Tranny fluid drain and fill 2.5

Planning on draining and filling my tranny fluid on my 97 lgt this weekend. I get the seemingly common problem of lurching from 1st to 2nd on both upshifts and downshifts. It also sometimes doesn't want to shift out of 3rd unless i slam on it. Overall just acting a little funny and I want to tackle the problem.

 

I've heard that a drain and fill can actually do more harm than good and the tranny will actually fail shortly after changing the fluid. Does this hold true with our transmissions? I've also heard our transmissions aren't very tough, so that's why I'm worried about this.

 

When changing should I replace with the recommended dexron 3 or something else? Any problems with dexron VI? Any additives help with our transmission (Lucas transmission fix)? Does seafoam tranny fix help too? (I'm a big believer in seafoam as it cleaned out my heads completely).

 

How much should I add after doing as there will be a residual amount left in the transmission which capacity is 9.2 quarts I believe? Should I add 7 quarts and then go from there?

 

If I am doing this I plan to do the power steering fluid as well. Any tricks I need to know to do this?

 

I've heard it takes multiple drain and fills to fix it, but I would like to get at least one under my belt so I know how to do it. If it goes by easy may attempt it again. Thanks again, and will let you know how it goes and if it drives any better

a drain and fill will not hurt your trans.

 

a flush or a power flush may cause issues and is not recommended.

 

these trans are hardy, as long as they are serviced occasionally. usually the ones that fail are the ones that are driven over 150k on the original trans fluid. replace your fluid every 60k or sooner.

 

no additives are recommended.

 

a drain will produce about 3.5 qts of fluid.

measure the amount you drain and then add the same amount back.

then drive the car around the block.

repeat 2 or 3 times.

 

after you have completed this process, do a drain and fill once or twice a year when you do an oil change. this will keep it fresh.

Oh do you need crush gaskets for the drain plug?

Oh do you need crush gaskets for the drain plug?

yes, it will drip if you don't. but you can probably re-use the one on there .

 

they cost about $1 at the parts store.

K i did it 3 times and after the 2nd time it drove great. Hit some hills and both upshifting and downshifting and it worked great. For my last drain I really let it drain. Let it drip for like 30 mins. While on the first two drains i produced about 4 quarts even, the last I overflowed pouring two back into the containers. I also added an additive the napa guy suggested and put in 4 quarts for my last fill. It was driving like crap and after checking my dipstick it had some bubbles on it. I put in 1 more quart and drove around and still a little slushy. I put in 1 more quart and it feels good, but still not as smooth on my 2nd fill. Is it still just that low? It was low on hot even before I started. Will those bubbles work themselves out?

So idk why it was driving so bad before, but I put a quart in and it still read low, and I bought one more quart and added half and now it looks like its way overfilled. Still drives like crap! How bad is it to drive on an overfilled tranny? And why was it so smooth before and now back to the rough shifts? Maybe seafoam trans tune did that much (I love seafoam)

Ya it was hot when checking. I'll get it right again.

K how finicky are our transmissions? I drained some out and checked it and it was bubbled up to the low level on hot. I added 1/4 a quart and checked again and it was about midway and it drove better. I added 1/4 quart again and haven't checked but it drives still a little better. The lurch between 1st and 2nd is still pretty bad. Still isn't driving like it did on that 2nd drain and fill. What could be wrong?!!

new transmission kgo

Hey guys i just bought my 98 legacy gt last week, came with a bunch of dealer receipts but the vin was wrong so im confused called dealer and if corrrect tranny flush was done about 100 000kms ago :/ im at 270 000km now, anyways using the car for winter and want to do a tranny and diff flushes ive watched videos and know how, just wondering what a good ATF fluid is as my car does the what seams to be typical delay from 1-2 shift other then that seems good.

 

Any help would be good

 

Thanks Rob

K how finicky are our transmissions? I drained some out and checked it and it was bubbled up to the low level on hot. I added 1/4 a quart and checked again and it was about midway and it drove better. I added 1/4 quart again and haven't checked but it drives still a little better. The lurch between 1st and 2nd is still pretty bad. Still isn't driving like it did on that 2nd drain and fill. What could be wrong?!!

 

a video i saw a guy was talking about air in the fluid being bad, maybe let it sit for a bit so the air can work its way out of the fluid, u can also go through all the gears and make sure that no bubbles could be trapped in a gear that u dont typical use.

the dip sticks can be really hard to read, especially when hot.

 

read it cold with the engine off to see if you are in the ballpark. then read it hot engine running. read both sides of the stick, the lowest mark is the correct mark.

 

tips:

1. when you pull the dip stick out, WAIT a while before you reinsert it to read it. let the fluid that was on the stick but now is on the inside of the tube drain back down.

 

2. if you still have trouble, put the end of the stick in ice water while you wait. a cold stick will give you a better reading. the fluid does not want to flow as much.

 

3. read both sides of the stick. the lowest reading is the correct reading.

 

too full is dangerous, if the fluid gets foamy it cannot do its job as well. same with motor oil. so do not over fill.

 

too low is dangerous, it will wear out your trans faster.

 

the difference between the low mark and the high mark is only about a pint, 1/2 qt, 16 ounces. do not over fill.

k so keep checking it while hot and it was barely over the low on hot so I added about a quarter quart. Checked it again later and it appeared way overfilled with a bunch of bubbles. Guy at napa told me that if you get large fluctuation in fluid level that it could be a valve that allows fluid to go in the torque converter going bad. Is this true and is this my problem? About how much is it to have this replaced?

I'm sorry I can't be more to you guys untill I actually do the transmission flush myself in the next few days, what tranny fluid and diff oils seem to be good to use, I'm thinking about using my 75w-90 mitsu gearoil in the diffs, and the only atf I can find is made by mister transmisson, or should I get atf from dealer? Thanks Rob

I'm sorry I can't be more to you guys untill I actually do the transmission flush myself in the next few days, what tranny fluid and diff oils seem to be good to use, I'm thinking about using my 75w-90 mitsu gearoil in the diffs, and the only atf I can find is made by mister transmisson, or should I get atf from dealer? Thanks Rob

 

Any transmission fluid that is Dexron III will be sufficient because that is what our transmissions use & 75w-90 gear oil is what our differentials use.

Search function? This has been hashed and rehashed many times in even the brief time I've been here.

so i did the atf and diff change,

 

atf was pretty dirty and smelled bad, the pan actually wasnt to dirty which was nice, i did however forget to put the magnet back in so i broke it into 2 pieces and stuck in through the drain hole .

 

diffs were pretty good looked almost new but did them anyways, took for a test seemed to drive pretty good kicked once into second again but was ok after that will have a better idea when i go for work on monday

 

On another not when the car was up i let it run in first and R and noticed that the front driver wheel didnt move at all but i could spin it forww\ard and back by hand. when the car was turned off i was able to move the driver side forawrd and bacwards and the passenger one did the opposite. So do i have awd or am probably a 3wd legacy? i really hope its not 3wd

when the car was up i let it run in first and R and noticed that the front driver wheel didnt move at all

 

this is not unusual with an open differential. the power goes to the wheel with the least resistance. check to see if the brakes are dragging or if the wheel bearing is bad.

 

i was able to move the driver side forawrd and bacwards and the passenger one did the opposite.

this too is what an open diff does.

this is not unusual with an open differential. the power goes to the wheel with the least resistance. check to see if the brakes are dragging or if the wheel bearing is bad.

 

 

this too is what an open diff does.

 

ok cool this is what i thought but wasn't sure, the wheel is a little stiffer to turn but it does spin easily and doesn't seem to restricted, i know it has brand new brakes and i was stepping on them so i could go through the gears so maybe the caliper is just a little stuck or the pads are touching a bit when i have the trims off in a few weeks to put winters on ill see about lubing the sliders as well as replacing my 2 broken boots on the racks.

 

Is there a place i can get a rebuilt or cheap new driver front cv shaft, the boot on mine is torn and probably wont last much longer through the winter.