Transmission fluid filter change--Don't do it?

[Kyle]

lol , go ahead and disagree. Not like I worked in a trans shop for years or anything...... I got nothing to gain or lose either way..

Almost forgot , please use a three quart container to catch it all in and let me know how that works out....

 

[Roverjoe]

???

So Kyle I've got a recent transmission problem where it will slip briefly when I first hit the gas on a cold-ass morning. I was going to do a fluid change and add some Lucas/trans conditioner. Do you think that I should just leave it alone and wait for something worse to happen? Are we talking same scenario?

Thanks -

 

[Kyle]

Well the thing we are talking about above is really specific to prior service. I dont feel you should leave it alone per se. I think he should drop the pan and catch the fluid. If its obvious fried then just clean the lip , apply gasket and button it back up adding that same fluid back. Atleast then he knows what he is dealing with and has time to get a replacement.
Yours could be a seal failure in a servo... could be a loose filter , could be a cogged screen could be a a bunch of things. I think that the pans should come down and the internals inspected. Until you take a look at what you got you really dont have any clue as to whats going on. If you drop the pan and you have clutch piled up in it then do just as I said for this last guy , leave it be , button it back up and put that old fluid right back in then find you a replacement while keeping your fingers crossed the whole time.
If you drop the pan and you find no clutch or debris then you know your issue might just be leakage in a circuit or a broken hard part. Atleast you know at that point that its not shot. One thing is absolutely certain , until the pan comes down and you have a look its all just speculation..

 

[kekule]

Wow. Thanks for all the info. Bottom line is, car has 153,000 miles, I've owned it since 48,000 miles. Transmission seems fine minus occasional surge from start. Honestly, I don't really know what to do. What happened is I waited till i put about 50,000 miles on the truck (98,000 total miles) before I asked about transmission service (filter/fluid change) the guy at the shop said leave it alone---since then put about 53,000 more miles on and truck is still going. I guess for now if it aint f'ed up leave it alone!?

 

[Kyle]

Well thats not the right attitude to have... Have the pan dropped and have it checked. Much easier and cheaper to have done then a new trans...And then you will know what you have under ya..

 

[Roverjoe]

work to do

thanks kyle - will post with results.

JB

 

[NVRover]

Kyle, question regarding transmission fluid: I'd like to switch mine (at the next service interval) to Mobil 1 Synthetic. My 96 D1 (117k mi) requires the Dexron (sp?) IID fluid. The Mobil 1 Synthetic Fluid is for Dexron III transmissions but will work where Dexron IIE fluid is used. Can this fluid be used in the D1 transmission? What's the difference between Dexron IID and IIE?

Are there any better synthetics that you recomend? Thanks.

 

[Kyle]

The Dextron III should be fine it in... The D is old now I think and its since been replaced by E....

 

[dave_lucas]

If the trans is on its way out that fluid will smell burnt and be brown in color. What happens at that point is the smell and the coilor come from clutch material that has now mixed with the fluid . Once you drain that clutch material out with the fluid you basically remove all the friction from it , no friction , no go.. I have seen it many many times

Listen to what Kyle said it is the truth!

I worked in a transmission shop for a few years and many of the failures we attended to were right after a fluid change or after someone putting in some snake oil. Normally the customer was trying to get rid of the burnt smelling fluid or magically fix a transmission that was behaving badly.

 

[NVRover]

Kyle thanks for the clarification.

Dave, in case your post was in reference to mine, I've changed my transmission fluid at the "required" interval and haven't had any problems yet (knock on wood). I believe my mechanic has filled it with conventional fluid, so if I change to synthetic do you see a potential for problems, like messing up the seals or something? Just curious.

Thanks again!

 

[ptschram]

I drive a '95 Disco with 198K miles on it, as far as I know, original ****** filter. This truck is wheeled, driven 500 miles to wheel, has towed many Series trucks (two 109s, several 88s) and a Disco (don't tell U-haul).

After towing, long hauls wheeling, or when I feel like it, I dump the ****** fluid and refill.

So far, I have not had a problem with it (but I also have a spare ******).

The book shows a ridiculously short period of time to do this job. The last one I did went horribly awry and took me near 16 hours to finish, mainly due to badly corroded exhaust fittings. Some folks claim they can do the job without dropping the y-pipe, but I don't see how. Lastly, it is very common to have exhaust leaks after this service.

I have done many ****** filter changes on mid-100K mile trucks with no failures yet-has anybody here persosnally suffered a ****** failure shortly after changing the filter? I have real-world experience to the contrary of the nay-sayers, let's hear somebody who's had one fail.

 

[Kyle]

I have seen atleast 20 of them take a shit after ignoring advice and changing out the fluid and filter when the pan was full to clutch and the fluid looked like poo poo.. People think you are running a game on them or something and they are smarter then you. SO you dont argue , you go ahead and change that shit and chuckle to yourself when the car wont get out of the parking lot or comes right back about 10 minutes later. Ofcourse then they blame you for it but thats life..... On a Disco I have never seen it simply because I am not in that game anymore. I have however seen it in plenty of ZFs of other flavors...

 

[dave_lucas]

To answer your question Paul I have not seen this on a Rover ZF. However we do not have many Land Rovers in this area so it is not surprising that I never worked on one the entire time I was at the transmission shop.

I have personally swapped out dozens of other makes and models that died shortly after the owner had the fluid changed.

Most of the transmissions already had burnt fluid, shifting problems, crap in the pan or were high mileage. The fluid change just happened to be the crowning blow that the transmission needed to give up.

Another thing that should be pointed out is that if you do drop the pan and decide not to change the fluid because of stuff in the pan. Make sure you clean the inside of the pan and try not to stir up the stuff from the bottom of the pan in the fluid. I have had to clean/ free up many valve bodies after someone stirred up the crap in the pan and decided not to change the fluid.