What is a good brand of trans filters? I've never changed one and don't know what to look for when choosing one.
Trans filters
- Thread starter iontrap
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I have purchased all my filters for the trans from the Mfg. The last time on my truck the Dealer was out of stock. I went to Auto Zone. I could not tell the difference, both looked identical and about 1/2 the price. So now I just use Auto Zone for my trans filters.
iontrap, it depends on the car make. Some Asian cars, for example, have magnets in the bottom of the oil pan and these trap iron and steel metal particles They also have metal screen filters to catch non-magnetic metal particles and these screens can be cleaned in solvent and reused. In general, such Asian makes like Toyotas don't even need filter service until sometime after 100,000 miles as these transmissions do not generate tablespoon full globs of wear materials like American car automatics do.
Now if you have an American car with a transmission made by an American manufacturer, then it likely uses a big paper transmission filter element and you should try a discount dealer first and then an autoparts store like Pep Boys or Autozone if the dealers are out-of-stock (which is unlikely).
Now if you have an American car with a transmission made by an American manufacturer, then it likely uses a big paper transmission filter element and you should try a discount dealer first and then an autoparts store like Pep Boys or Autozone if the dealers are out-of-stock (which is unlikely).
Delco's are good. I used to use the Auto Zone ones but found they weren't as nice as the Delco's media wise. IMHO.
Actually, my Hondas don't have an oil pan for the transmission, just the case! And the magnet isn't on the bottom, it's installed on the side of the case. The screen is only there to catch catastrophic damage particles from further damaging the system until you get service. The transmission "filter" never needs service if you change (no need to flush) the fluid according to the maintenance schedule.
S2000driver, is the "filter" in your Honda automatic a paper element type like that used on American cars? Or is it a fine mesh metal filter screen? Or does it use some other unique filtering media? I'm just curious to know.
It's just a mesh.
Well, I do have a Toyota that's approaching 70k. So would it be a good idea to drop the pan clean the magnets, screen and replace the gasket and change the filter closer to 100k?
Malibu,
Draining the transmission is something that I just recently started doing. With all of the maintenance I've done on the car, changing the transmission fluid has had the most noticable effect on the car.
Thanks for all your input.
Draining the transmission is something that I just recently started doing. With all of the maintenance I've done on the car, changing the transmission fluid has had the most noticable effect on the car.
Thanks for all your input.
iontrap, you could if you wanted, but I wouldn't lose sleep over it, unless your vehicle is used in heavy duty service like trailering. After inspecting half a dozen 13-28 year old Toyota automatics, I never saw one with a clogged filter screen, but I have seen a fair amount of metal particles clinging to the magnets in the transmission oil pan. I think the most importing thing to do is just drain the 2-3 quarts of oil out of the transmission oil pan every 15,000 miles and replace it with fresh fluid. This keeps the transmission troublefree indefinately and helps remove non-magnetic wear debris that is suspended in the oil that might someday clog the fitler screen.
I couldn't have said it better myself.
I have SPX filtran transmission filters on both of my vehicles and they are pretty high quality. I bought both of mine at Carquest.
SPX filtran has a website that is very informative on transmission filters.
SPX filtran has a website that is very informative on transmission filters.
Bought a Fram trans filter for a Plymouth 3 spd auto. It was marked "Filtran".
"changing the transmission fluid has had the most noticable effect on the car." And I do find that changing the transmission fluid cures chattering of the lockup torque converter clutch that sometimes starts one year after the last fluid change. I use only ATF+3, usually Exxon or Quaker State.
[ February 26, 2003, 01:07 AM: Message edited by: thrace ]
"changing the transmission fluid has had the most noticable effect on the car." And I do find that changing the transmission fluid cures chattering of the lockup torque converter clutch that sometimes starts one year after the last fluid change. I use only ATF+3, usually Exxon or Quaker State.
[ February 26, 2003, 01:07 AM: Message edited by: thrace ]
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