I need my car to last me a few more years before i graduate college and get a good job. So i was thinking i should put some money into it to make sure things will stay in working order. The tranny has never been touched in my ownership of 3 years and prolly many before that by the other owner. Whats included...filter and fluid change? what might a place charge? Thanks.
AOD Tranny Service?
- Thread starter 85GTKid
- Start date
I'm not sure what most garages charge to do a tranny fluid/filter change. It is fairly straightforward, you drop the transmission pan and spill ATF everywhere in the process...than replace the filter, reinstall the pan with the new gasket and refill the tranny. As I mentioned, the job can be quite messy if you don't have a large drain pan. I am a big fan of installing a drain plug whenever I service an "untouched" transmission on one of my cars. The reason for this is that you will probably be doing it again shortly after the first time. That new fluid will likely disolve a lot of varnish/deposits in your transmission and start to plug the filter. You'll notice the fluid darken in color and transmission responsiveness to decrease.
Post back with anymore questions, good luck.
Post back with anymore questions, good luck.
as Batty said, you wont get a lot of the fluid out (though i bet you could get close if you undid a cooler line and added as it comes out). does the convertor have a drain plug?
Batty, im curious on your thoughts - i agree that the new fluid and its detergents, etc will losen up more crud. why not drop the pan again, in case the new crud gets into the filter? (im not being a jerk- just curious, as i dont have a slushbox, but family's cars all are).
Batty, im curious on your thoughts - i agree that the new fluid and its detergents, etc will losen up more crud. why not drop the pan again, in case the new crud gets into the filter? (im not being a jerk- just curious, as i dont have a slushbox, but family's cars all are).
How many miles do you have on it.. If you have a ton of miles and the fluid has never been changed then i may leave it alone for fears of it slipping when you install the new fluid. If you choose to change the fluid yourself then after you do as mentioned above with the pan, take the converter dust cover off and rotate the engine until the converter drain plug is in reach.. Pull the plug and drain the converter as well. Personally when it comes to auto's fluid, I take it to a shop that has a machine that hooks into your tranny lines.. Start the car and the old pumps out and the new pumps in.. that way you know you are getting it all changed.. The place i use will install a tranny filter and gasket for free if I bring it to them and have them do a fluid change.
HISSIN50 said:
You're 100% right, you should drop the pan and change the filter. The drain plug is simply to aid in removing the pan: you can drain the fluid easily and don't make a huge mess in the driveway. In 2000 I bought a 1988 Grand Marquis with 100k that had the OEM fluid in it. I had to change the fluid and filter three times within a month before the fluid kept a good color and the transmission shifted correctly. Its been 4 years and now it needs to be done again...
shttygtstang
New Member
- Jun 2, 2004
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heres what ya do pull down a dark street find a nice dark sturdy sewer and dump it change your filter add the fluid then be gone do this for thre nights in a row remember too wear joging suit and your running sneakers for insurance
jk
jk
oh right on. i gotcha!battyice said:
i totally did not think of it as simply easing the fluid removal (i thought you meant that you would just use the new plug to drain fluid and leave the filter in there. my bad).
great idea. ill have to do that on some of the cars. the one that kills me is my sis's 95 probe - there is just a drain plug (no filter). gimme a break.
thanks again for setting me straight.
So if i change the fluid i will have to change it a few times? Well i am not going to pay for that to be done a few times and dont have the time to do it myself. So one service wouldnt be sufficient? Better off just leaving the old fluid in?
85GTKid said:
If your set on getting it changed then NO, you don't have to pay to get it changed three times. If you do then I personally wouldn't be changing it regardless. IMO most of the reasons that is turns dirty quickly is because people don't get it all drained out of the lines and converter so it mixes in and discolors the new fluid. Just take it to a shop that has the machine I talked about and have them do a filter and pan gasket too.. they may tell you that you don't need it but insist that you want them to change the filter. the machine will get all the old out and refill it with new and as long as you don't experience any slippage you will be better off.. The machine actually flushes the tranny, lines, cooler, and converter. if it starts to slip. then I guess you should have left it alone. A good shop will look at the fluid, if they are amazed at how bad it looks they will often send you away and refuse the job for fears of it slipping. Atleast that is what my local shop told me. IMO as long as there is no slipping issues, new fluid that is not broken down by usage and heat will be better,
PB, perhaps you can shed some light: in reading about autos, it seems that some people (who've neglected trans services) have had problems with the full flushing service. they get probs with slipping, etc. a couple of old slushbox mechanics said they dont recommend the full flush (fluid exchange with the expensive machine - i cant think of the correct name for it), if the fluid looks burned or it has not had regular service.
i think it was something about the new fluid (detergents and viscosity) causing issues, as well as sludge that had been stuck to the convertor coming loose and jambing stuff up.
i thought you might know more about this stuff (and whether it is myth) - ive considered the exchange for a couple of family car's, but did not due to hearing this (the trannies have had average service intervals, etc). we dont need to open a can of worms, if that is what it is.
thoughts?
i think it was something about the new fluid (detergents and viscosity) causing issues, as well as sludge that had been stuck to the convertor coming loose and jambing stuff up.
i thought you might know more about this stuff (and whether it is myth) - ive considered the exchange for a couple of family car's, but did not due to hearing this (the trannies have had average service intervals, etc). we dont need to open a can of worms, if that is what it is.
thoughts?
