Synthetic ATF vs. Addiitives

[MHanrahan]

According to my manual it says 10 quarts, I have the 4liter engine with 4x4. But I've heard several people say 16 quarts. I think I'm going to follow the prodecure at the bottom of this page Dead Link Removed
Basicaly I'll have one bucket filled with new clean atf, and another empty, hook a tube to the inlet going to the bucket with clean fluid. And then have the outlet going to the empty bucket with a tube. Then start the car, and watch it suck all the clean fluid up, and then turn off the car. According to that link it should work. My only question is the transmission line which goes into the radiator seems to be permanently atached to the radiator, but there is a like an off shoot of that line that goes straight up and has a black cap, So if I hook up the hose which will be going to the clean atf to the offshoot thing with the black cap, will it suck up the new atf? Hopefully someone understands what I mean.

 

[MHanrahan]

This is exactly what I plan on doing, incase my explanation wasn't clear enough, the same question still applies.

I have a suggestion for the module on tranny fluid change - it is a variation of Dr. Bob's original idea. It can easily be done by one person working alone and doesn't have the risk of running the pan dry.

Here's the deal:

I have a friend who is a tranny tech who says that putting a clamp on the outflow of the oil cooler lines can generate very high pressures throughout the system. This has the potential to blow seals, etc. So best not to put a clamp on the outflow.

My method does not require "pinch-clamps", calibrated bottles, or putting the oil in a quart at a time. There is also very little mess. In fact, I stole the idea from looking at the T-Tech machine at Jiffy-Lube.

So, here is what I do. I attach tranmission hoses to BOTH the "from transmission" and "to transmission" connections at the auxiliary cooler. I use about 10 feet each since I do this all by myself and can keep everything near the drivers door.

The difference is you use two 5-gallon buckets instead of milk bottles. In one, which is carefully cleaned and dried, I put 16 quarts of tranny fluid (Amsoil, naturally). The other is used to collect the old fluid.

Put both buckets near the driver's side door of the vehicle so you can watch them. Make sure you know which line is "in" and which is "out". If in doubt, tickle the engine with both hoses attached and the outflow line will shoot t-fluid.

Now put the "in" hose into the bucket with fresh fluid so the hose is near, but not touching, the bottom of the bucket and secure it to the handle with duct tape. Put the other hose into the empty bucket and tape it to the handle, too.

Now, start the engine. You will see the dirty fluid flowing into the empty bucket and the new fluid being sucked into the tranny. No pressure changes anywhere in the system!!! Run the engine until the new fluid just starts to pull air (about 2-2.5 minutes) and shut it down. Reattach the connections. Check the fluid level, check for leaks and you are done!!

The 5-gal plastic buckets are free at just about any grocery store if you ask. So, you are only out the cost of the hose, hose clamps, and fluid.

 

[aldive]

What do you do with the old fluid?

Thanks......

 

[MHanrahan]

Assuming take it back to advanced autoparts, I would imagine they may take the fluid back, they take oil and batteries as far as I know. Anyone able to answer my question?