Seriously it must be fairly Easy to Fry a transmission!

[BiscuitsandGravy]

I have heard this over and over concerning transmission but also gear boxes with gear oil; if it hasn't been changed regularly, don't change it now!
I don't know when I'll learn this lesson. My first experience with this was a Cat combine and the gearbox right on the end of the engine, probably had 3000 hours on it, I changed the oil instead of just topping it off and within a few hundred hours the mechanic was asking me in disbelief "you changed the oil?" like that was the whole problem.
I changed the oil in my Mack truck tranny a year ago and thought about this but went ahead anyway. It should be out of the shop today or tomorrow with a new tranny, 10k later.
NO MORE GEAR OIL CHANGES!

I've heard that too for years. Have a friend that has a BG flush machine and he swears by it.

A few years ago, I had a ZF (sealed) trans car with 100k+ miles that was beginning to shift hard... Fluid smelled burned. The argument I followed was- the fluid properties have broken down over the 100k miles, new fluid has improved properties/chemistry to address known issues and restore performance.

So far so good. YMMV.

 

[PaulF]

Had a fluid and filter change on my daughters bug. They either got a bad pan gasket or pinched in when reinstalling.
She picked it up and drove about 2 miles to work. Came outside after work and there was a huge puddle under the car.
A tow back to the shop and found out the transmission was shot.
Shop bought a new transmission (install and part was about $6000) and last I heard they were supposed to be getting reimbursed from the part supplier.
(I think they pinched it, but blamed it on a bad part)

Yup..you hit the nail on the head.

The old "New Beetles" had steel trans oil pans with a rubber gasket. The pan setup uses four little hollow pins as spacers to keep the gasket from getting crushed. When you leave those out the gasket leaks...really badly.

Every new VW tech does it once...the amount of cleanup means no one does it twice!!!

 

[halfmileharry]

I haven't changed the trans fluid in my 2013 silverado with 85k miles. I was meaning to do it around 50-60k but didn't. Do you think I'm past the point of doing? There is no drain plug so I could DYI drop the pan and get some of the fluid or just take it a shop and do a fluid exchange.

with 85K on it you're probably fine. I'm thinking they've recommended 75k as the changing mileage. IF the fluid is still clean with no smell go ahead and change it. Use ONLY full synthetic in it. It should last you the life of your truck. Don't use a cheap AutoZone or O'reilly filter either.
I didn't stay in a Holiday Inn Express but I was a GM and Toyota Master Tech for years. BUT that's been years ago. YMMV. Read up on recommendations, talk to people in the know that don't want more than your money.
Sorry, but I've avoided Ford like an Ex wife with a std.

 

[PaulF]

I have heard this over and over concerning transmission but also gear boxes with gear oil; if it hasn't been changed regularly, don't change it now!
I don't know when I'll learn this lesson. My first experience with this was a Cat combine and the gearbox right on the end of the engine, probably had 3000 hours on it, I changed the oil instead of just topping it off and within a few hundred hours the mechanic was asking me in disbelief "you changed the oil?" like that was the whole problem.
I changed the oil in my Mack truck tranny a year ago and thought about this but went ahead anyway. It should be out of the shop today or tomorrow with a new tranny, 10k later.
NO MORE GEAR OIL CHANGES!

I have heard the same thing my whole career.

I tell my customers it is best practice to change the transmission oil while it still looks looks like it doesn't need to be changed...if it is fouled and burnt it is already too late, and fresh fluid isn't likely to solve any long-term issues.

I have had moderate luck with the BG flush machine...it doesn't seem to be *total* snake oil.

 

[BiscuitsandGravy]

I have heard the same thing my whole career.

I tell my customers it is best practice to change the transmission oil while it still looks looks like it doesn't need to be changed...if it is fouled and burnt it is already too late, and fresh fluid isn't likely to solve any long-term issues.

I have had moderate luck with the BG flush machine...it doesn't seem to be *total* snake oil.

That makes more sense...'Change it while its still good' instead of waiting until its burnt.

 

[wcd]

So no one is going to say almost 100k on a 2019? Must be a driving job.

Well yeah you could say that, among other things, lol

 

[indykid]

Changing fluid when it has that expensive burnt smell and color is only putting off the repair needed that burned the oil. Good chance a clutch or two is already fried, hence the bad oil.

I have a little experience with automatic transmissions having retired from the Allison Transmission Test Department after nearly 30 years of testing transmissions to their limits. Oil and filters were always changed "by the book" but one thing missed in personal vehicles if you do a drop the pan oil change, the oil cooler up by the engine radiator is usually not drained. Also some torque converters don't fully drain down so you have old oil there as well.

What we did in our test chambers was drain the oil through their drain plugs (obviously). Many transmission versions had dual oil filters so they were changed as well, then the oil cooler was also drained, connections removed at the transmission and power flushed in the reverse direction of flow. Since we were running in test cells we had pressure monitoring equipment on the transmissions. To drain the torque converter, we would open the main drain, then run the engine until the main transmission pressure started dropping. This showed that the torque converter was drained down.

The Allison test chambers were almost like real vehicles except that we had power absorbers at the end of the drive shaft instead of a differential to tires. Tests were computer controlled so that we made as many shifts per minute as possible, but many times followed standard vehicle driving simulations like garbage trucks and buses constantly stopping and starting.

I had one transmission that we tested to over 5 million shifts, and pretty sure those oil changes kept it looking new that long.

Unfortunately anything that is made by humans can never be 100% perfect, which is why parts fail. Also unfortunate is that most vehicle owners only change transmission oil when it looks burned, which as I said earlier is usually a sign that something expensive has already occurred.

 

[wcd]

If you have serviced it regularly there should be no reason to change the filter unless the fluid looks/smells burnt.
This is on the idiot that did the service. Something blew off or came loose from improper procedures. I would be up somebody's butt over this.

Normally I check fluid levels after maintenance, I am anal that way, kind of like checking you food from the drive through.

No dipstick tube. So today I find out they over filled it by 8 Qts, was fine until it got hot then it was game over.

 

[Robert Richardson]

I've been doing GM transmissions for 35 years. Lose the fluid, smoke the trans. Somebody owes you a transmission.

 

[Jaybird1980]

What do you guys think about these CVT trannys? My wife has a 2019 Nissan Rouge. I hate it. It is just coming up on it's 50,000 mile check up. The dealer says I don't need to do anything to the trans forever! But for 200$ they will flush it for me.

Not a fan, the wife had to have a rogue when they came out. She worked at a Nissan dealership. 3 transmissions in 21k miles. Junk

 

[maxwelhse]

Man I miss manual transmissions....

Me 3, but only if I'm sleepy that day and goof on the clutch.

I reluctantly added 1 slushbox to the fleet last year, otherwise it's been all sticks all the time since 2004 for me. I have 5 manuals right now.

---

As far as servicing autos, my preferred method if it's unknown to me is to dump the fluid, clean the pan, re-seal/re-fill with cheap stuff, drive a few hundred miles, do it again with good stuff and replace the filter as well on the second go-round, then every 30k afterward. Flush by dilution is generally pretty effective and it's nice and lazy in terms of effort and low risk in terms of unexpected gross leaks afterward.

I try to keep my vehicles on fluid service intervals like it's still 1965. Oil and filters are respectively cheap so I do them regularly (mostly... pobody's nerfect).

 

[k12lts]

What do you guys think about these CVT trannys? My wife has a 2019 Nissan Rouge. I hate it. It is just coming up on it's 50,000 mile check up. The dealer says I don't need to do anything to the trans forever! But for 200$ they will flush it for me.

My son had a Subaru Outback with the CVT transmission. He put 100k on it with no problems and never changed the fluid. I wasn't called for in the service schedule.

 

[churchmouse]

We have a method for changing the fluid in our GM's since one is a 4WD and the dual cross member for the trans and transfer case hinders making a pan drop feasible. I know many would freak at this process but it does work. Requires 2 people and making a modification to the cooler supply line at the radiator. We have done this multiple times on every car/truck we have owned for years. You just have to pay attention and not run the pump dry.

 

[Hookeye]

I don't worry about transmission stuff, since I quit burying my Jeeps in water and mud up the the headlights.
As long as the fluid is full and looks good, just drive em.

Current POS was bought w a rebuilt (fresh) transmission. No probs and 5 yrs. Just broke 200K. I expect something major to go before the transmission.
Try to make it last one more yr and then buy something much newer.

Was gonna yank the doors and lift it, make it a buggy. See if i lasts.

 

[canebreaker]

I started noticing a problem with my truck in early May. Had to give it extra gas to get started. Stopped on level ground and release the brake it would sit still. Get speed up to 65 I was pushing 4700 rpm, wouldn't go into over drive. I've pulled a 26 ft camper for the last 8 years and no problems. I finally put it in the shop for transmission service. Nope, to far gone, need it rebuilt. $1,800 and it runs great. Campgrounds open back up and we book a site 135 miles away. Either route has hills towing at 65 mph. I start up a hill and lose speed, hit the over speed so I don't slow down to much. Then the water temp goes up. It was a see saw riding the hills. The truck came with a tow package, extra trans oil cooler. Talking to a mechanic he says for the age and mileage on the truck change the fan clutch first, it could be breaking down when it gets hot. I could tell a lot between the old and new one. Next trip camping it was better but still had some over heating on the hills. The mechanic says to change the trans oil cooler for a bigger one. Got one ordered, waiting on delivery. And while I have the grill out of the way pressure wash the radiator. I looked at it through the grill, full of bugs, a bat and a bird.

 

[stormryder]

Well, it's good to be thankful for small stuff.
A friend's sister had her car parked in front of my house.
The neighbor across the street backed up down the drive, and right into her car.
I told her, well at least you're here in a warm dry place waiting for the police, instead of being on the side of the road in bad weather.

Can beat that, try Elderly Neighbor runs over just paid off HD Road King.
It had always been parked in the same spot in front of my house over the years.
Her excuse was she did not know it was there.
Her insurance tried to make it my fault.
Eventually it was completely restored on their dime instead of totaled out like they wanted.

 

[maxwelhse]

And while I have the grill out of the way pressure wash the radiator. I looked at it through the grill, full of bugs, a bat and a bird.

Go easy on that plan. It's very, very, easy to blow all of the fins over on your condenser/rad/coolers/etc with a pressure washer. If you can stomach a little more work (and maybe it's due for a coolant service anyhow?) pulling the radiator and back flushing everything with a garden hose and some Simple Green is much safer. For trouble spots, you can get a fin comb and carefully work the garbage out. In fact, I have my Jeep down right now for a coolant service and I should probably just pull the rad and do this too...

I have the HFT version of this comb, but I think I'd probably like a tool like this better. The HFT style is a bit big to get into a lot of places.

 

[BiscuitsandGravy]

Go easy on that plan. It's very, very, easy to blow all of the fins over on your condenser/rad/coolers/etc with a pressure washer. If you can stomach a little more work (and maybe it's due for a coolant service anyhow?) pulling the radiator and back flushing everything with a garden hose and some Simple Green is much safer. For trouble spots, you can get a fin comb and carefully work the garbage out. In fact, I have my Jeep down right now for a coolant service and I should probably just pull the rad and do this too...

I have the HFT version of this comb, but I think I'd probably like a tool like this better. The HFT style is a bit big to get into a lot of places.

Very cool. I didn't know those existed.

 

[maxwelhse]

Very cool. I didn't know those existed.

My name is Max and I'm a tool hoarder. It's been 2 days since I bought my last tool.

I bet the HVAC guys on here have entire bags of tricks that I don't know about for cleaning heat exchangers. I'm due to buy another tool any second now, so...