Trans Flush

[revitup]

What's the going rate for a transmission flush these days? I was quoted $220 yesterday at a local garage. They also seemed unsure whether there was a filter to change. That would be extra. Said there may be "just a screen". Should that be cleaned or will the flush take care of that? Is there a filter to replace? '01 Silverado 5.3.

[KICK]

What's the going rate for a transmission flush these days? I was quoted $220 yesterday at a local garage. They also seemed unsure whether there was a filter to change. That would be extra. Said there may be "just a screen". Should that be cleaned or will the flush take care of that? Is there a filter to replace? '01 Silverado 5.3.

 

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if the garage doesn't know if there is a filter inside the tranny, what makes you assume they know where 2 put the tranny oil or what type to use?

[MS3DALE]

Tranny flush should be around $100.00 to $125.00.

And YES,There is a filter that can (and should) be changed,But changing the filter is not included in the flush price,they will charge extra for that but its worth it in my opinion.

$220.00 sounds about right for both the flush and the filter change.

[ken1mod]

Save your bucks and buy, 5 qts of trans fluid and a filter. Spend 60 enjoyable minutes doing the fluid change and enjoy two great dinners out with the money you save.

 

Any shop that does not know about filters should be driven by at 75 mph.

 

Really, trans filter change is easy and fun. No big deal. You will feel great after you do it and your wife will think you are a genius.

 

Ken

[rjirvine]

Lol, it can be a 60 minute job if the trans drain bolt will come out and you can get the cable bracket removed (or bent out of the way) so you can drop the pan. Just thinking about my recent experience on my 2000 Silverado w/5.3 gets me crabby!

[MS3DALE]

Yea,The Tranny filters are not as easy to change in the '99-up trucks as they were in the OBS trucks.

I could have the tranny pan dropped and the filter changed in under in hour in my OBS trucks.

And good luck with the drain plug if you have one,I never could get the one loose on my '99 I had.

[rjirvine]

There was an earlier post about heating the crap out of the drain plug to soften the locktite around its threads. It's worth a shot before destroying the bolt.

[revitup]

Sounds like it's enough of a pain to let someone else deal with it. Just got a price from my dealer (who's always done excellent work for me in the past, by the way - Richard's Chevrolet, Cheshire, CT). $159. Made an appointment. They say there isn't a filter which has to be replaced. Just a screen to be cleaned, which they'll do - included in the price. Thanks for the feedback. Oh, and my wife wouldn't be impressed. Believe me.

[rjirvine]

Before I tackled the issue with my 2000 Silverado 4x4 w/5.3 I had called the dealer and they told me there was just a screen. Not so - It had a filter and it's the "deep pan" vs " shallow pan". Yeah, had to run back to the autoparts store and get the correct one. I'm not sure if they changed it for your 2001 model or not.

[MS3DALE]

Sounds like it's enough of a pain to let someone else deal with it. Just got a price from my dealer (who's always done excellent work for me in the past, by the way - Richard's Chevrolet, Cheshire, CT). $159. Made an appointment. They say there isn't a filter which has to be replaced. Just a screen to be cleaned, which they'll do - included in the price. Thanks for the feedback. Oh, and my wife wouldn't be impressed. Believe me.

 

 

 

 

 

They DO have a filter,Believe me I know,I sell them almost everyday!

Now remember,most places that do a tranny flush do not change the filter unless you ask them to do so and then you must pay extra for the filter and labor.

[rjirvine]

You may want to check with AAMCO (although I've never had any business with them) in our local area, they're charging $99.99 for lifetime transmission flushes for the lifetime of the vehicle (once per year).

[J45p3r]

There was an earlier post about heating the crap out of the drain plug to soften the locktite around its threads. It's worth a shot before destroying the bolt.

 

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I just did this last week. Here is how to get the pan bolt out with little effort. Get an 18" breaker bar and a floor back. Put the breaker bar on the drain bolt and jack up the jack to put some pressure (a little) against the back side of the breaker bar. If you do this the bolt will come out with very little effort. Before I got the jack, I tried with just the breaker and I immediately started to round off the head of the drain.

 

Also, the bolts that hold that stupid bracket in are way too tight also. I could get my torx bit up there and I could even get fairly good leverage, but I couldn't break them loose. If you have a 4x4 the only way I could see to bend the bracket out of the way was to remove the front drive shaft. After I removed the front shaft and bent the bracket over with a pair of vice grips it was smooth sailing.

[KICK]

They DO have a filter,Believe me I know,I sell them almost everyday!

Now remember,most places that do a tranny flush do not change the filter unless you ask them to do so and then you must pay extra for the filter and labor.

 

 

 

let me point out that a tranny flush is a good way for a auto repair shop to make a profit and they recommend that service on a regular basis.

 

the whole point of a tranny flush is that you can use a machine to exchange all the fluid and not have to drop the pan, which is messy and a PITA.

 

if you have to change the filter, what would be the point in Flushing the unit?

[Supercop8100]

I serviced my Allison the other day at my dealer. Both filters, internal and exteral, and a complete fluid drain and refill, sensor and servo cleaning was $210.00. Keep in mind the Allison takes a bunch more fluid than the half ton trannies.

[revitup]

Doesn't seem to me that dropping the pan to change the filter would make a flush unnecessary. There will still be old fluid in the torque converter and lines. I will ask again about the filter issue when I bring it in.