Transmission flush vs. normal filter change

Shoot2Thrill · November 22, 2005

My dad has a 2001 Chevy Silverado with 4.8L V8 and automatic transmission. The truck has 58,000 miles on it and it has not had the transmission fluid/filter replaced or flushed. This truck has had a very easy life with no hauling. Is it better to flush the transmission rather than just the filter and fluid change? TIA, -Shoot2Thrill

trever1t · November 22, 2005

Who's doing the flush? What was flushed right before your Dad's tranny? An old greasy one? Anwser depends. I would do the oil/filter only, unless i could be sure.

asilverblazer · November 22, 2005

Drop the pan and clean it, then replace filter top off with new fluid. I found a good article that explains the evils of a flush really well but can't find, I'll stick a link if I come acroos it soon.

ness5575 · November 22, 2005

my tranny went out 1 week after i got a flush. I would only drop pan, change filter, and add new fluid.

thats what I will do on mine in the future...

busta · November 22, 2005

I have known too many people that got a transmission flush and then a week or two down the road the tranny goes out. Like I have said before I am no expert but I would be very wary of a transmission flush.

chuck16 · November 22, 2005

I had my Tranny Serviced last year and had the filter and Flush done on mine. I was a little worried about it as from what I had read guys were having problems and gumming up was a problem. So, I planned on no long trips after it was serviced.

Pleasantly I was surprised, the Tranny shop even had it done in decent time not like a few of the other sleezy tranny shops around this area.

My truck had 120,000 Kms on it at the time of the service and it just rolled over 130,000 the other day....

Just my 2 bits worth.

jaslo · November 22, 2005

So is there the idea that a transmission change is really bad for your truck? When I had the 01 pickup done, they said if I dont do it at 50,000 but wait until 100,000 miles that I shouldn't even do it, because it would cause more harm than good. I just got a quote from the local gm dealer, for $110. Is that a good price? That is just dropping the pan and changing out the filter, and they recommended that instead of the flush.

willfxp · November 23, 2005

The Chevy dealership in Long Beach, CA only does flushes. I can't remember the price, but it was VERY close to $75...

You hear a lot of people who say after a flush they have problems... How many people do you think has had the flush and no problems?

And why does it matter if the "guy before" had a bad transmission? What does the previous job have to do with any of this?

I've had the flush done, no problems. I bought my truck used at 60k, so I wanted to get all the critical fluids change. I'm at 110k and still no problems, strong as ever.

asilverblazer · November 23, 2005

As I understand if the machine isn't properly used the contaminants from the previous vehicle, which more than likely was some P.O.S. so the flush was done as a last ditch effort to save it. All of that will get injected into your transmission, also all the crud in your own that has settled will get stirred up and ran through as well. Think of it like getting a blood transfusion from somebody sicker than you are with a community needle.

trever1t · November 23, 2005

Yup!

Tree_Hugger · November 23, 2005

Yup!

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The flush is far superior, if it's done on time and regularly. If you leave it too long, you'll also need to clean the filter, but by then your transmission is dying anyway.

marman · November 24, 2005

Yup!

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The flush is far superior, if it's done on time and regularly. If you leave it too long, you'll also need to clean the filter, but by then your transmission is dying anyway.

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I think there may be some misconception on the whole procedure. Nothing gets flushed! The fluid gets replaced. All that is done is the fluid that flows through the transmission line that connects to the radiator is rerouted to the 'machine'. The machine stores the old fluid and replaces the normal flow with the new fluid, which flows back to the transmission via the return line from the radiator. This is done with your own transmissions pump. There is little or no likelyhood of gunk getting kicked up, or crud from the last fluid replacement entering your transmission. With that said, it still is a good idea to drop the pan, change the filter, top off and then replace all the fluid. A new filter and all new fluid in the transmission and torque converter is a good thing. Enjoy your truck. I sure do enjoy mine.

Dusterman · November 24, 2005

I'm just going to drop the pan and change the filter/replace fluids.

It will save you some good money versus a flush. I know of many owners that just drop pan every 40k miles and have 150k+ on their rigs w/orig trans.

Shoot2Thrill · November 24, 2005

I appreciate all the feedback to my question. I knew I had my fluid/filter replaced in my S10 at 40,000 miles. I didn't even consider flushing it due to cost. I'll let my dad know everybody's input so he can take care of his truck. Thanks.