[maskedSONY]

Have any of you guys with high mileage cars changed the tranny fluid? I just want to know if tranny fluids ever need to be changed at all. My mom's 94 Caravan has 130K on the clock, and i was thinking that if i changed the tranny fluid it might give it more life before it dies out on us.

 

[Obin Robinson]

Re: Automatic Tranny Fluid (maskedSONY)

ummm, if you haven't changed it now, then just save the cash for a new tranny that you'll be needing soon.
j/k. honestly, i'd drop what you're doing and change it NOW!!! all those little metal particles in there are ripping up the tranny as we speak. not to mention, change the tranny filter.
though i don't own automatics, i have helped friends who have them change their tranny fluid. yuck, a messy job!
do it now!
obin

 

[Spell Check Desk]

Re: Automatic Tranny Fluid (maskedSONY)

your mom owns a caravan and the tranny hasn't fallen out of it yet? Jeebus, when I worked at a Dodge dealer, the trannies were blowing upon those things left and right!!!

 

[anarchyx34]

Re: Automatic Tranny Fluid (SciroccoGirl)

Yeah the trannies are so bad on caravans that you're actually supposed to change the tranny fluid about every 15k. Count yourself lucky and change it quick!

 

[billgti]

Re: Automatic Tranny Fluid (anarchyx34)

maybe u got some really good stuff in there,
it'd be interesting to see how much longer u can go without changing
haha

 

[maskedSONY]

Re: Automatic Tranny Fluid (anarchyx34)

well, yes we are very very lucky in fact i would say. our caravan has been very reliable, with only two problems ever since we got it used at 30K miles:
1 - the windshield cracked once
2 - the idler pulley fell off.
aside from that, its been reliable. very odd.

speaking of which, who changes fluids on manual trannies?

 

[Crazyquik]

Re: Automatic Tranny Fluid (maskedSONY)

In GM cars there is a magnet in the tranny pan, a lot of the metal particles stick to that so its easier to get them out of the system. Make sure if there is a magnet in your pan to take it out and get the metal off, but be careful since some of it can be sharp.

 

[PhilHVW]

Re: Automatic Tranny Fluid (maskedSONY)

There's actually some debate as to whether high mileage automatics that never had the ATF changed should have it changed at all. Many times, changing the fluid on a such a car will cause the transmission to fail for some reason. Automatic transmissions cannot be fully drained, this may be part of the reason. This topic is debated on a monthly basis in the tech section of magazines like Bimmer. BMW automatics are said to be good for 80-120k miles on average. http://****************.com/smile/emthdown.gif