explorer noob strikes again

[cerberusaardvark]

i drive a 94 xlt, orig engine and tranny. somewhere around 225 to 325k on both, i forget how many times the odometer rolled over. it drives fine, but im getting nervous about their failure. whats a good way to find out if its time to end their run? also, a mechanic recently told me i need new tranny fluid... but will the drain and fill hurt or help my granny tranny? how difficult is it to drain and replace the tranny fluid on my own?

 

[RedneckRambo]

is it a manual trans?

 

[YBCold]

change it. sounds like the guy is qualified to point that out. also it seems easy but i have yet to do it on my truck since i got somewhat recently. but it seems easy. just get underthere and unbolt the bottom of it and let it drain out. change the filter too.

 

[rileyrs]

a wet flush is much better for the tranny then draining the pan and refilling.
its more expensive, but it will service the tranny much better since rings and seals never go dry. plus then you change out all the fluid, not just the stuff in the pan.

use some seafoam on the motor, and run injector cleaner to liven it up.
and of course a good tune up.

 

[socialDK]

a wet flush is much better for the tranny then draining the pan and refilling.
its more expensive, but it will service the tranny much better since rings and seals never go dry. plus then you change out all the fluid, not just the stuff in the pan.
.

Would one have to take the X to a shop for the wet flush or can it be done in ones drive way? And if so how?

 

[Currency]

I believe there is a write up here detailing it. I believe you attach longer hoses to your aux cooler and put the intake hose in a five gallon bucket of new fluid and the output in an empty five gallon bucket. I believe it holds around 16 qts? I maybe wrong on that one.

 

[Lacky01]

just take it to a shop. it's like $150 but it will be worth it for the life of the tranny. keep in mind there is rumor that flushing an old tranny will kill it, and in many cases that has happened. an old dying tranny is nothing more than old and dying. good luck!

do a search on doing it yourself, maybe it's not as involved as I think

 

[Maniak]

If its an a4ld (auto trans) that has been neglected over the years, a flush may not be the best. A flush will loosen all the crap that has built up over the years and the trans may not last long after the flush.

If the a4ld has been taken care of, including fluid changes and filter changes over its long life then a flush won't be risky.

That trans is your weakest link. As long as you don't overheat the motor that thing should last many 100k.

~Mark

 

[mikeinri]

I may just be lucky, but the A4LD in my 94 proved all of those old wives tales false. I neglected the changes, overheated it a time or three, and changed it for the first time with around 200,000 miles on it. NO PROBLEMS.

The issue with older/high mileage vehicles is that many people wait until the tranny is not working properly, and try a fluid change as a band-aid. Lots of times, the tranny fails shortly afterwards and people blame the fluid change.

I went back and forth for a long time before I did mine, especially after some shops refused to do it because of the high mileage. Ultimately, it came down to: would I rather have clean fluid or dirty (old) fluid in my tranny? I figured leaving the old stuff in was more of a risk.

I also had a leaking vac modulator, so the fluid was nearly "self-changing" for a while anyway...

Hope this helps.

Mike

 

[Maniak]

I would have to say your lucky. 200k on an abused a4ld is quite a bit.

I'm not saying that they all will fail, its just the norm. That *******ized c3 trans just isn't up to the task of working on a 4k+ lbs vehicle, let alone to standing up to being abused.

~Mark

 

[Currency]

I may just be lucky, but the A4LD in my 94 proved all of those old wives tales false. I neglected the changes, overheated it a time or three, and changed it for the first time with around 200,000 miles on it. NO PROBLEMS.

The issue with older/high mileage vehicles is that many people wait until the tranny is not working properly, and try a fluid change as a band-aid. Lots of times, the tranny fails shortly afterwards and people blame the fluid change.

I went back and forth for a long time before I did mine, especially after some shops refused to do it because of the high mileage. Ultimately, it came down to: would I rather have clean fluid or dirty (old) fluid in my tranny? I figured leaving the old stuff in was more of a risk.

I also had a leaking vac modulator, so the fluid was nearly "self-changing" for a while anyway...

Hope this helps.

Mike

I felt the same way about mine when my modulator was bad. Also my front main seal is leaking and even if I don't think it's bad it was about a qt low last I check on it. Mine has 185,x.. miles on it and I know I will abuse it so hopefully my money issues will work out enough next year to get my engine and trans rebuilt.

I don't know why a shop would refuse to change it for you because to my knowledge there are laws that prevent them from being liable in the event something bad does happen soon afterwords.

I had talked a young girl into taking an 1986 S-10 blazer to an oil change place behind a local car wash because I did not want to change her oil. She was planning on visiting some family in Kentucky and driving it from Indiana down there. Low and behold the fellow at the lube place somehow forgot to tighten the plug and who in the world thinks, "Well I just had my oil changed so I should check it to make sure it's not low."

She blew the engine and even though I know the owners of that carwash/quickie lube they were not liable because it's her fault for not checking it.

I felt bad about it so I located a jasper rebuilt 2.8L and had a buddy swap them for the amazing price of $250 total and a six pack. The engine was a POS and after I started dating her I bought another one from a junk yard, Then bought the blazer from her when it started breaking torque converter bolts off.

It's still sitting with that problem and was a great little SUV.

Edit: Since then I will not recommend anyone to any quickie lube type places and if I'm not in the mood to change mine I take it to a local dealership so I get a free carwash and 100 point inspection sheet

Need to take my explorer there soon :

 

[rileyrs]

dealership = stealership, they overcharge for useless things.
if you cant do it yourself, just find a reputable mechanic shop, with reasonable prices.