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Transmission service

How many of you, regularly change your transmission fluid and how often? There are two sides to this. Some people religiously change the fluid like they change their oil but at a 10-20K interval. Over people never touch the stuff. I have heard that if you have never serviced the transmission fluid, and then one day at 100,000 miles, you decide to change the fluid, you are likely to wind up with a slipping clutch. The reason is that you neglected the fluid for so long that it is likely to have built a somewhat different complex with abrasive particles. The clutch components are therefore aged with the fluid and are in a relatively adapted "worn" condition. Adding fresh clean fluid then causes more problems than had you never done it at all (mostly slippage problems). This might sound funny, but I have witnessed on a few accounts, and the point was actually brought up by a mechanic. Obviously, the best medicine is to follow the vehicles recommendation service interval.

Reply to
mechosu
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I do it every 10 thousand or so on the plug, but chance it , not changing it is worse, plus with Mobil synthetic it shifts better and I get better mpg

Reply to
m Ransley

every 20-30k replace with toyota transmission fluid to be safe.

My camry is a 5 speed so I change the fluid every 15-20k because the GL5 tends to sludge and get dirtier quicker.

Reply to
justinm930

Think about the "two sides". The mechanics don't want to create "new" problems in a transmission that has been so neglected that the only thing allowing the clutch plates to operate is the debris accumulated in the fluid. The two sides are: service the car to make it last, or drive it until it breaks. There is no clutch wear at steady highway speeds, and minimal creation of heat, thus some stories of high mileage, no transmission service. Bear in mind, that when you drain the fluid, you're only removing a portion. If you drain it hot, and let it sit overnight, you'll remove close to an extra quart, plus you can easily retrieve the drain plug from a plastic pan using an inexpensive telescoping magnet, rather than having to reach into the hot fluid. Hot ticket in my book, is to pour the old fluid into empty oil bottles marked on the sides in ounces, so you don't have to guess the refill amount, and only top up the last tiny bit for accuracy.

Reply to
Daniel

So how accurate is the dip stick level. My transmission fluid level is slightly above the hot mark when it is driven for 20-30 minutes in the city (very hot at this point). It doesn't looked bubbled, burnt or anything, though. There should be a check plug on the side to check the level, correct? I understand that the level is very important. I seems that several of the response lean towards transmission issues. I might just have to take it in and get a second opinion. If the transmission level is too high, the previous owner only let the toyota dealer perform services, so I figured the level was okay. I read in Haynes that from cold to hot it is one pint. Therefore 3/16" of an inch might very well be an ounce. Can you really measure to this level?

Reply to
mechosu

It is common for mechanics to overfill transmissions, but with the drain plug easy to lower. Best is keep it in range, so you should lower it a bit.

Reply to
m Ransley

I do mine either a full flush or simple change every 30,000. Has not hurt for over 200,000 miles yet.

Reply to
Rob

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