my used car...

[seekinhighhp]

I have about 105k on my car...is it ok to do a transmission flush or change?

[00Beast]

Pan drop and filter change is what I recommend. Don't do a flush.

[willwren]

I disagree. There's never been any evidence that a flush on a high-mileage trans ever caused a premature failure of a 4T6-series transmission on any Forum I've ever been a member of.

Base your decision on the condition of your fluid.

[J Wikoff]

There seems to be a high failure rate in the near term after a flush. I don't think the flush causes the failures as much as one of two things. One, someone was noticing problems and got a flush hoping it would fix the issue but it didn't. Two, the flush sped up the failure by removing gunk that was doing something like keeping a clutch pad together, or broke gunk loose that gets stuck somewhere bad.

[00Beast]

I don't recommend flushes no matter what. Most shops charge out the butt for them and they really don't do that much more. If your fluid is black, I don't recommend doing a flush because it would introduce too much new fluid to a trans that won't be able to handle it. If it's bright pink, I don't recommend it because it won't be of any benefit. It's a catch-22.

[willwren]

I've had all 3 of my 3800's transmissions flushed. One more than once. Never had an issue at varying mileage.

[00Beast]

You also care for your cars and do it as preventive maintenance. I'm not saying a flush will kill his trans, but it's not worth the added cost that most shops charge.

[01bonneSC]

No one has asked what his fluid looks like......

As far as flushes, I did flushes at the Ford dealership I worked at, did a lot of them. There were 2 cars that had pretty dark fluid, high miles and got flushed. 2 or 3 days after they got towed back and the trans' were toast. Not my fault, fluid was full when they came back and lines were tight.

If you have a car from new or like almost new, I say flush at the intervals the maintenance calls for. But as the trans gets more miles on it, clutches wear and clog up that filter. Just like an engine oil filter. Ive done two "at home" flushes on cars, but drop the pan and change the filter the next time. So basically every other time the fluid needs a change I just do a pan drop.

[willwren]

Plainly speaking, there's a bunch of BS and old wives tales in this topic. Find me proof of a single 4T65E failure attributed to a trans flush. Some transmissions out there ARE victims of this, but ours are not. This is where the rumor comes from.

I've been a member/Administrator of this CLUB since 2002, with over 10,000 members, some with more than one 3800. I have YET to see a single trans failure attributed to a flush. My advice?

1. Go get a full flush.
2. Drive the car for 100 miles or so.
3. Drop the pan, change the filter, and replace the fluid.



Doing the flush first will release all the trapped pockets of debris. The filter will trap it. Change the filter after. Trans fluid is hydraulic fluid. It has specific properties geared more towards compression (doing work with it's force) and some lubricity properties. Both need to be refreshed over time.

Some other BRANDS and types of transmissions and transfer cases are susceptible to seal issues with flushes/changes, but ours are not.

[ZLTFUL]

Agree with Willren 100% but I extend that to the vast majority of modern transmissions.
Every single car I have purchased in the last 15 or so years has had the trans flushed within the first month of ownership and I have yet to have a single transmission issue related to fluid.
This has been everything from a VW Jetta TDI, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, 3 Cadillac Seville STSes, my Bonneville (but I then had a rebuild done due to the far greater hp from the engine rebuild/upgrades)...and 3 or 4 other vehicles I can't remember off the top of my head.

[01bonneSC]

My advice?

1. Go get a full flush.
2. Drive the car for 100 miles or so.
3. Drop the pan, change the filter, and replace the fluid.

This i agree with.

And the cars that failed on me were Ford products.

[seekinhighhp]

The fluid is pink but not bright pink. The fluid doesn't smell burnt either. I just wanted to know what to do because I don't know if the previous owner did anything like this in the past. Just wanted to do the right thing....and it may come down to a flush. I'll do the 100 mile check after its done and follow every other step. Worst case scenario, if it does fail, I already have a warranty.

[repinS]

I find that the issue at hand is whether a flush will exacerbate an EXISTING issue with the trans. The fluid/flush won't cause a failure, but it may accelerate it.

The 4T60-E in my 95 SSEi went from flawless shifting to absolutely no forward/reverse motion immediately after a simple pan drop. The fluid change didn't cause the failure, a failing diff pin/thrust washer did. If an unoperable trans didn't happen with the fluid change, it would have been catastauphic diff failure instead - it was just a matter of time.