Transmission Flush Already ????
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Freshman User
Joined: Apr 2006
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Transmission Flush Already ????
Went to the dealership today for an oil change and the usual up sell began. I sold Lexus for almost a year and understand the situation when you bring in your vehicle for any service. The tech mentions a list of "things that need your attention" so that his service guy can sell more hours that the consumer pays for. My problem is this - when is it an up sell and when is it really needed? My '04 SCREW 5.4l has ~ 38,700K on it. I bought it used @ 24K from a guy who drove it back and forth to an airfield (he is a FedEx pilot) every couple of days. The service mgr at Ford Country in L'ville, TX said, "My tech noticed the transmission fluid smells burnt and is in bad shape - probably should change it out". What is the typical life for this kind of stuff? Is it something I can do myself, meaning just dropping the pan, replacing the filter and refilling the fluid? Or is the complete flush recommended @ 38K? I'm not saying all Dealership Service guys are crooks, but ......<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
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Senior User
Joined: Apr 2006
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From: Springville, AL
Every 30,000miles you should flush the tranny fluid. It's in the manual starting with the '05 edition but applies to all MY 04-07.
I've done it myself, drop the pan, change the filter, and refill you got it exactly. You could flush it out entirely but that's going the extra mile, specially if you ain't to hard on your truck.
I've done it myself, drop the pan, change the filter, and refill you got it exactly. You could flush it out entirely but that's going the extra mile, specially if you ain't to hard on your truck.
Elder User
Joined: Jun 2006
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From: Fuquay Varina,NC
doing a pan drop and filter only gets a small amount of the old fluid out, it doesnt do much, you need to get it all out of the torque converter too, so I would recommend a flush. Your tranny fluid is the blood of your trans, dont overlook it or try to make it stretch, youll pay in the end. Whats a few bucks to ensure its longevity? I do my auto trans flushes every 25k miles.
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2003
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jcsv99,
The part about it smelling burnt was probably just a sales ploy. Any service manager knows that transmission fluid that smells burnt needs to have the cause found and corrected. But just to be safe, smear a little on your finger from the dipstick and smell it. If it has the "burnt smell" you'll be able to tell.
The part about it smelling burnt was probably just a sales ploy. Any service manager knows that transmission fluid that smells burnt needs to have the cause found and corrected. But just to be safe, smear a little on your finger from the dipstick and smell it. If it has the "burnt smell" you'll be able to tell.
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2006
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From: buckley WA
I agree... do the flush. Most of the fluid is in the converter and you will never get it out yourself. Better safe than sorry. You don't know how the previous owner treated the truck. That right there would make me do a flush as soon as I bought it.
