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Auto transmission flush

18K views 29 replies 11 participants last post by  VWandDodge 
#1 ·
I am going to flush my 5 speed A/T with Amsoil and I bought 9 quarts. Question, can I use 9 quarts of the cheapest tranny fluid at Walmart to make sure all old fluid is out? Thinking of getting this to flush with: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Super-Tech-Automatic-Transmission-Fluid/20573820
Just wanted to make sure old fluid is out and Amsoil is too expensive to only use to flush out old fluid.
 
#2 ·
I am going to flush my 5 speed A/T with Amsoil and I bought 9 quarts. Question, can I use 9 quarts of the cheapest tranny fluid at Walmart to make sure all old fluid is out?
Just wanted to make sure old fluid is out and Amsoil is too expensive to only use to flush out old fluid.
I personally would'nt do it, Certain fluids are fortified for different clutch materials and will act differently. Your talking about the main driveline of your car here and dont wanna risk anything which is why you wanna use Amsoil right? That being said take some advice from someone who's been in your shoes. I was battling multiple trans leaks a few years ago. Did the filter and pan gasket along with new output shaft seals with mazda FNR5 fluid. One week after this the brand new output shaft seal was leaking, I tapped it in too far the first time. Bought another then bought more fluid from mazda and refilled. Good for a month then the worst leak of all.....input pump/torque converter bushing and seal gone. Dropped the trans, removed old seal and bushing and installed new bushing and seal and reinstalled the trans. Now keep in mind after every problem I had with leaks and shift solenoids I alway bought new fresh fluid from mazda so essentially the transmission was thoroughly flushed and clean. After all of this the last time I refilled the transmission I like you, used Amsoil ATF. The parts manager gave me a discount on the mazda Type MV or M5 ATF however you wanna call it so when I bought half a case of fluid he knocked off a few bucks and gave me the fluid almost at cost. Play it safe and flush it with oem fluid then go with Amsoil.
 
#8 ·
This is exactly what I used to do with AT cars when I had them. I would drain into clear plastic and refill/run, and look at the color until it was close to color of fresh fluid in control container. Don't remember, 3-4 times. My 2 '3 are manuals now. Hard to believe Mazda still has maintainable AT. My 2009 Highlander AT is sealed and has no dipstick even.
 
#6 ·
Agreed, and like Matt said for us diy-ers its far more efficient to do a few drain, refill, drive and repeat cycles since that gets the fluid all throughout the transmisson, clutches, solenoids, valvebody, planetarys etc. I will add though, after the last time you drain, I would recommend dropping the pan and throwing a new filter and pan gasket up in before the final fill.
 
#7 ·
never flush an at, just drain and refill , i use castrol multi import vehicle , and wix filter kit

yes , there is a serviceable filter , you have to scrape off gasket material on pan cover first go around

they way this trans cooks fluid, i change mine very spring and change filter every other


20k it was black when i bought vehicle , never seen anything like it
 
#10 ·
Yep, that's how it it's supposed to be done with our Kia. Their FSM says to warm the fluid to 140-160F; get the vehicle perfectly level; pour 3/4 quart into the fill port; and when there is a 'thin, steady stream' of fluid running out of the check port with the vehicle running, the level is ok.

Warning! Start of useless rant.

Personally, I've never been able to find one single good thing about replacing the dipstick with this bizarre, convoluted, and subjective procedure. The automakers apparently believed that the dipstick was allowing DIYers and careless pros to mess up a transmission by doing something wrong. Well guess what, many of us are still going to maintain our A/T fluid, only now they've made it much more difficult and error-prone. And I also believe that even techs are going to occasionally mess up this level checking as well. And sorry, no dipstick available to do a quick second look, if there's some uncertainty about the level being correct. Just button it up and send it back to the owner (who also isn't able to easily check the level).

There's no way I'm going to do this idiotic level check, unless I'm forced to. I did a simple drain-and-fill on my Kia, with the fluid at the same ambient temp - four quarts (carefully measured) out the drain port, and exactly the same amount back in through the fill port. On my Daughter's 3i however, I drained without carefully measuring, filled approximately the same amount back in, and then used the Mazda FSM level check procedure to check the level on the DIPSTICK. Topped off a bit, and then checked again on the DIPSTICK the next day, to make sure everything was ok. And this is what they're taking away from us :screwy:

Well, that concludes my useless rant, which serves no purpose other than for me to blow off some steam :wink:
 
#11 ·
What I hate is on a lot of Chryslers they have removed the dipstick, installed a shorter dipstick tube so you can't just get a dipstick from an older model, and put a plug in it that says "dealer use only". To check those you need a special universal dipstick with measurements on the bottom, you then insert it until it bottoms out, pull it out, and read the level in mm. You then use the chart in the service manual and read what the level should be for the current trans temp.
 
#12 ·
We've owned a couple of gen 4 Dodge vans, and still have one of them in the family. As you well know, these vans have an A/T dipstick with hot and cold mark sets. And the manual provides the simple, step-by-step procedure that allows all owners to check their van's fluid, either cold or hot. It really can't be made any easier or straight-forward.

Did anyone ever screw up their van by adding too much or the wrong fluid, or put something else down the dip tube that hurt the tranny? Yes, that almost certainly happened a few times. But, did thousands of other owners check their fluid properly, and sometimes catch some problems early via fluid level and quality? For certain as well. So the majority of owners are being penalized for the sake of saving a few careless individuals. Plus, all of you pros are being hit with spending extra time doing these dipstick-less fluid checks as well. And time=$$.

It's really sad how far they have travelled in the wrong direction, with almost no hope that they will ever reverse course and return to doing what's made so much sense to everyone in the past.
 
#20 ·
I understand your thinking. Better to be safe than sorry. I would think, "severe driving" is driving on non-paved surfaces. Or in slow moving, stop and go traffic - in cities. May be even driving that 80% city. Also, driving in very cold weather and on the snow where you drive slow and slip a lot. Also, towing.
In fact, owner manuals I had, had 2 or 3 schedules. Here is from my current one for Mazda3

Follow Schedule 1 if the vehicle is operated mainly where none of the following conditions apply.

- Repeated short-distance driving
- Driving in dusty conditions
- Driving with extended use of brakes
- Driving in areas where salt or other corrosive materials are used
- Driving on rough or muddy roads
- Extended periods of idling or low-speed operation
- Driving for long periods in cold temperatures or extremely humid climates
- Driving in extremely hot conditions
- Driving in mountainous conditions continually

If any do apply, follow Schedule 2 (Canada and Puerto Rico residents follow Schedule 2).


Basically, manufacturer thinks that in PR and CA these conditions naturally exist - too hot and too cold, salt, slow driving.


 
#24 ·
For me, I wasn't able to change the ATF earlier as I bought mine used. The fluid was not even red looking. More brown and smelled burnt that's why I wanted to flush it. The bottom of the pan had a metallic film on it and it seems like the filter/screen isn't exactly a lifetime part. What I ended up doing was dropping pan, thoroughly cleaning it, replacing filter, cleaned off RTV, put on new gasket l and used Valvoline Maxlife ATF to flush as its a compatible ATF that many people use in Mazda3 trannys, then added Amsoil ATF. Now this tranny should last another 60-100k miles.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk
 
#25 ·
... The fluid was not even red looking. More brown and smelled burnt that's why I wanted to flush it. The bottom of the pan had a metallic film on it and it seems like the filter/screen isn't exactly a lifetime part. What I ended up doing was dropping pan, thoroughly cleaning it, replacing filter.... Now this tranny should last another 60-100k miles.
A widely spread opinion (look on internet) on transmissions with burnt fluid that it is better to leave it that way. They say that for some reason trannies flushed after being in such condition, fail soon after flush. But then again, no transmission born equal.
 
#28 ·
Drain and refill 3x. (drain once and fill to high mark, cycle gears running and repeat the drain/refill two more times)
Buy a case and you'll use most of it. $150 is a fraction of the price of a new transmission.

Don't forget about the power steering.

Happy Motoring
 
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