Can't Flush the Transmission

Silverado-Hareek · June 4, 2015

Ok, you have me laughing on the floor here. Have you actually OWNED a Tundra? I know several long-time Tundra owners who have moved to Ford or GM vehicles this year because of the problems they've had with their trucks... Another friend just had Toyota warranty the entire frame because of rust. Go read a Toyota forum and you'll see the same whining as you do here. My truck (not a Toyota, FWIW), is flawless.

Like I said I don't doubt Toyota has their problems as well. But I have never met a dissatisfied Toyota owner ever. I know plenty of people that don't like their Fords, Dodges, or Chevy's. I know that's not scientific but I don't use forums as the basis of my judgment as the tend to only attract people with problems. I use personal experience and consumer reports. Consumer reports just put out a list of the top 10 most reliable cars and Toyota and Honda comprised the entire list.

And as anal as I am, I'm sure I can find something wrong with your flawless truck

nadrojcote · June 4, 2015

Toyota has problems as well, and being that I came from a Tacoma I know this first hand. They just don't have nearly as many problems as GM though. Also a "flawless truck" depends on the driver.

Silverado-Hareek · June 4, 2015

Toyota has problems as well, and being that I came from a Tacoma I know this first hand. They just don't have nearly as many problems as GM though. Also a "flawless truck" depends on the driver.

What kind of problems did you have?

nadrojcote · June 4, 2015

Biggest problem I had was the drive shaft u-joints breaking while doing down the highway. It was caused from not greasing them though. I had a crank seal go after 130,000km which was easy and cheap to fix, and a bad catalytic converter around 120,000km.

Frame had the same issues as GM trucks, a piss poor coating installed from the factory, Toyota replaced my frame, lower control arms, bushings, ball joints, brake lines and hardware for free. It looked like a new truck underneath when I sold it. I really think GM may have a frame recall like this on their hands, my Toyota didnt look as bad as my one year old truck when it was 5 years old.

My new truck is only a year old and I've had a leaking engine oil cooler line, leaking transmission oil cooler line, leaking valve cover, bad catalytic converter, rear brake caliper seize and caused one pad to wear prematurely, leaking radiator (I'm hoping stop leak has sealed it) and a whole lot of rattles from the interior which I've remedied for the most part.

spectaculous · June 4, 2015

They dont' HAVE to drop the pan, it can be flushed by removing the transmission cooler line out of the side of the transmission and running the engine. This will activate the pump which will pump out the transmission fluid.

Just flushing a transmission does nothing address the filter for this system. If you plan on keeping your truck past the first fuller/fluid change, why wouldn't you do this work?

nadrojcote · June 4, 2015

Filter only needs to be changed every 150000km I think, myself I would like to keep the fluid clean by replacing it once during the life of the filter.

tnchevy · June 5, 2015

If you plan on keeping the truck for a long time I would drop the transimission fluid and change the filter every 30K miles or at least every 50k miles. In my line of work it is usually the transmission that is one of the first things to go.

Silverado-Hareek · June 5, 2015

So what's the difference between a fluid flush and a fluid change? In my mind, I would want all of the fluid in the transmission removed and replaced with fresh fluid and I would want the filter changed with a fresh filter as well. What do I ask for to get this done and at what mileage do I do this? Whatever I paid the dealer $375 to do on my 2007 silverado, that seemed to not cause any problems and my side mechanic said the transmission looked pristine when he had it opened up to change that snapped forward sprag. I believe the dealer called that service a fluid "change."

There seems to be a lot of confusion, myself included, when it comes to flushes versus changes and what's safe and what isn't. A little clarity on the issue is much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

c0ld29 · June 5, 2015

So what's the difference between a fluid flush and a fluid change? In my mind, I would want all of the fluid in the transmission removed and replaced with fresh fluid and I would want the filter changed with a fresh filter as well. What do I ask for to get this done and at what mileage do I do this? Whatever I paid the dealer $375 to do on my 2007 silverado, that seemed to not cause any problems and my side mechanic said the transmission looked pristine when he had it opened up to change that snapped forward sprag. I believe the dealer called that service a fluid "change."

There seems to be a lot of confusion, myself included, when it comes to flushes versus changes and what's safe and what isn't. A little clarity on the issue is much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

A transmission flush involves pushing fluid by a pump through the entire system and therefore replacing all of the old fluid in the vehicle. *edit-and should replace filter

A transmission fluid change is dropping the pan, changing the filter, and refilling. This will only replace 1/3 or a little more of your overall trans fluid since there is still some in the lines and torque converter.

Some people think only a flush is sufficient because that's the only way to completely get all new fluid, but if you do a fluid change at appropriate intervals then the fluid should stay clean enough to not damage the transmission.

Silverado-Hareek · June 5, 2015

A transmission flush involves pushing fluid by a pump through the entire system and therefore replacing all of the old fluid in the vehicle.

A transmission fluid change is dropping the pan, changing the filter, and refilling. This will only replace 1/3 or a little more of your overall trans fluid since there is still some in the lines and torque converter.

Some people think only a flush is sufficient because that's the only way to completely get all new fluid, but if you do a fluid change at appropriate intervals then the fluid should stay clean enough to not damage the transmission.

So a proper job would be to flush all of the fluid out AND drop the pan to change the filter too?

c0ld29 · June 5, 2015

So a proper job would be to flush all of the fluid out AND drop the pan to change the filter too?

Sorry I didn't put it but a proper transmission flush job SHOULD replace the filter along with it. So you are still dropping the pan. As far as what is the proper way to maintain trans fluid I've heard discussions on why to and why not to do a flush. I'm personally only going to stick to regular interval fluid changes,

In a bulletin (04-06-01-029E) from GM in 2010 (not sure if they ever updated it) "The use of external transmission fluid exchange or flush machines is NOT recommended for the automatic or manual transmission. Use of external machines to replace the fluid may affect the operation or durability of the transmission. Transmission fluid should only be replaced by draining and refilling following directions in SI. Refer to Automatic/Manual Transmission Fluid and Filter Replacement."

spectaculous · June 5, 2015

At the service interval, it should be a complete fluid change (flush) and also change the filter.

Parts needed:

ACDelco 24236933 Filter kit ($26.35 on Amazon)

ACDelco 24224781 Pan gasket ($16.49 on Amazon)

ACDelco 10-9030 Dexron VI (1 gal) ($22.76 on Amazon. Probably will need at least 3 gallons worth. Need to verify the capacity)

All told, that's $111.12 materials up front. A shop will charge a good amount for the labor, if you don't feel like wasting the 2 or 3 hours it might take you...

nadrojcote · June 5, 2015

I think people have stated that a transmission flush showed 14 litres on their shop receipt. I could be wrong though.

tnchevy · June 5, 2015

There have been problems in the past with flushes causing transmission failures. I changed the fluid, filter, and gasket and 30k miles on my 2002 and when I traded it in last year with 150k miles the transmission was shifting as good as the day I brought it home.