My Mechanic refuses to change my trans fluid? (rental, Japanese, best)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I did 2 drain and fills since year 2000. Old mechanics are no longer around.
I have to go for a long drive (700 total miles) so I changed my oil and noticed my trans fluid was a light brown (not red, but not too dark). So I bring it in to a local mechanic and originally he said he was going to flush it. An hour later he calls me up and says trans fluid is very dirty and a flush is very risky and it's better to just keep on driving the car the way it is.
Since I had 2 drain and fills before I suggested a drain and fill. He said no--transmission fluid is a detergent and you don't know what crud it will let loose. He said he won't replace trans fluid unless it still has a little red left.
I know a flush is more risky than a fill and drain, but is this still risky? By the way the car shifts smooth and no known trans issues.
I am glad he didn't take advantage of me financial wise, but my fluid is dirty. Any advice? Thanks!!
Last edited by johnfrisco; 06-25-2009 at 05:14 PM..
I did 2 drain and fills since year 2000. Old mechanics are no longer around.
I have to go for a long drive (700 total miles) so I chnaged my oil and noticed my trans fluid was a light brown (not red, but not too dark). So I bring it in to a local mechanic and originally he said he was going to flush it. An hour later he calls me up and says trans fluid is very dirty and a flush is very risky and I it's better to just keep on driving the car the way it is.
Since I had 2 drain and fills before I suggested this. He said no transmission fluid is a detergent and you don't know what crud it will let loose.
I know a flush is more risky than a fill and drain, but is this still risky? By the way the car shifts smooth and no known trans issues.
I am glad he didn't take advantage of me financial wise, but my fluid is dirty. And advice? Thanks!!
Don't flush ! yes you could losen up any dirt , but definately drain fluid and change the filter if the oil is not redish in color, youtr mechanic is wrong as to the fact that trans. fluid is a detergent oil ( self cleaning ) I used it for many years as a cleaner for stuck hyd. lifter adding it to the engineoil in the older engines. 34 yrs in the business change trans. fluid every 75,000 miles.
I did 2 drain and fills since year 2000. Old mechanics are no longer around.
I have to go for a long drive (700 total miles) so I changed my oil and noticed my trans fluid was a light brown (not red, but not too dark). So I bring it in to a local mechanic and originally he said he was going to flush it. An hour later he calls me up and says trans fluid is very dirty and a flush is very risky and it's better to just keep on driving the car the way it is.
Since I had 2 drain and fills before I suggested a drain and fill. He said no--transmission fluid is a detergent and you don't know what crud it will let loose. He said he won't replace trans fluid unless it still has a little red left.
I know a flush is more risky than a fill and drain, but is this still risky? By the way the car shifts smooth and no known trans issues.
I am glad he didn't take advantage of me financial wise, but my fluid is dirty. And advice? Thanks!!
Afraid its too late for your japanese transmission. Clutch packs are already on their downward spiral (dirty fluid). The best you can do is filter/pan fluid change. You may be able to acclimate the tranny back to fresher fluid by doing a filter/pan fluid change over proceeding 10k intervals... if it lasts that long.
Afraid its too late for your japanese transmission. Clutch packs are already on their downward spiral (dirty fluid). The best you can do is filter/pan fluid change. You may be able to acclimate the tranny back to fresher fluid by doing a filter/pan fluid change over proceeding 10k intervals... if it lasts that long.
This model Accord does not have a serviceable filter--it's not replaceable.
Does it have a screen like a Gen 2 Camry (A140E) trans? If so it's good enough to just clean the screen.
This is the Accord that you just recently put a new timing belt on, right?
Maybe you want to get a second opinion. It's hard to make sense of the trans. fluid condition over the 'net.
I have heard of transmissions that were working fine giving trouble when new fluid was added, older cars with high mileage, but it's anecdotal, I don't know of any real reason that this would actually happen. I think most of the time this is actually a neglected car that starts to give shifting problems, owner then changes fluid, transmission finishes itself off. Not sure there is a cause and effect relationship here, maybe there is, maybe not.
I bought a car with pretty dark brown transmission fluid expecting it to need a new transmission, but decided to try changing the fluid first.
The mechanic flushed it, but it was still pretty dirty after driving it home, so we dropped the transmission pan and changed the filter. We refilled it with Mobil 1 synthetic fluid, and it's still going strong 50K later.
I bought a car with pretty dark brown transmission fluid expecting it to need a new transmission, but decided to try changing the fluid first.
The mechanic flushed it, but it was still pretty dirty after driving it home, so we dropped the transmission pan and changed the filter. We refilled it with Mobil 1 synthetic fluid, and it's still going strong 50K later.
No offense, but while it is excellent that you made out in this situation, this is generally bad advice to give to people. All transmissions (automatic) are very different, even the ones of the same modell... every transmission has its own personality I guess you could say, and that personality has been created over its lifetime based on how well it has been treated and maintained.
Any fixes at this point in the OP's tranny must be made cautiously. Going out and flushing all the fluid at once could be a catastrophic decision or it could be just fine, no way to know. Things must be done very gradually or not at all.
Does it have a screen like a Gen 2 Camry (A140E) trans? If so it's good enough to just clean the screen.
This is the Accord that you just recently put a new timing belt on, right?
Maybe you want to get a second opinion. It's hard to make sense of the trans. fluid condition over the 'net.
I have heard of transmissions that were working fine giving trouble when new fluid was added, older cars with high mileage, but it's anecdotal, I don't know of any real reason that this would actually happen. I think most of the time this is actually a neglected car that starts to give shifting problems, owner then changes fluid, transmission finishes itself off. Not sure there is a cause and effect relationship here, maybe there is, maybe not.
Hi M3 Mitch. Thanks for your advice--I was kinda hoping you'd reply. Yes same car I was debating a timing belt change on because of this car's age.
I don't believe there is even a screen on this car. It's just the trans drain plug that collects all of the metal shavings. A previous mechanic of mine said some install an external trans filter on cars with no serviceable trans.
JTraik got me a little scared saying it's too late. I don't understand what he is referring to. My last drain and fill was around 25K miles ago and trans color was same color--very light brown.
My hunch, and it's not anything more than an intuitive hunch from some guy 4 time zones away who has never owned a Honda car, OK - is if the fluid is light brown and you changed it 25K miles ago, you would be OK changing it, maybe just change it yourself as in pull the drain plug, pour in the correct amount of the correct new fluid, and be done with it. You could almost certainly DIY this.
Chevy TH 350 transmissions have a screen only, and I have a kit rattling around the garage to put a Chrysler type "real" filter on, but have not installed it. So, yeah, there are filter kits available for cars that didn't come with them, just as you can get oil filter kits for engines that didn't come with filters (mostly 1950's domestics, and of course the VW aircooled Bug).
If you have doubts about the car you might want to rent a car for the big trip, this has some advantages anyway, with a rental if you have a problem far from home, the rental company takes care of it, but if it's your car you either have to pay $$$$$ to tow to a familiar shop, or try to figure out on the fly which shop in an unfamiliar town you want to have repair your car. Worth a thought.
JTraik has a good point too, if the fluid is really nasty *sometimes* disturbing the status quo with a fluid change "wakes up" the gremlins. Although like I said it's not clear, at least to me, if changing the fluid really causes the problem. Apparently a flush *can* cause this sort of problem.
My hunch, and it's not anything more than an intuitive hunch from some guy 4 time zones away who has never owned a Honda car, OK - is if the fluid is light brown and you changed it 25K miles ago, you would be OK changing it, maybe just change it yourself as in pull the drain plug, pour in the correct amount of the correct new fluid, and be done with it. You could almost certainly DIY this.
Chevy TH 350 transmissions have a screen only, and I have a kit rattling around the garage to put a Chrysler type "real" filter on, but have not installed it. So, yeah, there are filter kits available for cars that didn't come with them, just as you can get oil filter kits for engines that didn't come with filters (mostly 1950's domestics, and of course the VW aircooled Bug).
If you have doubts about the car you might want to rent a car for the big trip, this has some advantages anyway, with a rental if you have a problem far from home, the rental company takes care of it, but if it's your car you either have to pay $$$$$ to tow to a familiar shop, or try to figure out on the fly which shop in an unfamiliar town you want to have repair your car. Worth a thought.
JTraik has a good point too, if the fluid is really nasty *sometimes* disturbing the status quo with a fluid change "wakes up" the gremlins. Although like I said it's not clear, at least to me, if changing the fluid really causes the problem. Apparently a flush *can* cause this sort of problem.
Great advice--thanks so much!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
