Trans flush Q

[tyhuck]

I have been reading up on doing a transmission flush and from what I gather, its a pretty straight forward job. But I still have one question.

 

Instead of needing two people (one to monitor the fluid pumped out, and the other to add new fluid) could you just disconnect both trans oil cooler lines and put the intake into a bucket of fresh fluid? That way the old fluid is replaced with new fluid at the same rate thus illiminating human error and messiness.

 

Im thinking if you add some rubber hose to the end of each line it will make this easier. Put the intake line in the new fluid, and put the output line into an empty bucket. Would it actually suck the fluid in using this method, or does it have to be poured in for it to work?

[tyhuck]

Oh, also, I have seen capacities ranging from 4qts all the way to 16qts.

 

Does anyone know for sure how much fluid I would need to complete this process. I want to make sure I have enough to flush ALL of the old fluid out, but I dont want to waste my money on a rediculous amount of excess fluid either.

[oldscsc]

When doing a flush at the dealership we used 12 quarts.

[txab]

I have been reading up on doing a transmission flush and from what I gather, its a pretty straight forward job. But I still have one question.

 

Instead of needing two people (one to monitor the fluid pumped out, and the other to add new fluid) could you just disconnect both trans oil cooler lines and put the intake into a bucket of fresh fluid? That way the old fluid is replaced with new fluid at the same rate thus illiminating human error and messiness.

 

Im thinking if you add some rubber hose to the end of each line it will make this easier. Put the intake line in the new fluid, and put the output line into an empty bucket. Would it actually suck the fluid in using this method, or does it have to be poured in for it to work?

 

 

It needs to be poured in. Pump pushes fluid under pressure, it doesn't suck

[lilnasty]

12 qts should completely flush the fluid. Then 4 more qts to drop the pan and change the trans filter after your finished flushing.

[Black02Silverado]

From what I saw at the dealer, they hook up a bladder system to the cooler lines. The fresh fluid is in the bottom bladder and the old fluid is pumped to the top bladder, this in turn pushes the new fluid out of it's bladder into the system.

 

I used 14qts for my 02. The dealer did this to my truck when I first got it back in 01. They let me watch and explained it to me. I didn't do the filter since it only had 8k miles on the transmission.

 

For you I would drop the pan, clean everything up, install a new filter and put it back together, then add 6qts of fresh fluid and go from there. That way it will use the new clean fluid to pump through the system and converter and through the cooler lines and you don't have to worry about the filter once your done. It will only see fresh fluid since you are using the transmission to push out all the old fluid with the new fresh stuff.

[tyhuck]

So is it better to flush first amd then change filter, or change filter first and refill prior to flush?

[txab]

Pan drop, filter change, flush

[tyhuck]

Ok Thanks.

 

Now, which line is the output line on the cooler?

[txab]

Ok Thanks.

 

Now, which line is the output line on the cooler?

 

 

Flush write-up

[Mossyoakglock]

If you are going to be dropping the pan, you might want to think about replacing your pan with a pan that has a drain plug. I picked up one from Rockauto.com with a drain plug for around $30 and I am going to replace it when I drain and refill my transmission soon. It will make future drains and refills much easier.

 

I don't plan on doing a complete flush since I plan on doing a drain and refill every so often anyways. Plus it's going to cost me $130 in fluid alone to do it myself when I can have my local dealer do it for around $150.

[tyhuck]

Plus it's going to cost me $130 in fluid alone to do it myself when I can have my local dealer do it for around $150.

 

 

Thats exactly what I was looking at too. But, that is the cheapest pan with a drain that Ive heard of. Im definately looking at that one. THanks.

 

Thats got me to wondering, if the fluid is still red and not burn smelling, would I really need to replace all of the fluid, or would a new filter and some fresh fluid in the pan be good enough? My local mechanic said that is all he does anyway. He recomended that I do that and then do it again in about 15K miles. I know the fluid wont be totally new if I did that, but it would be better.

[ChevyTech77]

Two things here and then I am going to leave every transmission fluid flush thread that is started on this forum alone and I'm going to do so in a way that is as EASY to understand for everyone, as possible...........

 

1. Why would you change your trans filter and then flush the fluid? That's like changing just your oil filter and then chaning the engine oil after you've run the engine.

 

2. Why would you NOT flush all of the transmission fluid out for new? Do you only change half of your engine oil and then top it off?

[jdelrizzle]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you do a pan drop, filter and fluid exchange, on a regular basis (15000/20000 miles) wouldn't that eliminate the need to ever flush your transmission and torque converter, I mean my point being there would be an exchange of fluid on a regular basis and all the fluid would eventually mix and never break down or get burned up.

[kutzenshlagen]

A real easy way to eliminate some of the mess is to disconnect the tranny cooler supply line and run a piece of plastic tubing on top of the flare fitting into a bucket, then start your engine. When you start to see some bubbles in the clear plastic tubing (you'll be able to hear the difference as well) shut your engine off. This has flushed all the fluid from the pan so when you drop it there wont be much mess. Drop your pan, clean it out and replaced the fliter/gasket. Tighten it back up and refill the tranny from the fill point with 4qts. Start your engine and stop when you see the bubbles. 3 rounds of this and you'll have flushed all your fluid from the tranny and you'll visibly be able to see the difference during the last flush.