Driveline fluid changes - thoughts?

[311Hemi]

Ok, I am of the thought that keeping fluids changed on regular intervals is good and I do it on all my motor equipment. I change out my diff fluid and T case fluid, and have had a trans shop drop the pan and change out my tranny fluid on my truck. I don't want to be running fluid that has broken down over time and that is not offering the best protection.

With that being said, I hear things from friends and family that say they are not going to change the diff fluid in their truck for various reasons (it's sealed and doesn't need changing), or their buddies said that having the tranny fluid changed by a shop is going to ruin their tranny and they are better off just leaving it. I know a few of them have 80-100k on their 4x4's and have only done oil changes.

Airjer, 4wander, valv, any one else......any of you guys have thoughts or specific details on this? More so the tranny fluid changes and it's affect on newer vehicles. Anything people should be watching out for or that they should not do.

[Scott K]

Your friends are nutz! Maintenance is a good thing, regardless of what they think. Differentials are not sealed, they have a vent hose on them, that also includes trannies, they too have a vent hose on them. I would follow what your owners manual advises, or not go much over that. Believe it or not, the manufacturers recommendations are there for a reason, and their opinions, I value more then a guy down the road, or at some corner shop.

[brrrr]

as far as transmissions on newer (last 15 years) vehicles, my experience and recomendations I have recieved from mechanics and assorted car forums is use only the manufaturers original tranny fluid, buy it from the dealer and verify it is what is in your vehicle. I'm sure others will say it makes no difference, even others may say there are better fluids, possibly.

My observations have noticed many instances where trannies have failed shortly after being serviced with a (non-OEM) fluid, even when it is a same type or universal fluid. I am a fan of changing fluids (if they appear to show signs of contamination) all of my trannies now get a drain and fill at least once a year, I have had a few vehicles recently that have not been known for long lasting trannies, my Honda Pilot lost the tranny 2 weeks after I got it,dealer put in a new one and the new one has gone 100k with no troubles yet. other than the Pilot, I havn't had a tranny fail on me for almost 20 years including several chrysler produts that have gone three times the typical milage without a failure.

just my 2 cents

[Big Buck Buster]

+1 on the maintenance!!

[Scott K]

brrrr, you are correct, use what the manual calls for as for fluids.

[311Hemi]

My observations have noticed many instances where trannies have failed shortly after being serviced with a (non-OEM) fluid, even when it is a same type or universal fluid.

How were there trannies serviced? Just dropped the pan to drain and refilled, hooked up to a machine, filter changed?

Basically, was it the fluid or the service method that caused the failure?

I hear thing about machines clogging filters...yada yada. That's what I would like to know more about.

[Scott K]

I think most of the trannies that fail after a service is mostly due to the fact that the the vehicle was brought into the shop for a tranny service because they started to notice a concern, then after the tranny service was done, the new fluid washed the clutches and it slipped more. If the maint was done when it was suppose to be, rather then waiting for a problem to occur, it wouldnt had an issue to begin with.

Although, I have heard of some concerns with flushing machines.

[Jeremy airjer W]

I would have to agree with following the manufacturers recommended service interval.

The manufacturer may have updated the fluid recommendation so the owners manual may be out of date.

I have yet to have an issue with "universal" transmission fluid. As long as it is used in the vehicles it is intended for.

Between all the manufacturers there are about 100 different kinds of trans fluid they want you to use in there vehicles. When you boil it down there might be 5 actual different kinds of fluid that the manufacturers relabel for there vehicles. Of those 5 there are specific fluids for CVT transmissions, variations of synthetic, and variations of conventional.

[brrrr]

I have heard of problems with flushing, thats why I prefer the drain and fill (just more often), however I have no first hand knowledge only rumors of "flushing causing failure". I also agree that a high percentage of failure after service stories are probably trannies that were already cooked and owners were hoping for better results. but I have seen enough instances first or second hand (friends , family and stories of mechanics that are related to me) of people topping off or servicing a tranny with fluid (not exactly the OEM) and having them fail in a relativly short period. Often the fluids are "manufacturer equivilant" types that for some reason don't seem to react well to either the tranny or remaining fluid. I honestly couldn't tell you why, Lube is lube in my mind, but for trannies my advise is use OEM only and always.

[Jeremy airjer W]

but I have seen enough instances first or second hand (friends , family and stories of mechanics that are related to me) of people topping off or servicing a tranny with fluid (not exactly the OEM) and having them fail in a relativly short period.

The only way to give insight on that is to know the specifics. what year make model and what fluid did they use. When chrysler first came out with there bean oil modified ATF (ATF+3 or 7176, i think) it caught a lot of people off guard. There where all kinds of problems associated with people servicing them and then filling with dexron/mercon. The common problem was torque converter shudder that may have been interpreted as a bad trans when in fact another service using the correct fluid would take care of the issue.

[jeffreyd]

brrr you did not mention or i missed what type of vehicle you have. i can tell you from being a dodge ram 2500 owner that the diff takes a special fluid, not just a good old gear lube. and they say it needs to be changed every 15k. it does not handle the heat as well as the old stuff. i am a firm believer and do follow the manual for services. i do my trans every 30k drop the pan clean it remove and replace both filters on the dodge and put in recommended fluid. same with transfer case and engine. the breakdown of detergents that are in the fluids today, will cause wear in various ways different from years ago. the day of most of us doing service and tune ups in the garage are gone. some of the newer vehicles do not have dipsticks for the trans, the are sealed in a way so you cannot add fluid. you have to take them in to a shop. good luck

[brrrr]

Airjer you are exactly correct, some of the cases I heard specifics, using Dex/merc in chrysler minivans and Ram pickups for example. However some manufacturers use additves or formulas slighlty different from the generics. like you said the manufactueres have like 100 different variations of the 4-5 same basic fluids. It is in my experience cheaper to pay the extra $20.00 bucks or so and buy the OEM stuff from the dealer, than find out that the equivalant name brand stuff just may cause a bad reaction. A bad reaction in an auto-tranny usually starts at $1200.00 and depending on your vehicle can be $3-6k.

So I am not arguing that alternate fluids are not usually suitable, just that reliable information on which equivalents are 100% suitable is just not easily available. And the simpler option although a few dollars more (generally) is just use the OEM stuff. It almost always is the right stuff and takes all the "was it the new fluid" questions out of why did the tranny go kapoot.

[Jeremy airjer W]

some of the newer vehicles do not have dipsticks for the trans, the are sealed in a way so you cannot add fluid. you have to take them in to a shop. good luck

Not necessarily. Some of the fords require a little filler tool that can be found easily other wise a little research, a little creativity, and a good hand pump and there shouldn't be an issue for most vehicles without a dipstick.

Brrr, I agree you can't go wrong with the OEM fluid.