ATF- synth swap costly?

[Trudger]

Quick question- as a posting newbie I should probably do an intro first, but I'll get it next time. '97, US model FZJ80 with 90K that I acquired less than 20K miles ago.
trying to "baseline" fluids (so I'm a little slow), and migrating towards synthetics as the wise ones seem to have shown a preference for here. So I go to AAMCO today for a "power flush" service on the transmission. I ask him to make the switch to synthetic, but he says that it will be exhorbitant because they'd have to purge all the old fluid with synthetic fluid until it "runs clear", and that the fluid alone would cost in the vicinity of $400.
so how have those who made the switch made it happen? I clearly can't sort out the BS from what he told me...hopefully someone here can.
Thanks-
T

 

[C6H12O6]

Welcom, Trudger. You clearly aren't trudging through all the old posts about this, but we'll forgive you once. Once. <Best Joe Piscopo voice>

The general wrap up of the previous posts is that the power flush is a bad idea on these transmissions. Just drain and fill with the newer, better fluid multiple times over a period of time. I seem to remember somebody working out the math of how many drain and fills it would take to get near 100%, but it was quite a few. You get over 80% new pretty quickly, however.

If you want a quicker flush, hold out for a flush machine that doesn't add pressure to the system. You don't want a pressure washed blood transfusion, right?

Read through the FAQ list and go to the "advanced search" feature to search just the 80 archives for "transmission flush." You should get a bunch of good reading.

Welcome to mud,
Steve

 

[Trudger]

Thanks for the tip, Steve.

in the future i'll search before not after I pigeon-hole myself...look for feedback from a guinea pig on this one...

 

[semlin]

it takes 18 litres to do a full neutral pressure flush on a 93-94. so yes it is pricey for synthetic but not $400 pricey. Definitely avoid power flushes.

 

[7P's]

I can't remember the fluid capacity but it should be around 14/16 quarts. Mobile 1 fluid around $6 a quart. Not even close to $400. If you don't want to do it yourself take it to a local transmission shop and they will drop the pan, clean everything up and reinstall it. Next they will add tranny fluid to the pan - maybe 6 quarts then they will disconnect the return line from the pan and put an extension on the return line which will then be placed in a 5 gallon bucket. They will start the engine for a couple of seconds and drain out 2 quarts - replace the fluid and repeat this procedure until your transmission fluid is completely changed over. You supply the fluid - they will do the labor and it shouldn't cost more than $100 and that's a little high in my book. 50K miles later just replace the pan fluid (6 quarts or so) and go another 30K miles and do a complete change again. I would also suggest adding one bottle of (red bottle) Lube Guard Auto Transmission protector upon changing out your fluid to assist a little on keeping the fluid cooler.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Let me also reccomend not flushing anything. Just get 4 quarts of mobil 1 ATF. Drain your tranny hot, add the 4 quarts and then check the level after a short drive and see how close you are. Do the same once a month for 3 months. That's all the flush you will ever need. Then each oil change, do the same drain and fill. That will make your tranny go as long as possible.

One other thing-stay away from places like Aamco. They are not your friend.

 

[Trudger]

you're right about the "not your friend" part, but this time i'm glad. I shared my concerns about the power flush decision when I picked the rig up. It is a different feeling to be excited that I'd been lied to...

turns out, the "power flush" service i asked for materialized as a "non-powered purge"...happier than i ever thought I could be to have been deceived...synthetic will have to come around with the next couple of oil changes; for now i'm glad to be wiser but not weaker going forward. dropped pan, changed filter and gasket, and "purged" the fluid, kind of costly at $200 but not the most expensive lesson i've blindly signed myself up for so I'll survive.

i've loved watching this board the last several months. thanks for taking a stake in my well being.

 

[C6H12O6]

I haven't pulled mine yet, but from what I remember reading, there really isn't a replaceable filter ~ just a screen that you can clean off. If you were charged for a filter replacement, you might check into that a little more.

Good luck and welcome.
Steve

 

[Rich]

It's not a big deal to drain pan, disconnect output line from transmission, extend and dump into empty bucket. Add more fluid to pan, start engine, shift through all gears. Stop as necessary to add more fluid while old fluid is purged. Easy to do, minimizes the amount of new fluid required to, for practical purposes, completely replace the old, and gets it entire job done in one shot.