Flush
CL Community Team
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,703
Likes: 826
From: 565 St Peter NOLA
If by FLUSH you mean removing the old fluid via pressure then the recommendation is absolutely NOT.
The recommended method is a series of drain and fills, basically just the contents of the pan, over a few months time until the majority of your ATF is replaced.
If you insist on doing all the fluid in one shot it prob won't harm anything just don't attach to any machine that moves the fluid with pressure.
Tons of threads here discussing it...
The recommended method is a series of drain and fills, basically just the contents of the pan, over a few months time until the majority of your ATF is replaced.
If you insist on doing all the fluid in one shot it prob won't harm anything just don't attach to any machine that moves the fluid with pressure.
Tons of threads here discussing it...
Advanced
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 612
Likes: 89
From: California
Tranny flushes on high mileage cars are generally discouraged, but it really depends on how it was maintained. If the fluid wasn't changed, it will lose its capacity to clean and the old fluid can actually cook into a varnish that coats the surfaces inside the tranny. Flushing out the old fluid with new then can result in the new fluid cleaning the varnish off the insides of the tranny which then can gum up the works with unpleasant results. If the fluid was changed regularly, that problem shouldn't happen.
Advanced
Joined: Jul 2018
Posts: 608
Likes: 131
From: Indiana
No flushing, just changing! It really is very easy compared to some I've had to do because thankfully there is a drain plug. Order a case of T-IV from Amazon and do a series of changes over a week or month. I did 4 changes in a matter of days. No issues and the fluid looks good. Catch what comes out and you'll know what to put back in (usually 2 quarts or so).
Pole Position
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 223
Likes: 14
From: OR
My 1997 had nasty brown ATF when I got it. I "flushed" most of it via the cooler hose, accidently. Replaced it with ~5qt of fresh fluid. Now it's back to a dark red. I'd still like to drop the pan and clean the magnets tho.
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 6,212
Likes: 460
From: Long Island
if the fluid isn't all burnt looking and smelling and you don't attach one of those machines that forces the old fluid out under pressure like was mentioned above, then probably nothing bad will happen
easiest (and much safer) way to just drain some old fluid and put fresh fluid in is stick some tubing down the transmission filler tube and suck out some fluid (when everything's still cold), then just put back in exactly what you took out
of course before doing any of this check the fluid level itself, which should be done on level ground with the engine running and fluid warmed up, which takes 20+ minutes to get fully warm depending on how cold it is outside
easiest (and much safer) way to just drain some old fluid and put fresh fluid in is stick some tubing down the transmission filler tube and suck out some fluid (when everything's still cold), then just put back in exactly what you took out
of course before doing any of this check the fluid level itself, which should be done on level ground with the engine running and fluid warmed up, which takes 20+ minutes to get fully warm depending on how cold it is outside
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