I talked to a guy from amacco who informed me that an annual filter change is all that is needed to keep a trans healthy.when I went to midas to get my brakes flushed,I asked for a trans filter change.he said they only do a complete transmission flush for $100!!!...WTF?? according to his theory "all 18 quarts are changed" 18 qts?? and when just the filter is changed it only loses 2-3qts,well he already lied to me,I changed it myself one before and got about 8qts from it. I'll agree that some fluid is still trapped in secluded cavities,but why $100?? it would be cheaper to do two filter changes,flushing the first out with marvel mystery oil.the brake flush was well worth it for $40,(I never liked bleeding my own brakes)

 

The Midas guy is more correct. When you just do a filter change, you only remove approximatly 5 qts. The tranny will hold appoximatly 11 qts. There is alot of fluid still inside the torque conveter, valvbody and trans cooler that you don't get otherwise. A flushing machine will cycle ALL the fluid in the tranny and clean and recondition the tranny fluid.

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What he said, but you still need to change the filter. The flush they do doesn't clean the old filter.

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82 camaro--original steering wheel, brake/gas pedals, seats--everything else modified
82camaro

 

junkyardog: the fluid alone will be nearly $20, and on top of that the flush chemical cleaner costs another $20. That plus labor, roughly 40-45 minutes, equals $100. Our dealership does it for $85 though.

GMTech: the flush machine should replace the fluid, not clean or "recondition it" - that would be pointless. Our BG flush machine replaces the fluid.

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[This message has been edited by Marc 85Z28 (edited December 18, 2000).]

 

When BG came to our dealership to try and sell us one, it filtered out the fluid, and added its "BG Conditioner" when it put it back in. Thats why you don't hook it up to cars with burnt fluid. You may have a different one.

------------------
If you live in Southeastern US, check us out!
South East Thirdgen


ASE Master Tech + L1
Savannah, GA

'87 Trans Am
S/D TPI retrofit including functional PassKey, 22# injectors,
JET AFPR, Ported Plenum,
TB Coolant Bypass,
SSM SFC, Boxed LCAs,
8mm Accel wires,
Flowmaster Exhaust,
16" GTA rims,
Corvette Servo,
KYB Shocks
-->14.97 @ 94.9 MPH<--

'97 Bonneville SSE

 

That does bring up an interesting question to ask any place offering this service, "Does it actually replace the fluid or does it just recondition it". Of course, the shop (if not a reputable dealership) could BS you or not really know.

Not to be mean to Midas or some of these oil change places that also offer this service, but they are not exactly the "best" out there. I had some bad experiences with Midas many years ago, and I refuse to have anything to do with them. The only person I would ever recommend to go to Midas, would be someone I don't like.

 

Can't you do this yourself, and let the tranny do the work? Say, first, you do a normal fluid/filter change, and put the pan back up.

Now, say you disconnect the fluid return line from the factory trans cooler. Run a hose from the cooler to a pan, this'll be the "junk" pan. Then submerge the return line in a pan of "new" fluid. Then, start the car and let the trans pump out the old and suck in the new?

(Disclaimer: Nobody try this, this is theoretical only!)


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Why not? Except instead of sucking fresh fluid up the return line, just add fluid to the dip stick tube as the tranny pumps the old fluid out (the return line doesn't "suck" anyway). I've been doing it this way for years. And, have recommended it many times on these boards.

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Wild! Thanks! I'll have to try that next spring. Luckily with my remote filter, I could just unscrew the filter, and use that to drain out the trans fluid. Otherwise I'd have to crack open a line.

All that will come out is the old fluid in the torque convertor, right?


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
---Think your car could be pic of the week? Visit http://www.f-body.net for details!

 

The first thing out of the cooler line is the fluid in the torque convertor. If you keep going, you'll pump out the fresh fluid in the pan.

You won't be flushing the passages in the tranny this way, but the real debris traps are the pan and convertor, and mostly the pan.