It's time for my 30,000 mi. tranny service and I want some opinions on what I should do. I am undecided whether to change the external filter and do a couple of drain & refills myself or to have a dealer do a hot flush. My local dealer who I trust does not have a hot flush machine and I have heard some horror stories from the other dealers close by so I am a little uneasy about letting them work on my truck. When possible,I prefer to do things myself so I know it's done right. Is it OK to do a couple or 3 drain/refills myself ? (personally I think it would prob. take 3 to get all the old fluid out but what do you think) Should I change the external filter on the first drain/refill or the last,or would it be necessary to change the filter every time? (I wouldn't think so but I'm just asking) Thanks for the opinions and,as always,thanks in advance!!

 

Spill, replace external filter, swap in 6.4L pan and internal filter, fill. Spill and fill every 15k from now on if you're really beating on it.

The 6.4L internal filter is a lot larger and more effective, unless you're tuned or really heating/overheating the trans while towing spilling the fluid and doing the external filter every 30k should be fine.

 

agree with rusty have been doing same for 6 years and i tow 13000 lbs thru mountains to mexico every year trans stays cool and oil very clean but be sure to use correct oil very important

 

The thing is, in order to open up the transcooler, I think the tranny has to hit 170 degrees to start circulation, maybe even 180. So, I think a single change, followed by some heavy pulling for an hour or more would be required before the second drain and filter. Then I would just do it every 30k miles once. Mercon SP is not cheap. Frankly when I changed mine last time and got it flushed, you could not tell the difference in the oil, it was the same colour and same viscosity. Maybe an oil analysis would be required to show the difference. So, your thoughts may vary but I think a single change every 30k, a filter every 60 without flush or a full flush every 60 would be fine for most.

 

I drain and fill every 30,000 and a new external filter. Fluid that comes out looks clean and good. 8 quarts. Mercon SP or LV.

I tow 8-10,000 3-4 times a year for about 400 miles each time.

 

Thanks for all the help! So it sounds like everybody feels like a single drain & refill and an external filter change now and then again in 15,000 more mi. is good? Is the 6.4L pan & filter a direct swap without mods? Is it that much better than the pan/filter we have now? Sorry for all the questions but thanks again!!

 

I do a single drain and new external filter every 30k. Internal filter gets changed every 60k. I haven't had a single problem and my tranny still shifts like its new even being tuned and will all the heavy towing I do.
Spill and fill every 15k is almost too much IMO

 

+1 here. I too pull a heavy load, 15,500 toy trailer and I am changing my external filter and approx 8-9 qts when draining the pan. That's approx half of the fluid each change and if done at 30k intervals, I feel I keep it fresh and so far, no issues...
I also only use Mercon SP.

 

There is no reason to replace the internal pickup/screen unless there has been catastrophic failure.

Just do a spill n fill with a new toilet paper roll.

Josh