I keep seeing posts and hearing guys talking about letting their trans go 40-50-60k before the first fluid change and then bammo.........new trans time. If that sounds like you and you keep putting off doing the trans...you NEED a fluid extractor because you dont get under the car and drop the pan. You can suck out 2-4 quarts of fluid every other oil change and keep that trans new....$50 is much cheaper than a trans rebuild or a $120 pan drop or $160 flush. For $160 you buy an extractor and 22 quarts (or more) of quality fluid. So? What are you waiting for...they sell extractors on amazon.
The value of an oil extractor for transmissions
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No waiting here. Change out 3.5qts est. every 10,000 miles. No problems. Easier than changing the oil as I have no filter to change. All in all, done in about 10min. Then a nice drive check the level and finished. Always smack on now as I'm used to how much she takes. Still will do a pan drop and filter every 50,000 cause I can. One of the best tools I bought. Can use it for all fluids,rad,steering,gear,oil,trans.
Fluid being the cause of transmission failure is a thing of the past. If you look at the transmission failures in vehicles with less than 100k miles in the recent years (five or so), they are usually caused by design flaws more than anything. Heck, OEMs have extended warranty plans up to eight years or 120k miles now, and this is following their service schedule. Wouldn't they want to cover their own bottom?
I don't disagree though, that fluid changes (vs. none) are what sets apart the transmissions that last 120k vs those that last 175k or more. But for < 100k miles, lack of fluid changes usually isn't the cause of the problem.
I don't disagree though, that fluid changes (vs. none) are what sets apart the transmissions that last 120k vs those that last 175k or more. But for < 100k miles, lack of fluid changes usually isn't the cause of the problem.
Best $5 I've spent. Allows me to pull 4 quarts from a 4R70W transmission and refill periodically with no mess. Keeps the fluid fresh and when only using 4 quarts at a time it makes paying for a synthetic fluid more reasonable.
Great for changing the gear oil in the differentials as well. Silly Ford doesn't install a drain plug to make a drain/fill of the rear end easy so I just suck the old fluid out through the fill hole then squirt in the new stuff. Easy, no mess.
Great for changing the gear oil in the differentials as well. Silly Ford doesn't install a drain plug to make a drain/fill of the rear end easy so I just suck the old fluid out through the fill hole then squirt in the new stuff. Easy, no mess.
Agreed, the best money I ever spent. It's good for removing just about anything, but the tranny extraction is by far the best use I have found for it. I will drop the pan every 40k, but "refreshing" the transmission fluid is the best part I like about my extractor. This is the one I have, just charge it up with my compressor, insert the wand and voila! 4 quarts out in about 10 minutes. Paid $99 for it with a coupon for $40 off...
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=46149
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=46149
I just bought one recently for the purpose of being able to change our or refresh my transmission fluid more often. My previous cars would get 6.5 out of 8 or so qts with a pan drop and I just do those every 30k. My newest car only gets 4 out of 10 on a pan drop so I want to drain and refill more often without the mess of a pan drop. I've used it once so far and that was for the hydrostatic transmission on my John Deere lawn tractor, worked great.
Any extended warranty will have the fine print that calls for the owner to follow the recommended service schedule or all bets are off. That is how they cover their butts. Besides 80% of the people who buy 120k warrantys don't keep the vehicle that long. But if you don't change the fluid on a GM 4L60 or 80 series by 50k you have about a 50% chance of that box never making it to 100k because the fluid will be black at 75k and the rebuilder will cite lack of maintenance as the cause of failure. If you change them continuously with an extractor and filter at 50k they will go way over 150k and I have seen a few go to 300k. It's all about depleting the FM in the fluid that wrecks the clutch facing and causes slippage and once it starts slipping and fluid gets burned onto the clutch facing and glazes the surface it's bye bye time. Same goes for all the needle roller bearing positions...add some burned clutch material debris and you grind all the tolerances out of the races and again it's bye bye time...so clean, robust fluid is the #1 key component in long auto trans life. IMO
I need to get one! I overfilled my tranny by about 1/4 quart. So i stuffed some aquarium hose down the dipstick when cold and used a small hand pump to get the flow going and let it siphon out a 1/4 quart. When ATF is cold it moves SLOW through the small tubbing without any extra suction. It took me about 1 hour to get 1/4 out. I like the small 3 quart hand pump extractors that ive seen at TSC. That would have greatly speeded up my 1/4 quart job. It would also be nice to change out 3 quarts at a time every other oil change.
I use mine a lot, even though the Honda trans has a simple drain.
True, but the friction modifiers in the OEM approved fluids have been bench and field tested for far beyond the recommended service interval, often 100k miles or more. For instance, GM's new DEXRON-VI has been bench tested for 200k miles (and more) on their new 6-speed automatic, classified as lifetime fill. The fluids are engineered to withstand long service intervals in mind. This isn't the days of ATF+3 or DEXRON-II where 30k service intervals were outlined and mandated in the owner's manual.
I hear you and what you are saying is true. But, I have paid for a trans once because I didn't do the fluid change soon enough and If I put $96 worth of fluid through my trans I can pretty much guarantee myself 150k. Versus a $1500-2500 rebuild and the associated PIA that goes with it. I guess I just don't trust the long OCI's yet. If you have any Chrysler product especially the FWD mini-vans..you had better be flushing every 30k. Those things destroy trans oil in nothing flat. I have had 2 and ran one 55000 without a change and the trans dumped at 84k. The second one the wife totalled at 31k..then went to 3 Durango's and changed the trans oil and diffs and TC at 25k and never an issue. Maybe I'm just old and paranoid......now I sound like my Dad...He's 80......
I've had a extractor myself.
For starters, most of my oils sumps were 8 qts on the engine.
And it's cumbersome IMO.
You need to clean the dipstick, and for transit, you still need to pour the oil into a catch pan so that it's a sealed container....
I can see how it's helpful for those that don't have drain/refill bolts, but the logistics on using it was too much for me as opposed to just having oil drain into a pan, wipe the top clean, cap off and I could just drive to the local station to dispose of it.
There was too many steps for me if I was to do the same using the extractor.
For starters, most of my oils sumps were 8 qts on the engine.
And it's cumbersome IMO.
You need to clean the dipstick, and for transit, you still need to pour the oil into a catch pan so that it's a sealed container....
I can see how it's helpful for those that don't have drain/refill bolts, but the logistics on using it was too much for me as opposed to just having oil drain into a pan, wipe the top clean, cap off and I could just drive to the local station to dispose of it.
There was too many steps for me if I was to do the same using the extractor.
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I like this idea.....Anyone used a Pela extractor? I may buy another one to use on my Hyundai trans. We all know that needs to be changed often!
Yes, I use a Pela 6000 to change the Mercon-V in a Taurus. It works great.
And I agree with the group here. Partial changes done often is cheap insurance in keeping the tranny alive and healthy.
http://www.mytscstore.com/detail.asp?pcI...productID=17048
I use this on my Mitsu every 10k
I use this on my Mitsu every 10k
Quote:
Quote:
I like this idea.....Anyone used a Pela extractor? I may buy another one to use on my Hyundai trans. We all know that needs to be changed often!
Yes, I use a Pela 6000 to change the Mercon-V in a Taurus. It works great.
And I agree with the group here. Partial changes done often is cheap insurance in keeping the tranny alive and healthy.
For sure this is needed on the Taurus/sable. when I got my sable the oil was black at 70k and I mean black
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