Transmission Fluid Replacement
04-01-08, 01:14 AM
#1
Pinkberry
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Long Beach, CA
Posts: 39
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Transmission Fluid Replacement
Hi. Im a new when it comes to engines and cars but I'm trying to learn as much as I can. Anyways i recently aquired a 91 Rx-7. I'm pretty sure the transmission fluid needs to be replaced, but my friend, who is a technician suggested that changing the fluid could cause the transmission to wear out faster, due to the fact that the fluid is so old? Is this true, and would it be ok to replace my transmission fluid? Or should I just wait and not change it and wait till my tranny fails?
04-01-08, 12:00 PM
#5
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Rock Hill, South Carolina?
Posts: 316
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes
on
2 Posts
Do you have a manual or an automatic transmission?
The tech is talking about an automatic and everyone on this thread is talking about a manual. It is a general rule for Technicians that if the automatic transmission fluid has not been changed within 100,000 miles then it should not be Flushed at all. With really old fluid there is a risk of a "No Go" or poor shifting as a result of the newer oil being thinner. No shop wants to be responsible for this happening. A filter change with just the oil in the pan is generally OK since it is only about a third of the total fluid. There are no issues like this on a manual transmission unless you put the wrong fluid in it.
Several people put Royal Purple 75W-90 in theres. I put Redline MTL in mine because I found it for $2.50 a bottle.
The tech is talking about an automatic and everyone on this thread is talking about a manual. It is a general rule for Technicians that if the automatic transmission fluid has not been changed within 100,000 miles then it should not be Flushed at all. With really old fluid there is a risk of a "No Go" or poor shifting as a result of the newer oil being thinner. No shop wants to be responsible for this happening. A filter change with just the oil in the pan is generally OK since it is only about a third of the total fluid. There are no issues like this on a manual transmission unless you put the wrong fluid in it.
Several people put Royal Purple 75W-90 in theres. I put Redline MTL in mine because I found it for $2.50 a bottle.
04-01-08, 12:21 PM
#6
Houpty hit the proverbial nail on the head with his post. If you happen to have a manual you'll need to fashion yourself one of these:
It's basically a 3/4 heater hose with a gear oil nozzle taped to end. It makes filling the transmission easy and relatively mess free.
You can find the fluid capacities in the factory service manual which is in the FAQ.
It's basically a 3/4 heater hose with a gear oil nozzle taped to end. It makes filling the transmission easy and relatively mess free.
You can find the fluid capacities in the factory service manual which is in the FAQ.
04-01-08, 12:24 PM
#7
Pinkberry
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Long Beach, CA
Posts: 39
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Do you have a manual or an automatic transmission?
The tech is talking about an automatic and everyone on this thread is talking about a manual. It is a general rule for Technicians that if the automatic transmission fluid has not been changed within 100,000 miles then it should not be Flushed at all. With really old fluid there is a risk of a "No Go" or poor shifting as a result of the newer oil being thinner. No shop wants to be responsible for this happening. A filter change with just the oil in the pan is generally OK since it is only about a third of the total fluid. There are no issues like this on a manual transmission unless you put the wrong fluid in it.
Several people put Royal Purple 75W-90 in theres. I put Redline MTL in mine because I found it for $2.50 a bottle.
The tech is talking about an automatic and everyone on this thread is talking about a manual. It is a general rule for Technicians that if the automatic transmission fluid has not been changed within 100,000 miles then it should not be Flushed at all. With really old fluid there is a risk of a "No Go" or poor shifting as a result of the newer oil being thinner. No shop wants to be responsible for this happening. A filter change with just the oil in the pan is generally OK since it is only about a third of the total fluid. There are no issues like this on a manual transmission unless you put the wrong fluid in it.
Several people put Royal Purple 75W-90 in theres. I put Redline MTL in mine because I found it for $2.50 a bottle.
Trending Topics
04-01-08, 03:23 PM
#8
Is that thing Turbo?
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Maryland
Posts: 1,411
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
eww you wanna change the whole tranny not the fluid. lol. sorry those slush boxes suck a guy around here had a 25 na with an auto and it did like 17.3 1/4 mile runs with my identically modded s4 5 speed ran 15.2, a huge difference considering he has more base hp. honestly i'd go to the FS section and look for trannys
04-02-08, 01:27 AM
#10
OR you can use an oil bottle, plug a clear* line into the bottom of the bottle and put an air line in the top, then pressurize it to fill your trans. IIRC, a quart sized bottle might hold around 8psi without bursting. I used a 4 quart bottle and it seemed to be near the breaking point at maybe only 1 or 2 psi, so the oil moved slow but I found other things to work on while I waited. I have a picture or two but my camera is in my garage.
04-02-08, 01:30 PM
#12
Engine, Not Motor
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: London, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 29,789
Likes: 0
Received 110 Likes
on
93 Posts
Hi. Im a new when it comes to engines and cars but I'm trying to learn as much as I can. Anyways i recently aquired a 91 Rx-7. I'm pretty sure the transmission fluid needs to be replaced, but my friend, who is a technician suggested that changing the fluid could cause the transmission to wear out faster, due to the fact that the fluid is so old? Is this true, and would it be ok to replace my transmission fluid? Or should I just wait and not change it and wait till my tranny fails?
In that case, the fluid should not just be changed, but the transmission should be flushed. Any competent transmission shop can do this for you. As the fluid gets old, it's more likely to cause slip which causes heat, wearing it out even faster. You may find that after a fluid change the transmission performs much better and may not need to be rebuilt for many miles.
04-02-08, 01:46 PM
#13
Wtf? That so called technician is a joke, thats like saying don't change your oil every 3000 miles or 3 months, just leave it in there til the motor blows up then buy a new one 
Do yourself a favor go to AAMCO or Mr Transmission or whatevers near you, basically a good tranny shop...get um to flush the thing out and use some high quality ATF.
Do yourself a favor go to AAMCO or Mr Transmission or whatevers near you, basically a good tranny shop...get um to flush the thing out and use some high quality ATF.
04-02-08, 02:43 PM
#14
Is that thing Turbo?
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Maryland
Posts: 1,411
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Wtf? That so called technician is a joke, thats like saying don't change your oil every 3000 miles or 3 months, just leave it in there til the motor blows up then buy a new one
Do yourself a favor go to AAMCO or Mr Transmission or whatevers near you, basically a good tranny shop...get um to flush the thing out and use some high quality ATF.
Do yourself a favor go to AAMCO or Mr Transmission or whatevers near you, basically a good tranny shop...get um to flush the thing out and use some high quality ATF.
04-02-08, 08:08 PM
#15
Old fluid is old fluid; it should be changed every 30k (at least every 50k) miles. Almost every shop that sells transmission flushes doesn't change the trans filter, they just hook up the lines and change the fluid.
You can flush the trans at home by changing the fluid and filter, then running it for a while and changing the fluid again. That will flush out the quart of old fluid in the torque converter that doesn't drain out.
04-02-08, 08:47 PM
#16
Pinkberry
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Long Beach, CA
Posts: 39
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Don't rip on others that know what they're talking about. You should try using correct spelling and write in complete sentences.
Old fluid is old fluid; it should be changed every 30k (at least every 50k) miles. Almost every shop that sells transmission flushes doesn't change the trans filter, they just hook up the lines and change the fluid.
You can flush the trans at home by changing the fluid and filter, then running it for a while and changing the fluid again. That will flush out the quart of old fluid in the torque converter that doesn't drain out.
Old fluid is old fluid; it should be changed every 30k (at least every 50k) miles. Almost every shop that sells transmission flushes doesn't change the trans filter, they just hook up the lines and change the fluid.
You can flush the trans at home by changing the fluid and filter, then running it for a while and changing the fluid again. That will flush out the quart of old fluid in the torque converter that doesn't drain out.
im saying that the transmission oil does not look like it has been changed for a long time. it will take out the old grimy oil and sludge, but since it hasnt been changed, that might be at a disadvantage. bleh if that doesnt make sense im sorry, i cant really explain that well.
04-06-08, 09:41 PM
#17
Thats funny because totalimmortal you didn't even read what I said did you? I said take it to a tranny shop and get it flushed. Which is exactly what is needed to be done. Maybe before trying to shut me down you should know what your talking about in the first place.
04-06-08, 10:05 PM
#18
ya, uh, electric, shoosh. and with aaron cake and houpty, yes, your friend is right. unless it hasnt been changed in a while, there is a chance with it not working afterwards. happened to me when i worked at toyota as a tech, same thing, changed tranny fluid, then we replaced the ladies tranny. not fun =(
good luck excel, at least you are asking good questions. use the search key too, you might find other stuff that you didnt think to ask about!
peace
good luck excel, at least you are asking good questions. use the search key too, you might find other stuff that you didnt think to ask about!
peace
04-25-08, 04:34 PM
#19
im saying that the transmission oil does not look like it has been changed for a long time. it will take out the old grimy oil and sludge, but since it hasnt been changed, that might be at a disadvantage. bleh if that doesnt make sense im sorry, i cant really explain that well.
06-30-08, 12:15 PM
#20
new ***** rx7
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: bangkok, Thaialnd
Posts: 105
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
dunno if its too late but Ive got the same prob.. so I just changed my transmission oil.. guess what.. it didn't do much good, dont get me wrong its better but still rough when shifting.. so I put in Slick50 transmission oil.. the 80ml litre bottle.. and after 5 minutes of driving its good as new.. trust me on this I just did it today and been driving for about 50 kms.. try it.. thats all I can say
