Did you purposely bend your shifter stalk toward the passenger side? Or is that just an optical illusion in your pic?
What have you done to your 200 Series this week?
- Thread starter MScruiser
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Did you purposely bend your shifter stalk toward the passenger side? Or is that just an optical illusion in your pic?
The 200’s radiator has an in-tank AT oil cooler, there are two metal fittings at the bottom of your radiator easily accessible when you remove the factory skid plates. Unplug any of the two hoses at the bottom and that’s the easiest way you can get a sample of your AT fluid. Another easy tell if the dealer indeed serviced the AT fluid is look for tool marks on the drain plug and overflow plug of your AT pan. If it’s clean as a whistle, it’s likely untouched unless the tech has some brain surgeon precision skill level.
In order to do a proper fluid exchange (not drain & fill) I typically prepare 13-14 quarts of WS ATF for the 200
Check your Dashcam. If they’re doing a proper level check the truck has to be on.
I think someone mentioned they drained their pan, put the plug back on (left the truck as is..), and a week later they drained another 3+ quarts...that's a good amount of fluid with minimal work.
I have heard that if you do a drain and fill you should expect to get like 3-6 quarts to come out. So you can hopefully get everything out in 2-3 sessions. But never done it personally.
Dealer quoted me 12qt when they (maybe) did my fluid exchange earlier this year.
Should be inspected every 30K, replaced every 60K. It’s not intended to be a lifetime fluid.
Did you buy a full fluid exchange or just a drain+fill? If it was a drain+fill, then only around 3 quarts of the approximately 12 quarts were replaced.
Edit: I read above that you paid for a 12-quart fluid exchange. That fluid should still be a vibrant red. This is quite disappointing to hear. The majority of us operate as professionals.
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Optical illusion.Did you purposely bend your shifter stalk toward the passenger side? Or is that just an optical illusion in your pic?
Were they supposed to flush or drain and fill? I’ve heard flushing is not always recommended. Drain and fill would explain the color fluid you now have.
That's not my fluid to be clear. There are just some signs that I also paid for service that wasn't done which is what happened to the other poster's customer.
I paid for a 12 quart fluid exchange.
However, ours isn’t specified as a lifetime fluid.
What sort of signs?
Of the many services being done that day it was the only one that wasn't shown or referenced on the tech video. And the invoice line item didn't list the part cost or part # of the WS fluid (all others fluids were listed out with amounts used and part number).
The drain plug also looks pristine but it's a hex so harder to say if that means anything.
I am on edge because they underfilled the coolant when they did that fluid replacement (had to go back to have it corrected) and the other poster's anecdote sent me spiraling a bit.
If it’s a full fluid exchange that would all be done via the transmission cooler lines at the radiator. The drain and fill plugs won’t be touched.
Like Bloc mentioned, take a look at the cooler lines at the radiator. However, since those lines tend to blow off after this service if the hose clamps aren’t put back in the same position, it might be very hard to tell.
Curious on this note. Does this require a machine to do it this way at the lines on the transmission cooler? I serviced my transmission last year, replaced almost 12 quarts. Drained around 3 quarts at a time from one of those lines on transmission cooler. Then added 3 quarts on the transmission fill port, closed and repeated 4x. Would be nice if I could use the other cooler line to fill instead.
Yes, it is a fluid exchange machine.
You have to pin-open the transmission cooler valve or fluid will not flow.
All fluids are “lifetime”. You never have to change any of them and r vehicle will run until it dies, which is the end of its lifetime.
Seriously, though it’s a little hard to tell from the pictures, your transmission oil doesn’t look that bad to me. If PO only did a drain and fill (replacing 1/3 of the fluid) your oil would be fairly dark right away. If they replaced it all, I think it changes color pretty quick. The only real way to know if its good or bad is to send in a sample and have a UOA done. I did that at 50K on my transmission and Blackstone said “all good”. It looked like this:
Upgraded the rear bump stops Perry Parts stops. Very easy job.
