ATF FLUSHING - is it necessary???

[Pisces69]

ive seen mal workshop drop the ATF oil pan of a toyota wish and change the ATF filter as well... the mech told me that its pretty common in Mal, in fact, he gave me a weird look... and ask me, if not how to change oil?? I told him that i never own an AT car b4, so not too sure.... but when i ask around workshop in SG, never came across such practice cos its very ex... why r there such big diff in the practice??

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Dropping the pan is good as u can change the ATF filter & also check the magnets if any.

 

The disadvantage is the cost as u wil need to replace the ATF filter & pan gasket. Also the ws must do a proper job, otherwise the joint might leak or some other thing might go wrong.

 

My Optra ATF filter costs >$80 so I wil only change maybe when I hit 150K km. Most other cars, the ATF filter is only about $10-$20 each.

 

I definitely wont trust a JB ws to do the job for me cos those that I saw were mostly chap-a-lang & also they dont have much experience with autoboxes as most MY cars r still manual & only recently do u see autos in the newer MY cars.

 

 

[Pisces69]

Usually, for OEM parts, I will go back to OEM fluids or those recommended by manufacturers.

 

For example, my ATF oil cannot use other brands. Must use back Diaqueen type. Feedback from other same make car owners.

 

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Yes, me too. I also try to stick with OEM or Original as far as possible.

 

Mitsu uses Diaqueen but now got some brands of ATFs which r compatible with all autoboxes. RP is like that.

 

I have not tried yet as I am not sure how good they really r as there must b some compromise if they can b used on the different types of autoboxes.

[Pisces69]

Nowadays I do that for my ATF change as I drove hard on my car and heavily utilized it.

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If u torture your autobox, u can consider using a synthetic ATF. It gives much better protection to the autobox.

 

That is only if u intend to keep your car for a long time.

 

For me I try to keep car for as long as possible. Maybe till COE expires or longer.

 

[Pisces69]

My Ride is 4 plus yrs old ard 55k km milage,i never flush my Auto Gearbox B4,i only drain and refill every 10k.

So far so good.plus i often drag my gears to redline using tiptronic and its an korean made..

 

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My Optra also 4 years old & abt 80K km. I also drain & fill every 10K km but now I wil drag till 20-30K km as I saw the ATF that drained out recently & it was almost red like new.

[Pisces69]

For those who change their ATF. Remember to change the filter as well. AFAIK, some models (like ZF gearbox) has both a filter and a magnet to trap debris. So, if you change the fluid, remember to change the filter and clean the magnet.

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Changing the filter can do maybe every 80-100K km or as recommended by the manufacturer. Can clean the magnets at the same time.

 

Doing it too often might b overkill & expensive.

[Love_hes]

Don't think flushing at 50000km is required. Just follow the normal servicing interval for drain and refill should be fine. I have a ATF Cooler install and i normally drain and refill at 7-10k at realise the fliud is looks almost like fresh. Using normal Honda ATFZ1

[Jchuacl]

U need to know the temp of the atf before going further. For every 10 degrees above 90, the lifespan of the atf drops by half. For eg from 80k to 40k, so if u have a dramatic increase in atf temp due to eg cooling fault, then it would be wise to flush.

 

Without hard data, everything done is purely speculative.

 

 

Hi Bros,

 

I have not done a ATF flushing ever! and my ride is hitting 50km...

 

Wondering whether i should do one???

 

 

 

[Pisces69]

Don't think flushing at 50000km is required. Just follow the normal servicing interval for drain and refill should be fine. I have a ATF Cooler install and i normally drain and refill at 7-10k at realise the fliud is looks almost like fresh. Using normal Honda ATFZ1

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My previous Toyota handbook recommends to change ATF at 60K km. That means "change all", so I do the flush at 50K km instead of 60K km(a little kia-su).

 

Now my Optra has no mention on when to change so I just do a drain & fill every 10K-20K km during my regular service. Recently I did notice the ATF drained out was very red & clean so I wil extend the drain & fill to every 20K -30K km.

 

The condition of the ATF also depends on your driving style & type of autobox u have.

 

One more very important thing I never mentioned is every time u drain or flush, make sure the ATF is filled to the correct level.

 

I always under-fill at the ws & do the proper & exact top-up when the ATF is hot after a long drive. Over-filling is as bad as under-filling your ATF. Same with your engine oil.

[Yuan]

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If u torture your autobox, u can consider using a synthetic ATF. It gives much better protection to the autobox.

 

That is only if u intend to keep your car for a long time.

 

For me I try to keep car for as long as possible. Maybe till COE expires or longer.

 

For my lau pok chia, there is feedback that we stick to Diaqueen instead of synthetic or other compatible ATF.

 

So I will stick back to what my manufacturer has recommended.

[Pisces69]

U need to know the temp of the atf before going further. For every 10 degrees above 90, the lifespan of the atf drops by half. For eg from 80k to 40k, so if u have a dramatic increase in atf temp due to eg cooling fault, then it would be wise to flush.

 

Without hard data, everything done is purely speculative.

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Yes very true.

 

Thats why I say the enemy of your ATF is heat. It destroys your ATF faster than u think.

 

Certain driving styles or conditions can cause the ATF to get very hot & lose its lubricating properties.

 

The only way to have the "hard data" is to do an oil analysis every once in a while which can b very troublesome. So it might b easier to just change as often as your budget & time allows to play safe.

[Pisces69]

For my lau pok chia, there is feedback that we stick to Diaqueen instead of synthetic or other compatible ATF.

 

So I will stick back to what my manufacturer has recommended.

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Check if Diaqueen has a synthetic brand available. U can try that as long as its Diaqueen.

 

RP synthetic ATF used to be Dexron IIe but now it can b used by most autoboxes but I have not tried this new formula yet. I prefer a specific ATF (Dexron for me) just to b safe.

[Yuan]

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Check if Diaqueen has a synthetic brand available. U can try that as long as its Diaqueen.

 

RP synthetic ATF used to be Dexron IIe but now it can b used by most autoboxes but I have not tried this new formula yet. I prefer a specific ATF (Dexron for me) just to b safe.

 

If I remember correctly, Diaqueen is full synthetic as recommended by OEM manufacturers.

 

Anyway, I change mine at every 20k mileage interval. Some people said it is an overkill. For me, it is easy for me to remember. Nowadays old already.....Tend to be forgetful.....

[Pisces69]

If I remember correctly, Diaqueen is full synthetic as recommended by OEM manufacturers.

 

Anyway, I change mine at every 20k mileage interval. Some people said it is an overkill. For me, it is easy for me to remember. Nowadays old already.....Tend to be forgetful.....

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Not ALL Diaqueen ATF is synthetic. It must b stated on the container that it is fully synthetic. Otherwise u must take it as mineral.

 

If u do a drain & fill every 20K km, it sud b Ok for our normal type of driving even if its mineral.

 

I wil also b doing it every 20K-30K km from now on & Im also using a mineral ATF.

 

remember what I mentioned earlier about filling to the correct level, only after the ATF is hot after a long drive. Most ws wil agar-agar only when they top-up the ATF. Check also u must follow the method as mentioned in your handbook as different cars have different methods of checking the level of ATF.

[Ryanyusoff]

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Yes very true.

 

Thats why I say the enemy of your ATF is heat. It destroys your ATF faster than u think.

 

Certain driving styles or conditions can cause the ATF to get very hot & lose its lubricating properties.

 

The only way to have the "hard data" is to do an oil analysis every once in a while which can b very troublesome. So it might b easier to just change as often as your budget & time allows to play safe.

 

i fixed an ATF-cooler.does it help?

[Pisces69]

i fixed an ATF-cooler.does it help?

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I guess it cant harm as long as it was installed properly & is of a good brand like Hayden.

 

Keeping your ATF cool is always good.

 

But u now have more points to go wrong & the ATF to leak. Just make sure it was installed properly & check once in awhile for any leaks sud b OK.

[Tigershark1976]

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Dropping the pan is good as u can change the ATF filter & also check the magnets if any.

 

The disadvantage is the cost as u wil need to replace the ATF filter & pan gasket. Also the ws must do a proper job, otherwise the joint might leak or some other thing might go wrong.

 

My Optra ATF filter costs >$80 so I wil only change maybe when I hit 150K km. Most other cars, the ATF filter is only about $10-$20 each.

 

I definitely wont trust a JB ws to do the job for me cos those that I saw were mostly chap-a-lang & also they dont have much experience with autoboxes as most MY cars r still manual & only recently do u see autos in the newer MY cars.

 

 

even at $80/ filter, i think the cost is still cheaper than aTF flush... I heard some people use 4 tins (4L/tin) ATF alone to flush... the cost of 4 x 4L ATF is alrd more than $100 alrd!

[Pisces69]

even at $80/ filter, i think the cost is still cheaper than aTF flush... I heard some people use 4 tins (4L/tin) ATF alone to flush... the cost of 4 x 4L ATF is alrd more than $100 alrd!

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I used to do the ATF flush & usually used about 18 lit of expensive ($13/lit) synthetic ATF so its not only about costs.

 

Dropping the pan means more work & if it is not done properly, u might even get leaks from the seal.

 

Many ws r not too keen to drop the pan & wil recommend the drain & fill instead.

 

So far I have never dropped the pan. Only done flushing & drain & fill.

 

My present Optra wil prob need to change the ATF filter at abt 150K km so I wil have no choice then. Until then I prefer the safer methods mentioned.

 

[Yuan]

i fixed an ATF-cooler.does it help?

 

It is not foolproof though a preventive measure.