Automatic Transmission Service

[czechsonofagun]

That's pretty much what I thought. And to tell the whole truth, I know the owner of the dealership very well and the service guy is a patient of mine.

So, I don't mind spending a couple of hundred on this truck with friends. The idea of flushing the tranny seems like a good one and I can see where it could get more 'junk' out of the tranny than just changing the fluid. I'm a little less impressed with the idea of a steering system flush. But, I'll probably just do it. I have not had to spend any money on this truck in 50K miles. Plus, they treat me like a king at this place, offering me drinks, rides or loaners, etc. They have treated my Dad well to.

Its a lot easier to spend a little money on fluff at a place that treats you well.

I know guys wh are an@l enough to flush the power steering every so often. The logic is it does not have filter and the crude is just accumulating inside.

But they typically run oversized tires and the PS works hard.

 

[lug nut]

Just for interest: Some new vehicles do not have dipsticks on the auto transmission??

That is true. There are quite a few "sealed for life" transmissions out there. The fluid is supposed to last a lifetime, thus the lack of a dipstick or need to check the fluid (in theory).

 

[N80]

You shouldnt take offense at that, none is meant. Im just saying that if its brownish, thats not usual even if you did skip some maintenance.

No offense taken. I was just saying I don't really believe the mechanic. And truth be told, I'm no longer a DIY'er when it comes to my vehicles. Not because I can't, I just don't have the time or the interest. I used to fuss over my trucks when I was younger. Did all the lubes and oil changes myself (not having any money was a factor too). Now it is a better use of my time to have someone else do it. But, I'll pull the dipstick this afternoon and see what the stuff looks and smells like.

(If it smells burnt and looks real brown and nasty, I may just sell it and get that crew cab F-250 with the new 6.4l diesel I was looking at while waiting for the oil change! The owner was really wanting me to test drive it!)

 

[kenmac]

you can purchase a new bottle & smell it to know what new smells like & what burnt tranny fluid smells like.Your mechanic saying it's brown would indicate to me burnt fluid.

I also change out my p.s. fluid & my brake fluid As these fluids do get old with time & heat

 

[czechsonofagun]

you can purchase a new bottle & smell it to know what new smells like & what burnt tranny fluid smells like.Your mechanic saying it's brown would indicate to me burnt fluid.

I also change out my p.s. fluid & my brake fluid As these fluids do get old with time & heat

also humidity.

 

[N80]

I just checked the transmission fluid. Pinkish red, clear as a bell, no burnt odor. No hint of brown.

Dipstick handle says "Use Mercon V".

 

[Bird]

I just checked the transmission fluid. Pinkish red, clear as a bell, no burnt odor. No hint of brown.

Dipstick handle says "Use Mercon V".

Then I'd probably leave it alone. Incidentally, if you're checking the level to see whether you need to add any (which you'll probably never need to do unless you have an obvious leak), all the vehicles I'm familiar with say to check it when it's thoroughly warmed, with the engine running and the transmission in neutral. Someone else can tell us if there are exceptions to that.

 

[kenmac]

Then I'd probably leave it alone. Incidentally, if you're checking the level to see whether you need to add any (which you'll probably never need to do unless you have an obvious leak), all the vehicles I'm familiar with say to check it when it's thoroughly warmed, with the engine running and the transmission in neutral. Someone else can tell us if there are exceptions to that.

Bird, all makes are different. I think, at one time chevy stated check while hot in nut. even on the dip stick. My dodge states check while hot in park. N80 if you do alot of towing , It wouldn't hurt to change the fluid & filter. I have never had a flush as long as I have owned vehicles. The only time I had a tranny go out was due to over heating while towing without an aux. trans. cooler.

 

[CATMAN]

There can be an advantage to following the recommended maintanence schedule to the letter. My ex-girl friend had a 1990 Nisson Pathfinder with an automatic tranny. She had all her oil changes and maintanence done by the selling dealer PER the owner's manual. Her warranty ended at 36,000 miles. Her automatic transmission failed at 48,000 miles and fail so badly the tranny couldn't even be separated into sub-assembles. I took the tranny to the dealer and they said we had to purchase a complete NEW tranny. She call the national assistance phone number for Nisson the next morning and by the afternoon when I showed up to ask for their district representative, Nisson had already offered $1500 towards the new tranny(goodwill), The dealer offered to sell the tranny at their cost(goodwill=savings of $750).

They only provided this "goodwill" because of the documented proof that she had done everything that Nisson asked her to do PER the owner's manual.​

We still paid $2800 over and above.(The Dealer and Nisson required their mechanics to reinstall and adjust the tranny for us to get any "goodwill". $600 installation fee). I feel this was fair, because our CAT dealership also has similiar "goodwill" program. I thought I would share this story to inform TBN members of a real life example of "goodwill" AFTER warranty has expired but the product hasn't provided the customer with the reasonable expected value to that customer.

 

[milkman]

My son just had to replace the automatic trans in his car, it's a '91, been through two teen drivers and has 288,000 miles, should have changed the fluid and filter at least once.

 

[N80]

I'm going to go ahead and have it changed and I'll do the flush as well. I don't do much towing (except a tiny little utility trailer) but as you can tell, the truck does get neglected. So a little TLC won't hurt.

 

[kenmac]

N80, I was looking at H.F. cat. this AM. & noticed they have a transmission fluid exchanger for $500.00 . If you have 2 changes done this you could buy yourself an exchanger . They also have a brake fluid exchanger listed at around $200.00

 

[N80]

N80, I was looking at H.F. cat. this AM. & noticed they have a transmission fluid exchanger for $500.00 . If you have 2 changes done this you could buy yourself an exchanger . They also have a brake fluid exchanger listed at around $200.00

That's really not that bad. Unfortunately my issue is more of time than moeny (not that money isn't an issue....if it wasn't I'd have a different truck and a bigger tractor...with a cab...and a radio ). But, as it stands, I just don't have the time to do my own automotive maintenance. On the other hand, I do all my tractor stuff myself. I kind of enjoy it, plus I have no trailer to take the tractor in to the dealer!

 

[Chuck52]

It must be a nice feeling to have some trust at least in your dealer. I thought I had a good dealer with a trustworthy service department in my Chevy dealer, based on the experiences of a friend and my SIL with the adjacent Nissan dealership, owned by the same person. I only took my Impala to the dealer for oil changes a couple of timews, because there is a good general auto service place close enough to my work that I can drop off my car and walk to the lab. The only time I took the car to the dealer with a "problem" it turned out my wife hadn't fully seated the gas cap following a fill up....the "check engine" light lit up, and the service guy quickly found the problem and didn't try to stick me with anything. So....when my decent service place told me I had a leak from the water pump, I decided to take it to the dealer just in case. They sold me a new pump, and I went with that even though I figure it was probably just a gasket that was leaking. The labor was a big part of the bill, so why not put on a new pump....at least that was my rationalization at the time. Then it came time to have the car inspected to get my new tag. I took the car in for an oil change and inspection and, lo and behold, it had a leak in the power steering mechanism, requiring $843 to fix, before it would pass inspection. The mechanic showed me the "droplets" on the shaft, but I balked at $843 since I had no problems with the steering. Also, I park in a garage, and never noticed ANY oily stains on the floor, AND I checked the fluid level and it was completely full. So, I took it to another shop where it passed inspection with no problems. I also put newspaper under the car to see if I would catch some "droplets". That was three weeks ago and the paper is still pristine. The may be some slow leak, but it must be really sloooow. Fluid is still full. I hate being scammed, even when it doesn't actually get me. Funny, too. Every other time I've had the car serviced at the dealer I got a nice survey questionaire asking if I was happy with the service. This time, no questionaire.

Chuck

 

[DieselPower]

You were not being scammed, the power steering system should have been failed. I am PA state inspection certified and was previously MD certified for medium/heavy trucks and any sign of leakage from the power steering system fails. The reason is if your power steering system fails you are left with steering that is harder than if you had manual steering. Power steering is designed to work with the addition of hydraulic asistance, remove that and you can be up a creek without a paddle not being able to steer. It's a saftey thing, not a scam thing.

 

[Chuck52]

It's a scam thing if there is no real leak.

Chuck

 

[DieselPower]

If there is "ANY" fluid visable then it's leaking. If it was not leaking then you would not be able to see any fluid except to pull the dipstick.

 

[Chuck52]

I accept the importance of the power steering, and acknowledge that if it is truely faulty it should be repaired. As a practical matter, if I find that I am losing fluid, I will probably try one of the additives which are supposed to stop leaks before I replace the entire power steering rack, since it is likely that a seal is seeping. So far, aside from a misting of oil on a part identified by the mechanic as the steering rack, I've seen no leaks and the reservoir is still completely full. I assume catastrophic failure of the power steering would involve more than minor seepage of fluid, and that I would see loss of fluid and even perhaps have some mechanical warning before that happened.

In my present frame of mind, I'm imagining the mechanic with a little squirt bottle of fluid as he "finds" the leak.

Chuck