Question about Tranny drain and fill

[gs300tx]

Ive been searching this forum for a while and had a quick question about the "Transmission drain and flush calculator" and according to it i need 7 more drain and fills. Here is the question
Do I do all the drain and fills at once.. (since my car 95 lexus gs300 takes 2quarts per drain and fill)Would I drain, add 2 quarts and repeat the process 7times
or
Do a drain and fill..drive it a week then do another drain and fill so on and so forth.
Thanks again

 

[The Critic]

Why don't you just remove the lines and do a flush? It's easier and faster.

 

[gs300tx]

Well, whoever owned the car before never bothered to change the transmission fluid in this car, so the first time I did a drain and fill(2qts) the fluid was pitch black, and im hesitant to do a complete T-Tech flush on this car. I would rather go the drain and fill route first, then add auto -rx, drive it 1500miles and then do a T-Tech flush and add Amsoil fluid to it.

 

[cmhj]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
Why don't you just remove the lines and do a flush? It's easier and faster.


Yup and cheaper too.

 

[The Critic]

It really doesn't make a difference whether you change a little at a time or all at once.

If the fluid is pitch black, then you should probably pull the pan and clean off the magnets and the filter screen.

How many miles do you have on this transmission?

 

[gs300tx]

around 161k

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: gs300tx
around 161k

It might be toast.

 

[gs300tx]

the transmission or the fluid?

 

[The Critic]

The transmission, if the fluid is really pitch black. I mean, if you wipe the dipstick on piece of paper, does the fluid actually look BLACK? Not brown, but BLACK? Remember that the fluid may appear BLACK while draining, but if you wipe it on a piece of paper, it's brown. That's different.

 

[gs300tx]

a very dark brown

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: gs300tx
a very dark brown

OK, that's fine. The transmission is probably OK then.

 

[gs300tx]

Thank for the prompt replies, i guess ill stick to the drain and fill method until the fluid turns red and then go the auto-rx/t tech route

 

[mikeg5]

personally i would get rid of the car. that transmission is probably toast

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: mikeg5
personally i would get rid of the car. that transmission is probably toast

No, the fluid is just a bit dark. I don't see the big deal if the fluid is just dark brown. At 161k, any transmission is a crapshoot.

 

[mikeg5]

true critic... i still wouldnt do just the drain and fills on it. i would pull the return cooling line and do a flush but apparently he may not have the tools and know how on how to do that. which is cool just takes longer to get all clean fluid in there doing drain and fills

 

[Donald]

I think he should drop the pan, clean it, replace or clean filter then continue with either method. New fluid will be cleaning up sludge in the pan and its better to wipe off that sludge than have the new fluid clean it up. Also the filter could be clogged or might get clogged as the new fluid cleans things up.

 

[dkryan]

Originally Posted By: gs300tx
I would rather go the drain and fill route first, then add auto -rx, drive it 1500miles and then do a T-Tech flush and add Amsoil fluid to it.


I'm big on performing a T-tech flush and using Amsoil ATF. However, jump right into the steps you cited above. After 161k on the current transmission fluid, it's not as though a drain and re-fill over several weeks, followed by an Auto-Rx clean is going to sink you.

 

[Tones]

gs300tx, I think you have the right approach. I would raise the detergency slowly to keep from suspending too much gunk at once. With that many miles on the transmission, I would probably do drain-and-fills within a few days of each other. If it is easy to drop the pan, I would do that on the first one to get out as much of the gunk as possible on the initial shot.

 

[Steve S]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
Why don't you just remove the lines and do a flush? It's easier and faster.

 

[gs300tx]

Thanks for all the replies,
mikeg5: At the moment replacing this car is not an option, going to school full time and working part time has my budget strechted pretty thin. I should also point out that I do not have the skills or the tools to perform things such as the cooler line flush you mentioned, this is the reason why i figured I should just keep drainning and filling the fluid.

Tones: Thanks for the advice, I plan doing doing 1 drain and fill per week over the next few weeks.

dkryan: I have noticed alot of the people on this forum prefer Amsoil fluid, do they only sell this online or is this available at local retailers?

Thanks again for the help everyone