Should I Flush? LOL

Forget the power flush, just put in a filter and change oil, and dont forget the differential

Yeah...what Ransley said. This power flush shit was originally started to make more money on a relatively routine service issue.

Dealers suck.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Well, the last two words are a given.

But could we delve into this matter of flushing the transmission a bit more? I'm of two minds on the subject - Some people think it's sufficient to replace the screen and gasket, but others think that draining the trans. only gets about half of the fluid, and the remainder stays in, dirty, so the recommendation if for a full flush of all the fluid and its complete replacement.

Comments?

=============== I do not believe having the dealer flush the transmission will cause any harm, and it is nice to have completely clean fluid. On severely neglected transmissions there can be some concern, but yours has received some regular service.

---------- I've had the dealer do power steering flush and brake fluid flush, with the transmission flush done elsewhere when first acquiring the vehicle, then just changing fluids regularly afterward has kept everything pristine. I do believe keeping the fluids clean will prolong the useful service life of the affected parts saving potentially expensive repair later.

There have been anecdotal reports of damage to transmissions because of the power flush procedure. (I don't particularly believe anything that is not documented, but it is possible, I guess.)

Getting all the oil out and getting everything squeaky clean appeals to the minds of a lot of consumers. Although the manufacturers haven't seen it necessary to do this, (or it would have been specified in their service procedures) I see nothing wrong with it, but I would prefer not to use powerflushing to do it.

There is a school of thought that proposes that you shouldn't change fluid at all. They believe that trannies last better with no changes. I think that they are also FOS.

On a flush you assume it is done with good equipment, properly maintained. Imagine a piece of gravel that has found its way onto the fitting that gets introduced into your trans. Or some settled debris inside the trans gets moved into a critical area. I say a flush is good for a dead transmission to try to revive it, otherwise it has risks.

I dont think there is any dead tranny that can be revived by a flush, any more than a dead poet can be brought back to life by an enema.

That's a way for the dealer to make money. If your local guys changed the strainer and fluid, ask him to do it again. Unless the dealer can show you the machine can clean up the pan and strainer to make them like the new kit your mechanic put in, I say forget it. $100 is a way for them to make money.

I do agree that if you have serious problems with tranny and there are a lot of debris floating through the system, then a flush may be called for as a part of the repair procedure. But if your ATF doesn't get darker than orange or slightly brownish red in color, then just drain and refill with an occasional strainer/gasket replacement should do.

So you wouldn't want the mechanic to change the timing belt, oil seals, idlers, and pump? What's the dealer going to charge you for the whole package did you ask?

seagar wrote: