I want to waste money on a transmission additive

Which one?
Here is the one I used this past weekend.

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A lot of people think of a transmission flush as a procedure that uses the coolant lines to pump fresh fluid in. These guys use the dipstick plug on a Ford 10r80 to make the swap. IIRC they say they use 16 quarts of fluid to drain and replace repeatedly and eliminate as much dirty fluid as possible.
Years ago I had a BMW 540i with the zF 5hp30 transmission -- a robust but somewhat troublesome unit that had one of the earliest gradual-engagement torque converter clutches. When I bought it at 80k miles the TC hunted in and out of lockup and occasionally went into limp mode. I did a pan drop, replaced fluid and filter, and the hunting went away -- but occasional torque converter chatter persisted. I did another spill-and-fill and added Lubegard's Shudder Fix (originally called "Dr. Tranny's Instant Shudder Fixx") and the shudder was gone. For 30k miles. From then on, whenever I got a hint of shudder, I considered it a signal to refresh the fluid and add some Lubegard. I had the original transmission when I got rid of the car at 300k miles. I found a TSB that indicated the shudder was a problem from New in some 5hp30s, BTW.
Anyway, the Royalty guy makes a pretty good argument for a flush or total fluid exchange.
 
I recall on this forum the police told me to stop calling the thing under your hood a motor. The police were correct, but I was surprised they would take the time or even have the time to flex like that. Still, I now use engine not motor so they can move on. No biggie.

Your car uses gasoline, it’s an engine was the rationale.
I seen people use this ridiculous argument before. I guess they forgot to tell General Motors, Ford Motor Company, etc.
 
A lot of people think of a transmission flush as a procedure that uses the coolant lines to pump fresh fluid in. These guys use the dipstick plug on a Ford 10r80 to make the swap. IIRC they say they use 16 quarts of fluid to drain and replace repeatedly and eliminate as much dirty fluid as possible.
Years ago I had a BMW 540i with the zF 5hp30 transmission -- a robust but somewhat troublesome unit that had one of the earliest gradual-engagement torque converter clutches. When I bought it at 80k miles the TC hunted in and out of lockup and occasionally went into limp mode. I did a pan drop, replaced fluid and filter, and the hunting went away -- but occasional torque converter chatter persisted. I did another spill-and-fill and added Lubegard's Shudder Fix (originally called "Dr. Tranny's Instant Shudder Fixx") and the shudder was gone. For 30k miles. From then on, whenever I got a hint of shudder, I considered it a signal to refresh the fluid and add some Lubegard. I had the original transmission when I got rid of the car at 300k miles. I found a TSB that indicated the shudder was a problem from New in some 5hp30s, BTW.
Anyway, the Royalty guy makes a pretty good argument for a flush or total fluid exchange.

I don’t think everyone realizes that drain and fills can only approach 0% old, but can never get there. This is from memory as Toyota had a chart for my car—the number is the % of old fluid remaining after subsequent drain and fills. 1. 55%. 2. 31%. 3. 19%. It was here that conventional wisdom
Said to stop. I actually went one more which was I think 11%. So after 3 you’ve got 19% old, and 81% new, good enough, provided the fluid drained was not spent. You’ve also shelled out money for labor 3x and about 9 quarts when the other way would be labor 1x and 11 quarts. I think the argument is that drain and fill is no risk, and flush has inherent risk. I don’t know myself, just what I found online 8 years ago when I researched.

If I had my way all cars would be manual and then very straightforward and long if not forever lasting.
 
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If it was me, a pan drop with new filter and a fresh fill of Dex-VI/Dex-HP or even MaxLife would be a first step. Then Lubeguard.
A lot of people think of a transmission flush as a procedure that uses the coolant lines to pump fresh fluid in. These guys use the dipstick plug on a Ford 10r80 to make the swap. IIRC they say they use 16 quarts of fluid to drain and replace repeatedly and eliminate as much dirty fluid as possible.
Years ago I had a BMW 540i with the zF 5hp30 transmission -- a robust but somewhat troublesome unit that had one of the earliest gradual-engagement torque converter clutches. When I bought it at 80k miles the TC hunted in and out of lockup and occasionally went into limp mode. I did a pan drop, replaced fluid and filter, and the hunting went away -- but occasional torque converter chatter persisted. I did another spill-and-fill and added Lubegard's Shudder Fix (originally called "Dr. Tranny's Instant Shudder Fixx") and the shudder was gone. For 30k miles. From then on, whenever I got a hint of shudder, I considered it a signal to refresh the fluid and add some Lubegard. I had the original transmission when I got rid of the car at 300k miles. I found a TSB that indicated the shudder was a problem from New in some 5hp30s, BTW.
Anyway, the Royalty guy makes a pretty good argument for a flush or total fluid exchange.

i watched that as ambient noise at work - they’re also using Valvoline’s Pro Series ATF cleaner and additive like our friend Rainman Ray uses BG’s QuickClean and ATP additives.
 
Well that's a ringing endorsement if I've ever heard one...
It’s valuable input. We learn over time. Back when I was a Volvo head, and young, I insisted upon Volvo OE exhaust. Mandrel bent, no tack welding. So flash forward I’m old, and Lexus exhaust fails and Toyota doesn’t even make the parts anymore. Yep. Mandrel bent y pipe. Not the cheap crimped one.

Same with bars stop leak. Had an engine blow its head gaskets after pouring it in. Was a painful lesson back then, but I learned never to do that. So I’d be a little concerned too with the tranny, maybe more so
 
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