ive searched this topic and cant find a difinitive answer. is flushing the best way to service the fluid? are there any risks to o the tranny? i cant do it myself considering its 30 degrees and i dont have a garage.

 

http://www.amsoil.com/lit/filter_man_council01.pdf

I also have seen reports that transmissions that have not had transmission service in a long time (over 75000 miles?) can have varnish and other deposits that have built up in them and that any transmission filter/fluid change might dislodge these deposits and cause the transmission to fail.



I am getting ready to drop the pan on mine tommorrow and change the filter. I will also add a B&M transmission pan drain kit and fill it with Amsoil ATF fluid. Its supposed to get up to 60 degrees here tommorrow!

 

that is some interesting info in that thread, but do they say that because they are making the filters that arent getting changed when a flush is performed? mny truck has 84k the fluid looks good but i bought it with high mileage and dont know when the tranny was last serviced. would i be better off waiting till spring and doing a filter and fluid change or just flushing it now?

 

I thought the same thing when I saw that they make filters. My truck has 40,000 miles since I bought it (Brand new) The transmission fluid looks pretty good.

I paid about $44 for a filter and gasket. I would rather spend $44 than several thousand dollars if my transmission goes south.

I believe that article states that even a new tranmission filter won't save the transmission if it has been neglected for a very long period of time.

 

Let me show you some pictures of my 39,000 mile transmission pan, magnet, and filter...

This is the magnet inside the 4R70W transmission pan. Notice how it has attracted all kinds of metal particles.



I wiped off some of the metal particles in this picture...



And last but not least, this filter material is normally a nice bright yellow...



CONCLUSION:

DROP THE PAN, CLEAN THE PAN, CLEAN THE MAGNET, CHANGE THE FILTER.

 

While you're at it,drain the torque converter too! The 4R70W holds 13.9 quarts of fluid so if you drain the pan and converter you will get just over 12 quarts.Thats better then just doing the pan only!

 

Just did the job yesterday on my '99.

Other than the obligatory mess when the fluid starts draining (nevermore, used the drain plug kit), the job was 'cake. My vehicle has 86K on it; I bought it when it had 67K, so I didn't know if it had ever been serviced.

The magnet was covered with about an eighth-inch of mung, and the filter weighed a pound. The fluid looked and smelled well-used.

Make sure you pull the magnet off the pan and clean it well, and also make sure you get the old seal ring when you pull the filter. The pan gasket is reuseable. The knock-out plug you find in the pan is a toss-away.

The TC drain plug is a 12MM, and it is in there tight. You'll need a breaker bar with a 3/4" (or the proper metric size) socket to turn the crank 'til you see the plug. The fluid doesn't come out quickly (at least it didn't for me. I had already buttoned up the pan.), but you'll get about nine quarts, so be ready.

I could get just over five quarts in the pan at a time. Start the truck and let it run for 20-30 seconds, add five more quarts, run it for 20-30 seconds, then add a quart and start the truck; cycle the tranny though Forward and Reverse, and back to Park. Check the level and add as necessary. I put 12 1-2 quarts in.

One tip- if you do this in a breeze, put some cardboard up on the windward side of the truck to keep the wind from blowing fluid everywhere. While you're at it, put a big piece of wood or cardboard on the ground to keep from messing up the pavement.

 

well that is the difinitive answer i was looking for. ill drop the pan in the spring, my fluid looks and smells fine, should be ok till then. thanks for all the info, i knew the internet had to be good for something other than stea... i mean buying music.

 

I just did the transmission on my 97 F150 with a 4R70W this afternoon. My biggest concern was draining the torque converter. This turned out to be the easiest part. There was almost 7 quarts of fluid in the T.C. too. Loosening and re-tightening the bolts on the pan was a chore...the two bolts at the rear of the pan near the transfer case housing required a 10mm nut driver for me(even with an extension my socket couldn't get to the bolts). Overall, the job took about 3 hours and cost me $20 bucks for a Fram FT1167 filter and close to $90 for 16 qt's of Mercon V...I only needed 13 qt's to fill up my transmission though. The creeper I bought with the filter at the auto parts store came in real handy for this job too.

 

Dang! Pushrod is right, the magnet does come off!

It cleans up real nice also! Thanks for the post, Pushrod!



And be sure to make mental notes of where the parts belong when you dismantle things...

 

Can you say wobble extension?

 

...double post, deleting won't work.

 

I put a B&M drain nut kit into mine last week too. No more ATF shower time. I'm still putting together the how-to article to add a big B&M cooler and the Jerry Mod for the valve body. Got lotsa pictures. Should have it up by next weekend.

I was amazed how much grey slime was all over the valve body as well.... clutch material.

 

The best way to service the tranny is just by dropping the fluid and the TC w/ filter, too. Excessive flushing will cause problems. Our 97 4R70W has never had a flush and it's gone, faithfully, over 200,000 miles.

 

One thing I would recommend is to prime the new tranny filter before installing, just like is done on an oil filter. It is a little messy but well worth it IMO. It takes about 1/2 qt to soak it well.

I do it in the pan and lift the pan up to the tranny, push on the filter, followed immediately by the pan.