transmission flush

I need a transmission flush but for 95 bucks at a shop and plus i need to get my own filter. and they dont even take the pan off. which i want to be done. when i pulled the dip stick i found metal shaving on it.. plus i think the gasket is leaking.

 

but if a take the pan off and replace the fluid do i really need a flush?

 

i also notice on my 4EAT that they looks to be two dip sticks.. one on left and the right. the right(passenger) one has a red fluid on it and the left i forgot.

what one do i fill though?

 

or is it better to pay for the flush and buy a gasket and filter and have them install it

 

 

 

i should also have them replace the rear diff. hmm i wonder how old that it.

 

also. where my front right axle goes into the trans i notice its wet with fluid. i assume that the outputaxle seal is bad?

I believe in the front one dipstick is for the transmission and the other for the front differential.

 

X

Never, Never, Ever flush an automatic transmission. Just drop the pan and drain it out, replace the filter, button it back up, fill it with fluid, and go. Especially important on a high-mileage vehicle. Not one auto manufacturer recommends this and some specifically warn against it.

 

Annecdotally,2 months ago, I got a call from my good friend out in Arizona and she was driving cross-country and got two transmission codes and the CEL as she was driving. She called me and I told her what the codes amounted to and asked her if she had had a transmission power "flush". Up to this point, the car had driven beautifully (and she changed her fluids every 30K miles) and I had driven and found it to be a brilliant performer (for an autobox) so there was no issue with the transmission that even warranted that. She said that the mechanic who services her Subaru recommended it, "especially since she was driving all the way across country and back" and it would reduce any strain on the higher mileage transmission and the chance of any issues with it, charged her $150 buxs extra for the service and sent her on her way, less than 300 miles after the flush.

 

Well, sure enough the crap that was blasted back through the transmission on her 2006 Legacy GT Wagon (~110K miles - makes a lot of cross-country trips) gunked up up the valve body and caused it not to shift correctly. $1200 repairs to puchase a new valve body and R&R the old one, and she was back on the road again.

 

Read one of the many why-not articles here, apply logic and just say no thanks.

 

Cliff Notes: Don't do it, you'll waste money and regret it.

Absolutely, do NOT do a flush. Drop the pan, replace the filter, and see how much fluid you can get out without doing a flush. If you really really want to, throw everything back up after, fill with transmission fluid, run it for a hundred miles or so, and rechange the fluid so you have a cleaner total fluid running through the system. I did this (by accident, long story haha), but it's not necessary.

 

The trans. pan gasket is cheap and easy to throw up, I'd recommend doing that. The driver's side dipstick is for the tranny (bloody hard to read as it is) and the passenger side is the front diff. If you don't know how many miles are on the oil changes for both diffs PLEAS PLEASE CHANGE IT OUT. I bought mine and immediately drained out the fluid from both, and it was full of shavings and smelled really burnt. I wouldn't be surprised if it was never changed over the life of the car And yes, that output seal is bad, you should definitely look into changing that out. Preventative measures will keep that sucker running, good luck!

.

 

please edit the above post and replace left and right with driver and passenger. this will eliminate confusion for US readers (sorry to all you aussies) but left and right are relative to where you stand.

 

some one is going to put ATF in their front diff.

 

and i hear that the internal filter on these trans is not a filter at all, but a screen. and auto trans always have metal specks in the fluid and the bottom of the pan. that's how some trans shops get you to buy a rebuild even when you don't really need it.

 

shop owner: look at all this metal.

 

car owner: is that bad?

 

shop owner: yes, it could fail at any moment and then the cost would be double. you better rebuild it now. it's a good thing i caught this when i did.

 

car owner: ok , how much? do you take plastic??

^ Just to clarify your orientation - the transmission oil fill is on the Driver's side (right facing the engine from the front) and the differential fill is on the Passenger's side (left side facing the engine from the front). Will need a T70 Torx bit for the differential drain plug (center bottom of the differential between the front axles).

and i hear that the internal filter on these trans is not a filter at all, but a screen. and auto trans always have metal specks in the fluid and the bottom of the pan

 

If it is screen then it could be cleaned? I tried to buy the filter and the gasket online but they only let me choose betweee 2.2L models. Brighton, L and another trim level. They did not have the 2.5L GT is there a difference in transmission?

 

Thanks,

read this:

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=119650

read this:

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=119650

 

Thanks, now time to buy some lubeguard.

So, from what I gather from what everyone else says, you should not flush your transmission?

 

I just purchased a 2009 Subaru Legacy 2.5i, and when I had a mechanic inspect it they said that I should get the transmission flushed. This was at a Subaru dealership. Should I not do that? What should I do instead and how do I make sure the mechanic actually does the right thing?

Never, Never, Ever flush an automatic transmission. Just drop the pan and drain it out, replace the filter, button it back up, fill it with fluid, and go.

 

This is what you should do.

flushing the trans is a bad idea if it is not done on a regular basis. people who choose to do it when the car has 150k miles on it and have never changed the fluid it can have bad results. if on the other hand you have it done on a regular interval from new, i'm not sure it is all bad, but o don't really know.

 

our cars should have the fluid ''checked'' at 30k and replaced at 60k intervals for regular driving conditions.

 

the risk with flushing the fluid is that it stirs up the dirt in the bottom of the pan and moves it to places it should not be and it tends to ''clog'' up stuff.

 

but to replace your fluid in a 90s subaru you don't even have to drop the pan. it has a drain plug just like the engine oil pan. the ''filter inside is really just a screen, not a filter. so it does not need to be replaced.

 

doing a drain and fill 3 times with driving in between will remove almost all of the old fluid. (it holds ~ 10 qts, a drain and fill will replace ~ 4 qts.) and unlike motor oil replacing half of the fluid does in fact ''refresh' the fluid and improve it. there is no risk to leaving some behind.

 

there are other threads detailing how to do this in greater detail. do a search.

I do the regular pan drop and then add a drain plug fo the next time. Next by removing the one of the lines to the cooler or radiator whichever the vehicle has and running the old fluid coming out into a clear bottle and adding fluid at same time until new fluid comes out.

Back in the day, the REALLY old cars had that problem even with just adding new fluid. materials have improved since 1970. I have a 70's car with 80,000 miles on 15 year old fluid. Transmission guy warned me not to change it. I changed it and every seal on the tranny started leaking. The detergents alone were enough to clean away the gaskets. I can't imagine what it would have done running the solvent through.

Woops, misread that last night, was tired.