[beavis87]

I am going to flush my 5 speed A/T with Amsoil and I bought 9 quarts. Question, can I use 9 quarts of the cheapest tranny fluid at Walmart to make sure all old fluid is out? Thinking of getting this to flush with: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Super-Tech-Automatic-Transmission-Fluid/20573820
Just wanted to make sure old fluid is out and Amsoil is too expensive to only use to flush out old fluid.

 

[Studum]

I wouldn't worry about it. You're better off with some of the used old fluid mixed into the new than mixing in some of the "cheap stuff". If anything just get an extra quart or two and push a little extra through the system. Should be even cheaper than buying 9 quarts of the cheap stuff.

 

[beavis87]

Ok, instead of that cheap stuff, what if I used something a little more like Valvoline MaxLife. If I am going to flush it, I want to do it right, and make sure I get out as much as I can. Automatic transmissions have a lot of small spaces for old oil to sit and it kind of defeats the purpose of putting in an ATF like Amsoil but leaving some of the old oil in it.

 

[CJR238]

Why even bother at all? May even do more harm than good.

The old rule was to change it often, or never.

 

[beavis87]

Why even bother at all? May even do more harm than good.

The old rule was to change it often, or never.

I can see why mechanics would love this statement. The more harm than good statement happens when a trans isn't serviced as much as it should or completely neglected. So what happens is degradation of fluid and/or low fluid level causing high temps and premature wear. Then a mechanic or a new owner catches this and has fluid changed or flushed and then the trans fails, but the fact remains that the trans was already on its way out and the cause for failure wasn't the new fluid. Although, all the wear material that was in the old fluid may have been "holding it together" but obviously holding back its optimum performance.

I've been reading things about how Mazda and Ford trans are particular about what A/T fluid to use, which is why regular Mercon V isn't recommended. So instead of replacing it with something that I have to service just as often, I might as well spend the extra money to replace with fluid that has better performance for a longer interval. I will be doing used oil analysis every 30k, to see if I will need to replace fluid. So this is kind of like your never statement. OEM fluid should be changed regularly, PAO or polyester base stock synthetic ATF shouldn't have to be but this also depends on use. As an Uber driver, I do lots of stop and go. So yeah I may have shorter service intervals than the same person using the same ATF who only drives on the highway.

 

[CJR238]

I can see why mechanics would love this statement. The more harm than good statement happens when a trans isn't serviced as much as it should or completely neglected. So what happens is degradation of fluid and/or low fluid level causing high temps and premature wear. Then a mechanic or a new owner catches this and has fluid changed or flushed and then the trans fails, but the fact remains that the trans was already on its way out and the cause for failure wasn't the new fluid. Although, all the wear material that was in the old fluid may have been "holding it together" but obviously holding back its optimum performance.

I've been reading things about how Mazda and Ford trans are particular about what A/T fluid to use, which is why regular Mercon V isn't recommended. So instead of replacing it with something that I have to service just as often, I might as well spend the extra money to replace with fluid that has better performance for a longer interval. I will be doing used oil analysis every 30k, to see if I will need to replace fluid. So this is kind of like your never statement. OEM fluid should be changed regularly, PAO or polyester base stock synthetic ATF shouldn't have to be but this also depends on use. As an Uber driver, I do lots of stop and go. So yeah I may have shorter service intervals than the same person using the same ATF who only drives on the highway.

Exactly the the argument and points/idea. Thanks.

Did you read that 2014 up Mazda's never need a transmission fluid change? Its not even mentioned in the manual.

Whats funny is all the cars i have done transmission fluid changes had failed transmissions at some point (1-Ford, 1-Dodge, 2-Buicks, 1-Acura) changing fluid every 20k. My Acura blew the transmission at 95k, with the new transmission i decided not to change the fluid and it went another 200k no problems.

Ill never change the transmission fluid again.

 

[beavis87]

Exactly the the argument and points/idea. Thanks.

Did you read that 2014 up Mazda's never need a transmission fluid change? Its not even mentioned in the manual.

Whats funny is all the cars i have done transmission fluid changes had failed transmissions at some point (1-Ford, 1-Dodge, 2-Buicks, 1-Acura) changing fluid every 20k. My Acura blew the transmission at 95k, with the new transmission i decided not to change the fluid and it went another 200k no problems.

Ill never change the transmission fluid again.

I know of cars that say that they never need a transmission fluid change. To me that's ridiculous, fluids degrade over time and metal parts break in when new so you will have those little shavings being circulated around, guess not so much an issue in a transmission than an engine but a trans will heat up and an overheating fluid isn't good. What if I use my car for transport, hauling 4 adults with luggage everyday, in the city, in hot summers, up hills, and maybe taking the car for spirited drives up twisty roads to the top of a mountain every weekend? Is that abnormal use? Not really. Maybe, if I only drive myself a few days a week and live right off a 55 MPH highway with no stoplights to and from destinations. But telling me that my transmission fluid never needs changing? Does the trans still have an oil pan, a filter, a drain plug and fill plug? If it never needs changing then why are those there? I know manufacturers are making "sealed" transmissions but all that means is that the dip stick is removed and that they want you to take it to the dealer to pay a lube tech $120 to check it, when with a piece of wire or a decent OB2 reader, an app and a wrench I can check my fluid for $20 or less. Sucks that I even need all that, but its better than having to pay someone to plug in a fancy trans temp reader, waste my time at a shop, and trust them to say my fluid is either low or good. For instance in my Toyota, they said the ATF never need changing too, but then once issues started to be noticed with fluid, they revised that to 90k and now 60k.

The transmission manufacturer usually has more accurate service intervals than the auto manufacturer. Unless you were doing something wrong or those cars were driven very hard I've never heard of transmissions failing after servicing fluid every 20k. Were they just drain and fills or flushes? Were pans dropped and filters and gaskets changed? Was an equal or better fluid put back in? Was warmed trans temp fluid level correct after service? When you say every 20k, do mean you flushed trans after getting the car already used or was it every 20k miles new from the dealership? Unusual for people to service a cars transmission while still under warranty, and if it is, then the dealer does it. Usually a dealer only does a check fluid level and top off. The only time a trans fluid is serviced is if that manufacturer interval says it needs says its done near the end of the warranty, 60-90k, maybe earlier at 30-45k. You don't specify what conditions happened in those cars that failed.

 

[CJR238]

I have been a transmission killer from a young age, they always seem to go and its not like I tow anything or carry large loads or drive huge mountains. I would blame my self but its not like i didn't try or didn't follow what was remanded, maybe even too proactive changing every 20k from the start?

Most were done at ether a dealer or a trusted mechanic. Usually just drain and fills, but we did replace gaskets if pan needed to be dropped and filters if it was required as it aged.

Crazy the amount of transmission failures i have had. Literally every car i have owned has had transmission failures except my new Mazda, and my Acura after i stopped changing the fluid. My Dodge went through 3 transmissions in 1 year. lol But that was clearly a Dodge defect.

I agree with all the logic for changing the fluid, but more times than not it seems many of the sophisticated transmissions of recent years fail no matter what you do.

 

[kms1990]

I have been a transmission killer from a young age, they always seem to go and its not like I tow anything or carry large loads or drive huge mountains. I would blame my self but its not like i didn't try or didn't follow what was remanded, maybe even too proactive changing every 20k from the start?

Most were done at ether a dealer or a trusted mechanic. Usually just drain and fills, but we did replace gaskets if pan needed to be dropped and filters if it was required as it aged.

Crazy the amount of transmission failures i have had. Literally every car i have owned has had transmission failures except my new Mazda, and my Acura after i stopped changing the fluid. My Dodge went through 3 transmissions in 1 year. lol But that was clearly a Dodge defect.

I agree with all the logic for changing the fluid, but more times than not it seems many of the sophisticated transmissions of recent years fail no matter what you do.

"that was clearly a dodge defect" dodges are all defects..... anything touched by Chrysler is a defect. and I agree I changed the fluid(drain and fill no pan drop) in my 3 3x in less then a year of ownership and it slowly started shifting worse(had no shift problems when bought last year) and 2x right before I traded it in the AT light came on, on a down shift and it shifted really hard right after. I agree maybe the trannys are designed to use the degrading fluid as they age. more then likely though when we drain and fill we are getting old fluid out as we know but this old fluid has bits of clutch materials in it that get reattached as it heats and the tranny is being used. when you drain this fluid out the clutch materials come with it, well with nothing to replenish from it starts shifting worse and wearing more and faster until failure. I traded for a 2011 xterra 1 because of the AT light and horrid shift quality the last few months but also for storage space constraints and wanting more power and to be seen when driving its amazing how many people don't see a bright red mazda hatchback but these same idiots see a dark red Nissan suv.

and it also had a few other issues lots of paint chips, motor mounts were bad again after 3 months etc. I like mazda they build great cars but to me it seems 2010-2014 was the worst for reliability from them I had an 08 3 that was great other then motor mounts and a control arm bolt that backed loose but it had almost 90k miles so that's not necessarily mazdas issue on that, and it was a manual, wish I had been able to find a newer manual in the price range I was looking for at that time I might still have the newer 3.... oh well. the 08 got totaled. but it seems like 10-14 were the worst because it was right after ford abandoned them so no big brother funds and they had to redesign all their cars, them being a small company in the car world they had limited funds to do so and the results where ok but not 100% mazda quality. the 14 and up ones seem really good though. my dad and sister both have 15 mazda 3s and have had no major issues. hell the only issues my dad had were self inflicted he hit the garage door with his mirror and scuffed it and ran over a dead deer after a truck swerved arounfd it and he did not have time taking the front fascia off and requiring a new fascia under cover and repaint of the front.

whats funny is the xterras is auto and the dipstick is bolted down, probably since its an offroader setup... but I found that to be a good thing. it shifts great so no need to even mess with it unless iit starts acting up, and after this fiasco with the mazda ill let the pros handle that if needed.