DIY 5EAT ATF Flush

What filter have you all used? I am seeing a lot of compatible spin-on oil filters come up.

 

Napa - 1365

Wix- 51365

Purolator - 1285 (Branded as a TX filter)

ATP B-198

Fram - 6607 (and the line of TG, XG)

 

Will a matching engine oil filter work?

Thread Size: 20X1.5 MM

By-Pass Valve Setting-PSI: 8-11

 

 

 

I also have found in-pan screens. Does nobody change these, or are they only for builds with NO filter?

Napa - ATM 3633003

 

I have 172,000 Miles on my 3rd hand 4EAT.

A word of caution...

 

A few days ago, someone on these boards reminded me of a risk of doing a complete flush all at once: If the fluid is VERY old, then there could be a lot of gunk buildup in the transmission.

ATF contains detergents, but this detergent cleaning ability fades over time. Putting all new ATF in a gunky transmission could dislodge all that gunk too quickly, causing the clogging of certain parts of the trans.

If you want to be careful to avoid this risk, then BEFORE you do the full flush:

Remove one old quart of ATF, and replace with one new quart, then drive around for 100 miles. Then repeat once or twice more, or until you feel confident that you are not going to unleash a wave of gunk deposits. This is being seriously careful; use your judgement.

 

I would not worry about this problem at 30k or even at 60k miles, but at over 100k, consider it.

Thank you for this caution. I bought my '05 with the 5EAT at 115k on it. I have no record of any transmission service being done at all. I think I'm going to do a 4qt drain and fill a number of times. I drive 80 miles a day to work, so I'll probably do it weekly for like 4 times. to make sure I gently work out all the gunk.

Great guide. Used 12 quarts of AMSOIL 'Signature Series' Multi Vehicle ATF. Could be placebo but shifts are wonderfully smooth after the flush.

 

Storing my funnel and extender hose without making my garage smell like ATF is the new challenge. Should probably look at doing my diff gear oils too. 75w90 AMSOIL, or 75w110? Redline seems popular as well. Not looking forward to getting the plugs off. Took a few hours to do a brake job because of the stuck bolts, quite sore now. Wish I had a proper lift.

 

At 150k, here's to hoping for another 150k (transmission was done previously, not the 1st service).

 

Used.

 

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/yDUe27g.jpg?1

 

New.

 

http://i.imgur.com/LRyQSO9.jpg

Edited April 27, 2015 by ObiWanToby

Yep, 75w90...to bad Extra S is no longer available. Amsoil or Redline will be more than good enough though.

Can i just use 2 buckets?

 

1 bucket is for Old and another for New

 

and put the outlet line on the old and put the inlet line on the new

 

i'll put 10L of ATF (Mitchell states LGT takes 9.8L) on the new bucket.

 

so while the car is running the old fluid will come out and new fluid is pushing the old fluid out.

Bumping this up to the top again.

Can i just use 2 buckets?

 

1 bucket is for Old and another for New

 

and put the outlet line on the old and put the inlet line on the new

 

i'll put 10L of ATF (Mitchell states LGT takes 9.8L) on the new bucket.

 

so while the car is running the old fluid will come out and new fluid is pushing the old fluid out.

 

Interested if anyone has done this method? Sounds like it might be a good alternative to possibly cavitating your pump...

Ahh gotcha, so the inlet of the pump is in the trans pan then.. That answers that! Thanks

Just did this again tonight on the wife's car. It has 104,000 now. The last time I did it unfortunately was at 46k back in 2013. The old ATF looked like motor oil more than ATF. Shifts seem smoother again but I'm not the usual driver of the car.

Did this today using the described method on my 05 LGT 5EAT, worked like a charm.

 

Great write up!

I just used my new EWK pneumatic fluid extractor (~$72 @ AMZN) to easily/cleanly suck out just over 5qts from the trans dipstick tube. Replaced with fresh Idemitsu TYPE-HP and things seem to be great. This was on a 2.5i w/ 224k miles. Will repeat the process @ 225k. Not a true flush but, as others have already mentioned, there may be merits to doing a partial drain/replace on older/dirtier fluid. I really like the extractor and plan on it making all my future fluid changes easier and less messy.

great posting! will save $$$ for sure using this info

Just did this on my second 2005 OBXT. Night and day difference in shift roughness and smooth acceleration. I seriously thought I was going to need to replace the transmission- it was that bad. I got the car as a flip and suspect the transmission fluid may have never been changed. 178K. The other car was 205K. Same thing- hard shifts 2-3, clunking into gear. Both cleared up immediately and I reflashed TCU for relearn.

 

Super easy with an assistant. Just pop the rear-most line and fold over into bucket. Have assistant start car and run it out a measured amount. Refill, repeat with gear changes, etc. as described. Not even 15 minutes total.

 

Great post- thank you!

Hi, one question how did you reflash TCU?

Free SSM and VAG-COM cable.

you can't flash (send/read MAP/ROM) with Free SSM, just read diag code and clear memory