owners manual says no ATF change

[lexus114]

Your Sunfire may not have a dipstick,if that is the case,their is a plug I think on the right side(small plug)and you check it with the engine running(warmed up)

 

[MC5W20]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
I would have used Dexron-VI ATF as it is the only approved fluid for GM transmissions. Dexron III no longer exists.

I think that most of the newer ATFs can outlast the transmission itself. The fluid may not look new after 150k, but it will still be doing its job. Fluid-related failures are very rare now.


Ahhh, we have an oversite here. The fluid may still be good. You miss the FACT that it gets dirty with little particles. Changing the fluid reduces the amount of these particles circulating in the trans.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: artificialist
Great...

If Toyota WS is less than perfect, it means dozens of Toyota transmissions will fail too early.

Does a solid pipe go from the A/T to the engine water pump, or is there at least some kind of rubber hose between the two?

What a bad system. If I encountered one of those following cars, I'd do my best to cut that solid pipe with something that leaves no burrs.

Then I'd get a common flush machine, hook two hoses to the section of pipe I removed, and when I finished, I'd flare the steel tube, and put a piece of universal AT cooler hose where that pipe piece was.


Not sure what goes in between, I'll figure that out at 90k or so. Most of the hoses I found in cars last at least 150k so I'm not worrying about them till then.

You can't flush the AT with this pipe because it is filled with coolant, not ATF. The ATF never leaves the AT, and there is a pan you can drain from, and there is a TSB on how to drain from all places and get all of the fluid out (valve body, torque converter, and the oil pan).

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
I would assume that the "calibration" isn't a static time weighted average curve and is based on some pressure/temp input that indexes some deviation from normal/new. If that's the case, then the 90k service will require the resetting and whatnot. OTOH, if you did intermediate fluid swaps, then I would hope that the calibration would re-contour itself to the fluid's condition on the other side of "worn".


The calibration is probably about the friction property of the fluid based on the formula they have. The TSB said the reset should be done even if you are doing interm fluid change, which, btw, take as much effort as replacing all the fluid. I trust that this fluid can last 90k, just not my "life time" since I want to drive this thing till 270k.

 

[rshunter]

Volkswagen automatics use the same principle. As for both manufacturer's "lifetime" claims, I call bollocks. Remember, the term "lifetime" is relative. Don't maintain your transmission and the fluid will last a lifetime, the dead transmissions abbreviated one...