Automatic Transmission Mileage Life

[Smokescreen]

1997 Chevy 1/2 ton suburban, with 4L60E with 375,000km or 234,000 miles. Zero failures, performs like the first day I bought it.

I have installed a spin on in-line ATF filter, at this connection I am able to do a pan drain every other year.

 

[Ken_W]

1999 Pontiac Grand Am GT - 156K on original trans (purchased car at 146K)

2000 Pontiac Bonneville SSEi - trans rebuilt at 155K (purchased car at 152K)

2004 Pontiac Montana minivan - 182K on original trans (I am original owner)


I suck out the trans fluid with hand pump every 25K and then replace filter and fluid. This replaces 50% of the fluid every time. I also use Seafoam TransTune the day before I suck out the fluid.

Ken_W

 

[Trav]

Yes some do make it a long time. I replaced 3 of them on Odyssey vans this vintage, the Maxlife s very good fluid but i prefer it in GM and older Toyota units.

The Honda units running Amsoils ATF have been good, this fluid seems to work very well in these Odyssey units, so far zero failures.
It was the ones running Honda OEM ATF at the customers insistence that had multiple failures.
Before the OEM fan boys jump on me this is an observation of real transmissions running every day not a bash. Just something to think about.

 

[Dakota1820]

I have seen and owned a couple cavaliers with low 200,000 and in my case the transmission was fine it was the engine that was awful

 

[Russell]

1995 BMW 525i 4 speed auto made by GM in France. Lasted about 211,000 miles with regular fluid changes.

Replaced with BMW/Mercedes specialist reman unit installed by my local BMW Indy. Works fine.

 

[Donald]

I think there is a thread obn the 200K transmision miles club.

 

[chestand]

My '95 Toyota T100's auto trans. is still working great at 443,000. I do yearly DIY fluid flushes. Other than that, no other maintenance done.

 

[panthermike]

The trans on my old '88 Towncar failed at 190K, I do believe it was neglected prior to me owning it though(the first 170K).

My brother had an F150 that was the worst treated truck I've seen. No fluid changes of any kind, only topped off oil when the motor started knocking(302 V8). It was treated that way from 200K on. Anyways, he sold it at 252K with no issues as far as the trans goes.

We've had the Corolla since 25K though, so I know it has been taken care of. It now has 115K and the trans is great, I expect it to last a long time. I'm changing it over to Amsoil soon as well.

 

[LeakySeals]

Originally Posted By: Ken_W

1999 Pontiac Grand Am GT - 156K on original trans (purchased car at 146K)

2000 Pontiac Bonneville SSEi - trans rebuilt at 155K (purchased car at 152K)

2004 Pontiac Montana minivan - 182K on original trans (I am original owner)


I suck out the trans fluid with hand pump every 25K and then replace filter and fluid. This replaces 50% of the fluid every time. I also use Seafoam TransTune the day before I suck out the fluid.

Ken_W

I looked up Seafoam TransTune. Its regular Seafoam being marketed and sold in a different bottle. They share the same MSDS:

Sea Foam Motor Treatment SF-16, SF-128, SF-55
Sea Foam Trans Tune TT-16, TT-55
MSDS Preparation Date (mm/dd/yyyy): 06/01/2012 Page 1 of 4
MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET:
Sea Foam Motor Treatment SF-16, SF-128, SF-55
Sea Foam Trans Tune TT-16, TT-55
Product identifier
SECTION 1 - PRODUCT AND COMPANY IDENTIFICATION
Product Use : Motor Treatment - Fuel system treatment, Trans Tune - Transmission treatment
Chemical Family : Mixture.
Refer to Supplier
Supplier’s name and address: Manufacturer’s name and address:
Sea Foam Sales Company
12987 Pioneer Trail • Eden Prairie, MN, USA 55347
24 Hr. Emergency Tel # : 1-800-535-5053 (Infotrac)
NOTE: INFOTRAC emergency number is to be used only in the event of chemical emergencies involving a spill, leak, fire, exposure or accident involving
chemicals.
SECTION 2 - COMPOSITION/INFORMATION ON INGREDIENTS
(Rabbit, dermal)
LD50
(Oral, rat)
LC50(4hr)
(Rat, ihl.)
Ingredients
CAS # Wt.%
Pale Oil 64742-54-7 40.00 - 60.00 N/Av >15000 mg/kg >5000 mg/kg
Naphtha 64742-49-0 25.00 - 35.00 N/Av >5000 mg/kg N/Av
IPA 67-63-0 10.00 - 20.00 17000ppm 4720mg/kg 12890mg/kg

Your doing a drain and fill so by your numbers your leaving approx 50% of Seafoam/TransTune in your tranny for thousands of miles. What Pale Oil, Naphtha, and IPA will do mixed with Dex 6 I don't know, but I thought you should know (if you don't already) what your actually pouring into your tranny(s).

 

[SwampSurvivor]

My uncle's 91 700R4 failed at about 250000 miles. I know that it never had the fluid changed and was run dry repeatedly before that.

Friend had an '03 Santa Fe with 136K that started surging between 2 and 3. Fluid change helped a bit.

My Cherokee with 115K gets a drain/flush at random intervals, but never more than a year apart.

My Taurus had 75K on it when it rusted in half. Trans worked fine but I did flushes at 25, 50K ... it was due for another flush.

 

[KD0AXS]

2007 International 4300, currently 326,174 miles on the Allison automatic with not so much as a hiccup.

 

[Burt]

1998 Windstar at 177,000 miles and going strong. Flushed the fuild at 30k, 60k, 90k, 130k and just sucked 5-6 quarts out at 170K. Plan to just suck and refill every 15k now.

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: LeakySeals
Originally Posted By: Ken_W

1999 Pontiac Grand Am GT - 156K on original trans (purchased car at 146K)

2000 Pontiac Bonneville SSEi - trans rebuilt at 155K (purchased car at 152K)

2004 Pontiac Montana minivan - 182K on original trans (I am original owner)


I suck out the trans fluid with hand pump every 25K and then replace filter and fluid. This replaces 50% of the fluid every time. I also use Seafoam TransTune the day before I suck out the fluid.

Ken_W

I looked up Seafoam TransTune. Its regular Seafoam being marketed and sold in a different bottle. They share the same MSDS:

Sea Foam Motor Treatment SF-16, SF-128, SF-55
Sea Foam Trans Tune TT-16, TT-55
MSDS Preparation Date (mm/dd/yyyy): 06/01/2012 Page 1 of 4
MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET:
Sea Foam Motor Treatment SF-16, SF-128, SF-55
Sea Foam Trans Tune TT-16, TT-55
Product identifier
SECTION 1 - PRODUCT AND COMPANY IDENTIFICATION
Product Use : Motor Treatment - Fuel system treatment, Trans Tune - Transmission treatment
Chemical Family : Mixture.
Refer to Supplier
Supplier’s name and address: Manufacturer’s name and address:
Sea Foam Sales Company
12987 Pioneer Trail • Eden Prairie, MN, USA 55347
24 Hr. Emergency Tel # : 1-800-535-5053 (Infotrac)
NOTE: INFOTRAC emergency number is to be used only in the event of chemical emergencies involving a spill, leak, fire, exposure or accident involving
chemicals.
SECTION 2 - COMPOSITION/INFORMATION ON INGREDIENTS
(Rabbit, dermal)
LD50
(Oral, rat)
LC50(4hr)
(Rat, ihl.)
Ingredients
CAS # Wt.%
Pale Oil 64742-54-7 40.00 - 60.00 N/Av >15000 mg/kg >5000 mg/kg
Naphtha 64742-49-0 25.00 - 35.00 N/Av >5000 mg/kg N/Av
IPA 67-63-0 10.00 - 20.00 17000ppm 4720mg/kg 12890mg/kg

Your doing a drain and fill so by your numbers your leaving approx 50% of Seafoam/TransTune in your tranny for thousands of miles. What Pale Oil, Naphtha, and IPA will do mixed with Dex 6 I don't know, but I thought you should know (if you don't already) what your actually pouring into your tranny(s).
Pretty CHEAP magic ingredients.

 

[raffy]

Originally Posted By: Trav
Yes some do make it a long time. I replaced 3 of them on Odyssey vans this vintage, the Maxlife s very good fluid but i prefer it in GM and older Toyota units.

The Honda units running Amsoils ATF have been good, this fluid seems to work very well in these Odyssey units, so far zero failures.
It was the ones running Honda OEM ATF at the customers insistence that had multiple failures.
Before the OEM fan boys jump on me this is an observation of real transmissions running every day not a bash. Just something to think about.


Interesting! So do you flush out the old fluid and replace with Amsoil ATF or do you drain and fill and leave some of the old fluid in there? How compatible is a mix of Amsoil and other ATF? I'm definitely a fan of Amsoil products and have used their motor oil for about 25 years now, but have not tried their ATF, mainly because of fear of mixing two different fluids. Any recommendations on how to take care of that?

 

[JHZR2]

250k out of a Toyota Previa before a tree smashed it.

Lots of MB diesels with >>200k miles on them on the original AT.

 

[opus1]

In over 30 years of driving, I've yet to have any sort of automatic transmission failures. Older vehicles have had 30,000 mile fluid/filter changes, newer vehicles with "sealed for life" trannies have had changes around the 50,000 mile mark.

The most mileage I ever had on a vehicle was my '89 S-15 Jimmy which had 160,000 miles on it. Mechanically it was sound, electrical and rust issues are what killed it.

 

[bullwinkle]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
My Taurus had 75K on it when it rusted in half.
I'd love to see pictures of that!

 

[EricF]

my '89 Firebird 2.8L with the 700R4 was at 176,000 no tranny issues. I drove it like a race car too! No slips, no thumps, just a steady smooth shift. I used Valvoline Durablend Dexron IIe and then their Dex3, fluid & filter changes about every 3years or so. When I had to retire the car, which still regret to this day, tranny was still holding strong.

my 92 Taurus has 255k, original tranny, no tranny work at all, thank you LubeGard Red! I got the car at 103k and it had a major tranny slip issue, Lubegard fixed it within 45 miles. I've done pan drop & filter changes at 30k intervals since, using whatever Dexron3 I have on the shelf or found or whereever it's lying around. So far, so good!

my 06 Saturn Relay, it's at 79k, uses Dex 6. Did one pan & filter drop at 55k, pan was coated with brass filings, haven't looked since, but refilled with Redline D6. Hoping the filings were from the initial wear. No addtives, just Redline D6 for this 4T65-E tranny, and it shifts super smooth like it was new.

 

[stang5]

1991 Pathfinder 220K miles with original auto trans. Truck had 99k miles when I got it. Did one pan drop/filter change flushed with amsoil, bypassed the radiator trans cooler replaced it with aux cooler added a remote filter. Every 50K miles I would perform a drain N fill and replace the remote filter. Trans shifts really smooth with no leaks.

 

[hypervish]

All of my cars have had the original transmission, even with over 250k+ miles. Except for my 96' Dodge GC 3.8L that I got rid of this past summer, it had 218k miles and it went through 3 transmissions, and the 4th one didn't seem to happy either. Aside from the caravan, all of my cars have north of 250k miles before I get rid of them and none of them have/had transmission problems.