Just went over 60k miles and contacted the dealer for what was recommended for service. They said the main thing was to have the tranny serviced and quoted a price of $250 for the work. Is this price anywhere near reasonable? They said that the Torqueshift tranny requires extra parts and time to service.

 

Sounds high to me, but they don't call them stealerships for nothing. Not sure about an '08 model, but here's a link to do-it-yourself for earlier models and save nearly $200. Changing ATF Fluid in a E4OD and 4R100 transmission .: Articles

Good luck!

 

"Transmission service" is one of the most abused descriptions in the industry.
Most shops under the description "understand" pulling the plug + draining and refilling 5-6 quarts of ATF.
If you want it done right.....

 

do-it-yourself for earlier models and save nearly $200. Changing ATF Fluid in a E4OD and 4R100 transmission .: Articles

^^x2 easy proceedure and almost guaranteed any one you take it to to flush it will not do it as well, in that they will most likely drain and refill but not truly flush it.

 

You don't have a 4R100 transmission so you're SOL on DIY.

I know the 5R110 TorqShift requires the fluid to be heated to flush out the torque converter. Not sure what the '08 has.

 

08-10 have the 5R110W also.

 

Would be nice if someone with the skills could update the DIY for the 5R110 series. I'll need to do the flush next year, but don't have the background to go first.

 

The problem with that is there is no good way to flush a 5R110 without a heated flush machine. I wrote the process to flush a 4R100, I'm not writing one for the 5R110.

 

While I don't dispute the requirement, I'd like to know why the fluid has to be heated. Does it have something to do with viscosity? What say ye Mark?

 

There's a thermostat in there that opens to allow fluid to flow to the cooler when it reaches a set temperature. Just like the thermostat for your engine cooling system.

 

No there is a thermostatically controlled valve that closes off the cooling circuit until the trans is at or above 170*F This allows it to get to OP temp faster. So to flush the trans completely you'll miss a lot of the fluid unless that valve is open. Some shops are equipped with heated oil dispenser for this purpose. Analogy: flushing an engine cooling system when the T-Stats closed will only get what’s in the radiator and not what’s in the engine. I just serviced my 5R110W at 48K. I had to install a direct clutch solenoid as well as flush the fluid and change the filter. A case of the correct Mercon LV fluid was $75 a case x2 the filter was 42ish. You can reuse the pan gasket. That was quoted at $30. So $250 for a full service isn’t bad at all. I was getting quotes from 200-300. To “flush” I did as Mark suggested. I dropped the fluid changed the filter and refilled. Drove it for a day then pulled the plug and drained the pan again and refilled. My fluid was pink and there was zero trash in the pan. The magnet had the usual “mud” on it. If your fluids burnt and there is trash in the pan then your story is a little different than mine. In this case I would try to get it a full flush at a shop with the heated flusher. Mark will add to this if I missed anything.

 

These are correct. If the thermostat is closed the fluid will recirculate within the transmission, not go out the cooler line to the flush machine.

 

I was at my local dealership this afternoon, so I stopped by the service dept. They want $290 for the full (flush) service, including the filter.

So unless someone can design and sell a flush heating system for $50-100, I'll just have the dealership change the fluids.

 

And now we know the rest of the story. Thanks for the learnin' guys.

 

If that price includes fluid, I would say it is completely reasonable.

Even if you were dealing with a 4R100, you'd need 20qts of fluid and synthetic fluid these days runs around $10/qt. So you're already in it $200 to do it yourself if you use Mobil1 or any other good synthetic fluid.