. your just gonna wash off all the varnish and shilac thats keeping it moving forward, possibly loosening up worse contaminates.
a rumor or myth? i think not,...especially when its not a one time story from "skillet".

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Varnish and shellac doesn't make a transmission work.

Clutch material and seals do.

Changing the fluid is ALWAYS a good idea. But only BEFORE your trans is burnt up; not after something else fails, and no fluid in the world can possibly make it work right.

Ignore the myth and legend. If your trans is in good shape but the fluid is old, go ahead and swap it out. Just like your motor oil, rear end grease, and so on.

No mystery or superstition or voodoo required, let alone rocket science. It's just a CAR. There's near about A BILLION of em in the world now, not much mysterious left about em any more.

89rs454

There's a persistent myth about this:

Skillet notices one day that his trans has started slipping. Never really thought about in all the years he'd had the car. Decides he needs to do SOMEHTING quick. So he changes the fluid.

About a week later, the trans finishes dying; new fluid somehow failed to put the clutch material laying in the bottom of the pan back on the clutches, or restore the rubber seals that had turned to dust and cracked, back to pristine rubberiness.

But of course Skillet doesn't know this; all he knows is, his trans used to work, and he changed the fluid, and now it's broke.

THerefore, Skillet never having taken a statistics class where they pound into you about "correlation is not the same thing as causation", gets the idea that the fluid killed his trans.

Enough Skillets do this, and pretty soon, you get a myth.



Go ahead and change the fluid. Can't hurt, and may even help. That's what it alludes to on this forum. Come on people change your fluid if it's junk it's junk.

redneckjoe

definetly not gonna help IF its burnt bad. i agree on that much.

i am open-minded to other opinions & respect others experiences & knowledge.

fervernt

agreed. And I'd also like to say that I'm more than a little interested in what happens. OP, make sure you keep everyone updated on what you decide, and whether it works out or not.

ajStyles2015

It seems that everyone says changing transmission fluid is bad. What about changing the gear oil in a manuel transmission???

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

No, not "everybody"; only, people who either (a) are like Skillet up there and somehow manage to forget that the trans was already fornicated BEFORE they changed the fluid, and that changing the fluid therefore had NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with it dying, either for better or for worse; or (b) get all their "information" from a collection of people just like Skillet in the McDonalds parking lot on Friday nights.

The rest of us keep clean fresh fluid in our transmissions if we find that it needs it; and in fact, often replace it as part of our "new to us" catch-up on deferred maintenance whenever we buy a car.

Not sure what "everybody" says about that. However, like any other fluid, if it's low fill it up; or if it's funky, or you have no idea how old it is, change it. Your T-5 is supposed to use ATF.

While you're under there, change your rear end fluid as well. 75W-90 Mobil1 is a good choice. Odds are VERY VERY low that you have a posi, but it wouldn't hurt to buy a bottle of additive, just in case; you can always return it if you don't use it.

joshc

iTrader: (1)

I've changed the tranny fluid in every used car I've ever bought. It's good preventative maintenance for a vehicle with unknown maintenance history.
Any tranny that was in good shape before the fluid change, still shifted equal or better after the fluid change. I generally do a pan drop and clean the pan, and install a new filter. I usually install a pan with a drain plug or add a drain plug to the existing pan.
The pan usually only holds 4-5 quarts which isnt even half of the total fluid capacity.

DARKmj16

iTrader: (6)

gotta put my 2cents in here. I ask you whats the difference between an oil change and trans fuild change? both have filters that collect debris (trans pan also has a magnet which should be wiped off when filter changed) both lube internal parts to make the car move. both fuild changes wont fix a current problem if there is one. the only difference is trans. fuild lasts longer.

there ofc are things that could happen, filter put in wrong, seals damaged, rtv sealent going in places it shouldn't, but if everything is done correctly and there is no current problem with the trans then yes change it. its like every other fuild on the car, it gets old, used, dirty and needs to be changed to properly do its job.

I would like to add a warning, we are talking about a simple driveway fluid change not having a shop flush it. flushing the engine/trans ofc has its extreme dangers so much so that some car manufactures say to never flush the systems that damage can/will occur.