Transmission Flush

[Adam Roby]

Hello All,

This is my first post here so I guess an introduction is in order.
I purchased my 2006 Jeep Liberty Sport 4WD in the fall of last year. I had some funny behavior with my transmission, I found that when it would gear down to 1st at a stop it would sometimes "kick" when I would drive off. I brought it to a transmission specialty shop and they could not find anything wrong with it, didn't charge me for the time and said my fluid looked good. They told me to keep an eye on it and let them know if anything changed.

Over the winter the problem was more severe, but only when the oil was cold. As soon as it would warm up it shifted fine. To me it looked dark, and since the vehicle was purchased used I had no maintenance history. I added some treatment hoping that would help but it did no difference. I have finally scheduled a transmission fluid dump, with filter, and a complete flush. Its a bit pricey, but I figure its cheaper than a new transmission.

I have been watching a lot of shows on TV showing how these garages rip people off, charging for services and not doing them. I plan on taking a small sample before and after to see if the oil changes a lot. I'm not sure if I would really know if the flush was done that way though, so I am wondering what kind of traps I could set to make sure. I was thinking of adding some nail polish to a few key bolts, then checking to see if the nail polish cracked on bolts that should have been removed. In a transmission flush, is it always done the same way? Do they remove the hose from the radiator to the transmission or can it be somewhere else as well?

If I see the garage did what they said they would, then I know I have someone I can trust... I just don't know how else to be sure without standing there all day... and they asked me to drop off the truck and leave it for the day until they call me.

 

[uss2defiant]

****** fluid exchange can also be done via dipstick as well.
Maybe you should have the fluid exchange and filters change during the weekend so you can be there an observe for yourself.

I wouldn't think that this would take more than 2 hours.

 

[ltd02]

Welcome!

Assuming this isn't a dealer so hopefully they will use the correct ATF+4 fluid too.

How many miles on you KJ?

I bought mine with 80k on it and had no idea what kind of service had been done. I have only just done pan drop, filter change and refill. 176k now.

 

[Adam Roby]

The dealer only wants to do a pan drop and filter change. I asked them if they would do a flush and they said it is not needed and they are not equipped to do so (sounds strange to me). The transmission place claims that only a maximum of 60% of the fluid can be changed by a standard filter swap, the remaining 40% is stuck in the TC and lines etc. Unfortunately I can't miss any more work and they are not open on the weekends...

The truck has 118,000 km on it now so 73 k miles around.

 

[ltd02]

Not strange at all. Alot of places don't recommend flushes with higher mileage vehicles as it can dislodge all sorts of stuff and mess things up. The partial change may be safer given the unknown maintenance record. This may be the dealer's fear even though yours isn't that high mileage to me. I'm sure other's on here can offer better reasons. Just be patient.

If you do a few pan drops on a shorter change interval it may be better for the trans.

 

[Adam Roby]

Hmmm... something to consider.

I was also thinking about an engine flush but there were so many youtube videos recommending against it for the same reasons that I decided not to. Just want this truck to last a while, it looks fantastic and I love the drive.

Would you recommend the dealership over a transmission specialty shop?

 

[tjkj2002]

Would you recommend the dealership over a transmission specialty shop?

Yes,they will at least use the correct ATF+4.

 

[Adam Roby]

Yes,they will at least use the correct ATF+4.

Now you have me worried. I just emailed the transmission place and asked if they used ATF+4 and they replied with this:

"Actually what I use is better then ATF+4 that the manufacturer uses. there is more synthetic in it."

That makes me wonder now...

 

[Adam Roby]

WTF.... I just called back the dealer and they said, "of course we offer a transmission flush service, in fact this is what we recommend." The guy I called a couple days ago said they don't have the machine to do a transmission flush...

How can anyone actually get the right information anymore?

 

[uss2defiant]

Is there another dealership you can go to?

 

[tjkj2002]

Now you have me worried. I just emailed the transmission place and asked if they used ATF+4 and they replied with this:

"Actually what I use is better then ATF+4 that the manufacturer uses. there is more synthetic in it."

That makes me wonder now...

Run far and fast from that trans shop.ATF+4 is full synthetic already.

If you have a issue with the trans and higher mileage with no known history of constant trans services I would not do anything to the trans but get a remaned installed.Once you start having issues changing the fluid will only make it worse.

 

[Adam Roby]

Unfortunately not really... unless I take an afternoon off work.
There's always the Toyota dealer close by, but at that point I might as well go to the transmission place. I told them about my concerns and he said this:

"I use this oil in my rebuild transmissions that I give 3 years guarantee. if I have any doubt I would not use it. If it makes you more comfortable, I will use ATF+4."

 

[tjkj2002]

Unfortunately not really... unless I take an afternoon off work.
There's always the Toyota dealer close by, but at that point I might as well go to the transmission place. I told them about my concerns and he said this:

"I use this oil in my rebuild transmissions that I give 3 years guarantee. if I have any doubt I would not use it. If it makes you more comfortable, I will use ATF+4."

Places like this is why Chrysler took away the trans dipsticks in '07+ models(along with cheap owners).

Anything but actual ATF+4 will ruin your trans.

 

[Adam Roby]

And because of this I am back at square 1, not knowing if he actually put in ATF+4 when I ask for it specifically.

The fact that the transmission shifts rougher when its cold versus hot weather, to me it sounds like a viscosity problem with the fluid, hence the desire to do a complete flush and replace with only the right stuff (maybe the last swap was something else). The flush does not mean adding some cleaner, simply draining more of the old fluid out to replace with new stuff. I don't see how that can do any damage to a transmission... but I could be wrong. I really hate dealerships... they speak to you like you're bothering them and seem clueless most of the time. That said... I might just have to cancel the appointment and reschedule at Chrysler.

 

[belvedere]

+1 to only using ATF+4.

 

[belvedere]

It's really not hard to do a pan drop & filter change. However, if you don't want to DIY, see if you can found a good small indy shop (not necessarily a trans shop) that will allow you to provide your own ATF+4. IIRC, it takes about 6 qts.

 

[Adam Roby]

Yeah, I am normally a DIY'er, but I am a little nervous about doing a pan drop since its my only vehicle and I've never done one before. Oh, that and I just had back surgery so my wife would be mighty pissed at me if I did try it on my own. We are taking an 8 hour drive soon so I wanted to do the oils before leaving. I should be OK to swap out the diff oils in a couple of months by myself.