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Transmission Fluid Change/Flush

Hexa Fox

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Hexa Fox Enthusiast

Hexa Fox

Posted
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Hey guys I am planning to change the transmission fluid on my 2007 Silverado (New Body) 4.8 4x4 here soon. My muffler recently wore a hole into it and rusted out a piece of the exhaust. Therefore, I am planning on replacing my entire system with this one from Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00503PU70/?coliid=I365UW575WJD1C&colid=1GQFQXGWZEWEY&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

Anyway I have done some research and it looks like the exhaust system prevents the transmission pan from being dropped completely. For this reason, I would like to change my transmission fluid and filter while I am changing out the exhaust. It seems like it is going to save me a world of trouble. Also I am coming up on 95,000 miles and almost positive it has never been changed before. 

 

However, there are a lot of opinions on both the right way of doing this and the wrong way. I see a lot of people on YouTube removing the metal line from the front of the transmission radiator and letting the old fluid drain out that way while adding in new fluid. Then they stop when they see new fluid being pulled into the container and replace the filter then go on with life. I have heard other people say that this is gambling with your transmission and should not be done. Basically any advice and opinions would be greatly appreciated. 

 

I also heard to not get sucked into "fancy labels" when it comes to new fluid either. My local guy said you want to replace the fluid with exactly the same thing that is in there right now as it was not designed for anything else. I just looked in the manual and it says that it is DEXRON VI so probably going to go with this from Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/ACDelco-10-9395-Dexron-Automatic-Transmission/dp/B01EKMGG92/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1526257467&sr=8-2&keywords=dexron+vi+automatic+transmission+fluid

 

Let me know if you guys need anymore information. Any advice and direction you guys can give would be awesome. 

Black02Silverado Senior Enthusiast

Black02Silverado

Posted
Posted

Sounds like a good plan.  Having the exhaust out of the way really makes it easier to accomplish that is for sure.

 

You don't have to have any specific brand of fluid, just one that is a dexron VI fluid that you can pick up at Walmart or any local auto parts store.

 

What i would do is change out the filter. Then follow what you have seen on You Tube by removing the cooler line.  It is a piece of cake to do and that way you get fresh fluid 100%.

 

But if you don't want to exchange the fluid like that, a pan drop, filter change and adding back the 5qts that come out will help keep the fluid in there fresh as opposed to not doing anything at all.

 

It really is easy to accomplish on the fluid exchange thought and that would be the way to go if you plan on keeping your truck for another 100k miles.

Hexa Fox Enthusiast

Hexa Fox

Posted
  • Author
Posted
5 minutes ago, Black02Silverado said:

Sounds like a good plan.  Having the exhaust out of the way really makes it easier to accomplish that is for sure.

 

You don't have to have any specific brand of fluid, just one that is a dexron VI fluid that you can pick up at Walmart or any local auto parts store.

 

What i would do is change out the filter. Then follow what you have seen on You Tube by removing the cooler line.  It is a piece of cake to do and that way you get fresh fluid 100%.

 

But if you don't want to exchange the fluid like that, a pan drop, filter change and adding back the 5qts that come out will help keep the fluid in there fresh as opposed to not doing anything at all.

 

It really is easy to accomplish on the fluid exchange thought and that would be the way to go if you plan on keeping your truck for another 100k miles.

Hey Nick,

 

Thanks for the response. Do you know if exchanging/flushing can be dangerous to the transmission? I noticed that a lot of people on YouTube just turn their camera off while they are doing it. So do you just let it pump some fluid out and replace a similar amount until there is new fluid? Also I noticed that people shift their transmission through drive, reverse etc while they are doing this. 

Black02Silverado Senior Enthusiast

Black02Silverado

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, Hexa Fox said:

Hey Nick,

 

Thanks for the response. Do you know if exchanging/flushing can be dangerous to the transmission? I noticed that a lot of people on YouTube just turn their camera off while they are doing it. So do you just let it pump some fluid out and replace a similar amount until there is new fluid? Also I noticed that people shift their transmission through drive, reverse etc while they are doing this. 

What I do is change out the pan filter, clean it all up along with the pan magnet, then put it all back together and pour in 5qts of fluid.  Then disconnect the return line at the transmission cooler and put a hose on it into a clean bucket.  Have someone start the truck and watch the fluid as it is flowing into the bucket. Once you start to see air bubbles turn the truck off and pour in 5 more qts of fluid.  Do the same thing and watch for air bubbles.  Then turn off and add 4qts of fluid and then look to see that the fluid turns from it's dark color to the lighter new pink color then shut off the truck. Connect everything up. Check the fluid level and add what is needed to get it back to normal level.  Then you are done.

 

No need to shift while draining the pan.  You will need to actually fill it up to the lowest level on the dipstick then take it out to get it up to operating temp and recheck the level. Mine has a level for cold fluid and one for hot.  Just make sure it is in that range if the fluid is cold or when transmission is up to operating temp.  Which is about 10 miles of driving.  Our trucks do not have the thermostatic valve in the line like the new ones that I'm aware of.

Hexa Fox Enthusiast

Hexa Fox

Posted
  • Author
Posted
1 hour ago, Black02Silverado said:

What I do is change out the pan filter, clean it all up along with the pan magnet, then put it all back together and pour in 5qts of fluid.  Then disconnect the return line at the transmission cooler and put a hose on it into a clean bucket.  Have someone start the truck and watch the fluid as it is flowing into the bucket. Once you start to see air bubbles turn the truck off and pour in 5 more qts of fluid.  Do the same thing and watch for air bubbles.  Then turn off and add 4qts of fluid and then look to see that the fluid turns from it's dark color to the lighter new pink color then shut off the truck. Connect everything up. Check the fluid level and add what is needed to get it back to normal level.  Then you are done.

 

No need to shift while draining the pan.  You will need to actually fill it up to the lowest level on the dipstick then take it out to get it up to operating temp and recheck the level. Mine has a level for cold fluid and one for hot.  Just make sure it is in that range if the fluid is cold or when transmission is up to operating temp.  Which is about 10 miles of driving.  Our trucks do not have the thermostatic valve in the line like the new ones that I'm aware of.

Thanks Nick, I appreciate it. I am probably going to stop by the local auto shop tomorrow and see if they carry my transmission filter and DEXRON VI. 

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