Transmission Fluid Change DIY

[rvaughnp]

Had to post....

Performed the fluid change/flush 04'X5 135,000 miles.
Fluid was black and thin, didn't smell burnt, but 135k...
1st, drained. Filled back up and ran through gears. Drained.
Repeated.
Filled back up using Dexron VI. I have the GM 5L40-E trans.
Took the truck for a spin and man what a difference.
Used to be sluggish on occasion at take offs. Would rev up then catch when trying to passion highway. All that is gone. Drove around town and on freeway for about half an hour. My wife will be taking it to work tomorrow and give feedback through out the week.
I don't expect negative news as today was total difference to the positive.
Just wanted to give feedback for those worried about changing at high milage. Going forward, I plan on changing every 50k.

[semcoinc]

A couple years ago at 82k miles I changed my ATF to AMSOIL Signature Series ATF and changed the filter.

I did an initial fill and then changed the fluid 4X running about 20 miles between each drain and fill. Each drain and fill took about 4 qts. In this way, I got the entire system flushed with good fluid, minimizing or eliminating the old fluid residual rolling around in the converter and other places. A total fill is listed as 10.2 qts, so despite my perhaps overkill, I'm certain that I got to an all new fluid.


AMSOIL Signature Series Multi-Vehicle Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid

At 96K miles now with no complaints with a recent 1200 mile 4,000# trailer pull under my belt.



Mike

[Clockwork]

Originally Posted by hayaku

here's another tip:

you may want to remove the drain plug first. while the oil is draining from there, you can remove the fill plug to allow air into the pan to help the oil drain instead of creating a vacuum and holding it up. that way there won't be so much oil spilling out from the fill plug.

You NEVER remove drain plug first!!! What happens if you can nor remove your fill plug then? You are SOL!!


Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by Clockwork

You NEVER remove drain plug first!!! What happens if you can nor remove your fill plug then? You are SOL!!

I'm thinking he meant to just crack the fill plug first... then drop the drain plug after you've verified you can remove your fill plug. Just guessing.

[upallnight]

I would think that if you are going to do multiple drains and fills, I would leave the filter alone for the first drain and fill and change it after the second or third drain and fill.

[semcoinc]

Originally Posted by upallnight

I would think that if you are going to do multiple drains and fills, I would leave the filter alone for the first drain and fill and change it after the second or third drain and fill.

Yeah, in hindsight, you're probably onto something there :thumb up:

A detail that I missed when I did mine

Mike

[oldskewel]

Originally Posted by rvaughnp

Had to post....

Performed the fluid change/flush 04'X5 135,000 miles.
Fluid was black and thin, didn't smell burnt, but 135k...
1st, drained. Filled back up and ran through gears. Drained.
Repeated.
Filled back up using Dexron VI. I have the GM 5L40-E trans.
Took the truck for a spin and man what a difference.
Used to be sluggish on occasion at take offs. Would rev up then catch when trying to passion highway. All that is gone. Drove around town and on freeway for about half an hour. My wife will be taking it to work tomorrow and give feedback through out the week.
I don't expect negative news as today was total difference to the positive.
Just wanted to give feedback for those worried about changing at high milage. Going forward, I plan on changing every 50k.

My '01 had a similar dramatic improvement in feel after I did its first change ever at ~168k miles, soon after buying it.
I followed up with two more D+F's over the following year, trying to not shock things and release debris too quickly. But then, I had more miles than you've got on yours.

[oldskewel]

Originally Posted by semcoinc

Yeah, in hindsight, you're probably onto something there :thumb up:

A detail that I missed when I did mine

Mike

When I did my 3x D+F (spread over a year and a few thousand miles) recently, I replaced the filter twice. For how little they cost, I think that is the best way to do it. Definitely the first time, and then on the last as well. The new fluid will have additives that break loose some of the built-up crud.

[crystalworks]

Just a question for those doing this D&F method... why not just get an indy to do a flush + filter + mechatronic sleeve for you? Seems so many D&F's would cost nearly the same? My indy did a full flush (forget how many L of fluid it took) by machine and charged ~$480. Got it all done at once and I can't imagine the savings to be that great doing it yourself? Just curious... what are the cost savings of doing this yourself vs. a machine flush?

[X53Jay4.8is]

Originally Posted by crystalworks

Just a question for those doing this D&F method... why not just get an indy to do a flush + filter + mechatronic sleeve for you? Seems so many D&F's would cost nearly the same? My indy did a full flush (forget how many L of fluid it took) by machine and charged ~$480. Got it all done at once and I can't imagine the savings to be that great doing it yourself? Just curious... what are the cost savings of doing this yourself vs. a machine flush?

This is just the best way to go. Use a flush and fill machine. Its far more efficient and less waste of precious fluid. I had my 4.6is done this way where I brought in the 13 quarts of the ZF Lifeguard 5 fluid and had the shop flush and fill. Old fluid out and new fluid in.