How much should the shop charge me for changin my tranny fluid? Is it possible to do it sitting in my driveway

look, anything is possible to do sitting in your driveway.

about 20-30 bucks if they are just changing it.

Well we charge $79.99 at the shop to do a transflush. We hook a machine up to your trans cooler line and it uses the transmission pump to pump out the old fluid while a microprocessor inserts new fluid. It is what is called a transfusion. It takes about 15 minutes. The problem with changing it in your drive way is that you drop the pan and change the filter. You add new fluid, you only get 30% out. Then when you start it the new fluid mixes with the old. + it's messy. Dealers are going to this now. You are probabbly wondering what about the filter when you hook it up with a transfusion... The filter gets reverse flushed and all the particles get discarded with the old fluid.

I'm sorry, but, theres a reason why the filter is removeable. I'm not saying flushing is a bad idea. but not changing the filter is, especialy if you're charginhg $80 for a "service". would you do an engine oil change w/o the filter? then why do the trans that way?

Couple reasons, there is a magnet in there to catch all the metalic particles, and 2 whatever is in the filter is reverse flushed. No I wouldn't do that with an oil change, but that's because you can't reverse flush those filters #1 and #2 there is no secondary protection I.E. a magnet. For the same services, go to American Transmission where they will charge you $95 to drop the pan and change the filter only.

uum, no matter what, you can not get all the particles and debris out with the reverse flush its impossible. i actually argued with the guy at the trans shop because he kept telling me that, he wouldnt touch the filter. so i had him do his reverse flush thing, went home dropped the pan, and what do you know, filter was still dirty as hell, i changed the filter took it back to the trans shop and showed him, he just got mad and told me to leave, i made a huge fuss and the owner gave me a refund and yelled at the guy, turns out he was supposed to change the filter but he was just lazy.

and everyone that i know that went to american transmissions in michigan says they were screwed(when actually having work done).

reverse flushing won't get the filter 100% clean it gets out all the major debris allowing standard fluid flow to be obtained. Do you have a K&N Filter? Have you tried cleaning it? How many times have you had that cleaned and looking like it was brand new? I'm not going to argue with you, it is the BEST way to go to change the filter after you have had it machined flush just to get all the fluid out. If you feel like doing the extra work and feel that it is worth it then go for it and change the filter too. Come to think about it I haven't really thought about it on my car because I changed the transfluid in my garage 2 weeks before I started working at the shop... so the filter was changed and later found out about the machine lol.

ORIGINAL: shnormo

Couple reasons, there is a magnet in there to catch all the metalic particles, and 2 whatever is in the filter is reverse flushed. No I wouldn't do that with an oil change, but that's because you can't reverse flush those filters #1 and #2 there is no secondary protection I.E. a magnet. For the same services, go to American Transmission where they will charge you $95 to drop the pan and change the filter only.

Not all trannies have magnets in them to catch the metal and the ones that do, don't catch all the metal. Saturns and Hondas don't even have pans. Saturn uses helical gears and have an external filter do you leave those on too?. Also what about the nonmetal particulates that get inbedded in the filter? If I could afford it I would have the converter and coolers flushed, but, I would never leave the old filter in. As for secondary protection, On my K20 I installed a secondary cooler and then ran that return line through a secondary trans filter before returning to the trans. after 5yrs of hard towing and off roading the trans is still running strong. I would recomend this mod to any one who has an automatic. it will save your tanny

Saturns, Honda, and Subaru we do change the external filter since they are easy access, economical, and non time consuming. Yes we are a quick lube... main word being quick. You're right like I said I changed my filter before I got the rest of the tranny flushed, partly on accident but that's how it worked out.

Another thing to think about is how a very slippery brand new fluid is going to make an old worn out trans act. I talked it over with a master tech and he said it is best to only drop the pan and get out what fluid comes out and to leave all the old fluid in there. He brough up the point that worn out clutches may not work properly with how slippery a new fluid will be. If you leave the old warn out fluid in, it will dilute the new fluid. Any major contaminants in the mix of fluid will be caught by the new filter. There are obvious reasons you would want to change a fluid completly, i.e. overworn, extremly burnt fluid, etc. just my .02

How long can it take to drop a pan and change a filter on a lift or drive over pit? If you have a new rubber gasket to put on instead of RTV the would need to cure before seeing pressure and high temperatures, I see it being feasible(sp?) to drop a pan and change a filter quickly. Especially if you can have said machine suck the fluid out and not pump any back in.

Yeah the machine can suck out old fluid and not refill the trans. And it is true that if a trans is slipping don't change all the fluid out. The old fluid has small particles suspended in it and help give the old clutches friction. There are about 12 bolts to take the pan out and RTV "SETS" in 15 minutes (the black RTV) and fully cures in 24 hours. Rubber gaskets don't need to be coated, but you would need a small torque wrench. Also the filter is held in by 1 bolt. So yes it can be relatively quick, but I wouldn't do it on a drive over pit just in case you drop a bolt. Accidents do happen. Driveway change it took me an hour since I also put the pan in solvent to get it like brand new. I also let it drip a little bit longer too. If you are really in a hurry, you can get it done in a half hour.

My tranny shifts kind of hard in between 1-3 gears and so I had my tranny flushed about 3weeks ago at a chevy dealer and they told that they were not going to change the filter because that was extra an now my tranny still shifts hard could that be why I have an automatic.

it could be your transmission mounts, or the shocks in your car could be worn also

When I first got my 'Maro, it POP'ed every time it went in gear while standing. Put new tranny mount on, fixed it fine. Don't know about the fluid though, so sorry for going off topic

ORIGINAL: Z28nSHO

There are obvious reasons you would want to change a fluid completly, i.e. overworn, extremly burnt fluid, etc. just my .02



Have you ever changed burnt tranny fluid? The trans almost always goes up in a matter of days if you change it based on its color or quality. The only way to change trans fluid is to do it when it's needed by something close to the manufacturers recomendations. They aren't always right, but they will stop you from having a tranny go bad.

saying you don't need to change your filter after a change is just plain dumb[sm=badidea.gif]. first you say that you do the power flush because you are concerned about getting all the fluid out, but you aren't concerned about the filter?

makes no sense!!![sm=dontgetit.gif]