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Tranny Fluid Change

From : chas stokes

Q: i have a 90 caravan c/v with a 3.0 and a 4 speed automatic that i personally dont know if has ever had the transmission fluid changed. i would like to get this done as i have probably put 50k on the vehicle myself but i have heard stories that changing transmission fluid after such a long time can cause more problems than it fixes. is this bs or should i just spin the wheel and go for it chas .

Replies:

From : oregon

i had a dodge mechanic tell me the same thing about my 1997 caravan. went too long without changing the fluid / filter. he recommended that new fluid could do more damage than good. i got the same story from another mechanic and opted against the change. sold the vehicle a few months later. .

From : tbone

on fri 28 nov 2003 180634 -0500 tbone fatchance@noway.now wrote on fri 28 nov 2003 112204 -0500 tbone fatchance@noway.now wrote those stories are based on the small amount of grit and reduced slipperiness in the old fluid giving the worn out old clutches enough bite to still function for a while. as i said before im no transmission expert but this very thing did happen to my cousins transmission. it was working well but the fluid was pretty old never changed. after he changed it the trans immediately began slipping and got worse from there requiring a rebuild. and you think the transmission would have lived longer without changing the fluid of course it would have. a lot longer who knows but longer than it did with the change. deam on. unless he used the wrong fluid the tranny was already sick and ready to die. no it was just worn out and yes it would need to be rebuilt soon anyway but it probably would have functioned for another year or so. the new correct fluid did not cause the problem. well lets see. the transmission worked ok fluid was changed transmission slipped. seems like it caused the problem to me lol. now i know that the transmission was worn and needed to be repaired but the old fluid did keep it functional and that is the whole point of not changing really old fluid. if the trans is already worn out and has old fluid changing it may cause it to fail completely and wasting the money on the filter and fluid. using that logic stopping at a stop light is bad for transmissions. im not so sure about stopping but accelerating puts more of a strain on them than just cruising. my 1990 ford aerostar which had been maintained by the book and had over 200000km on it was working perfectly. shifts were smooth and predictable untill i stopped at a red light. when i went to leave i had no drive except if i put it in manual low. the front sprag or sprague take your pick had let go. if i had not stopped and had enough fuel i could have driven across canada without it failing - so stopping damaged the transmission. - no i dont think so. lol this counter point makes no sense. first of all the law requires you to stop. where is the law that says you have to replace old transmission fluid second you have no valid argument that the trans would have held together past the next hill if it was already that weak. and third stopping at the light did cause the failure. lets face it. mechanical devices do fail. their failure is unpredictable but can be forcast with some accuracy by the maintenance or lack thereof. in most cases poorly maintained equipment lasts a shorter time than well maintained equipment of the same design and quality. it really seems that you cannot see the forest through the trees. i am not saying that people should not maintain their vehicles or that a poorly maintained one will last as long or longer than a well maintained one. what i am saying is that if the trans is already worn out and still has its original trans fluid replacing the fluid will provide no benefit may actually disable the trans and waste your money on the fluid and filter that will be discarded when the trans gets rebuilt / replaced. it is better to either just rebuild it then or let it run until it fails and save your money for the upcoming rebuild or sell it to someone else before it fails. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving .

From : militiaguyclare snyder on ca

hi new to this group so if this has been posted before sorry. my problem is with my 1994 plymouth voyager. i could not start it last night and thought it was the battery with the sudden cold weather. it started this am no problem but when i shut it off i could not start it again and the shift was stuck in park. i could not move it. i removed the negative battery cable for a minute and was able to once again move the shift. after replacing the cable i was able to start it again no problem but then when shutting down the same thing happened again. stuck in park and unable to start or shift out of park. any ideas anyone thanks in advance. .

From : clare snyder on ca

on sat 29 nov 2003 105757 -0500 tbone fatchance@noway.now wrote it really seems that you cannot see the forest through the trees. i am not saying that people should not maintain their vehicles or that a poorly maintained one will last as long or longer than a well maintained one. what i am saying is that if the trans is already worn out and still has its original trans fluid replacing the fluid will provide no benefit may actually disable the trans and waste your money on the fluid and filter that will be discarded when the trans gets rebuilt / replaced. it is better to either just rebuild it then or let it run until it fails and save your money for the upcoming rebuild or sell it to someone else before it fails. unless you know the tranny is worn out the chances are better that changing the fluid will get you more miles out of it than that it will accellerate the failure of the transmission. over several decades of working on cars for a living i have definitely seen a lot more cases of sick transmissions coming back to life and going many more miles after a fluid change than ive seen transmissions fail after a fluid change. empirical evidence mabee - but overwhelming in my case. licenced mschanic since 1971 .

From : tbone

on sat 29 nov 2003 105757 -0500 tbone fatchance@noway.now wrote it really seems that you cannot see the forest through the trees. i am not saying that people should not maintain their vehicles or that a poorly maintained one will last as long or longer than a well maintained one. what i am saying is that if the trans is already worn out and still has its original trans fluid replacing the fluid will provide no benefit may actually disable the trans and waste your money on the fluid and filter that will be discarded when the trans gets rebuilt / replaced. it is better to either just rebuild it then or let it run until it fails and save your money for the upcoming rebuild or sell it to someone else before it fails. unless you know the tranny is worn out the chances are better that changing the fluid will get you more miles out of it than that it will accellerate the failure of the transmission. over several decades of working on cars for a living i have definitely seen a lot more cases of sick transmissions coming back to life and going many more miles after a fluid change than ive seen transmissions fail after a fluid change. empirical evidence mabee - but overwhelming in my case. licenced mschanic since 1971 fair enough i have no real opinion either way. i was just explaining the justification over the statement and saw it happen myself. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving .

From : wrnch61

sounds like its about time to consider fluid/filter change..proper preventative maint. never hurts i have a 90 caravan c/v with a 3.0 and a 4 speed automatic that i personally dont know if has ever had the transmission fluid changed. i would like to get this done as i have probably put 50k on the vehicle myself but i have heard stories that changing transmission fluid after such a long time can cause more problems than it fixes. is this bs or should i just spin the wheel and go for it chas .

From : clare snyder on ca

on thu 27 nov 2003 054709 gmt oregon nospam@fish.net wrote i had a dodge mechanic tell me the same thing about my 1997 caravan. went too long without changing the fluid / filter. he recommended that new fluid could do more damage than good. i got the same story from another mechanic and opted against the change. sold the vehicle a few months later. as a mechanic ive never heard or seen anything to validate that position. changing the fluid too late may not be as good as changing it on time but ive never heard of it causing problems. no plausible explanation. .

From : budd cochran

i agree. it even cleared up a delayed cold trans 1-2 shift problem on a 65 904 auto i had. -- budd cochran in tribute to the united states of america and the state of israel two bastions of strength in a world filled with strife and terrorism. ------ on thu 27 nov 2003 054709 gmt oregon nospam@fish.net wrote i had a dodge mechanic tell me the same thing about my 1997 caravan. went too long without changing the fluid / filter. he recommended that new fluid could do more damage than good. i got the same story from another mechanic and opted against the change. sold the vehicle a few months later. as a mechanic ive never heard or seen anything to validate that position. changing the fluid too late may not be as good as changing it on time but ive never heard of it causing problems. no plausible explanation. .

From : iancttbone

id definitely have it changed. by the logic of the stories youve heard if you wait until its too late to change your transmission fluid you should never change it. flush it. mpg.1a2ea727baa6819d989681@.nntpaccess.com chas stokes cjs@zuul24.com wrote i have a 90 caravan c/v with a 3.0 and a 4 speed automatic that i personally dont know if has ever had the transmission fluid changed. i would like to get this done as i have probably put 50k on the vehicle myself but i have heard stories that changing transmission fluid after such a long time can cause more problems than it fixes. is this bs or should i just spin the wheel and go for it chas .

From : tbone

those stories are based on the small amount of grit and reduced slipperiness in the old fluid giving the worn out old clutches enough bite to still function for a while. as i said before im no transmission expert but this very thing did happen to my cousins transmission. it was working well but the fluid was pretty old never changed. after he changed it the trans immediately began slipping and got worse from there requiring a rebuild. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving id definitely have it changed. by the logic of the stories youve heard if you wait until its too late to change your transmission fluid you should never change it. flush it. mpg.1a2ea727baa6819d989681@.nntpaccess.com chas stokes cjs@zuul24.com wrote i have a 90 caravan c/v with a 3.0 and a 4 speed automatic that i personally dont know if has ever had the transmission fluid changed. i would like to get this done as i have probably put 50k on the vehicle myself but i have heard stories that changing transmission fluid after such a long time can cause more problems than it fixes. is this bs or should i just spin the wheel and go for it chas .

From : clare snyder on ca

on fri 28 nov 2003 112204 -0500 tbone fatchance@noway.now wrote those stories are based on the small amount of grit and reduced slipperiness in the old fluid giving the worn out old clutches enough bite to still function for a while. as i said before im no transmission expert but this very thing did happen to my cousins transmission. it was working well but the fluid was pretty old never changed. after he changed it the trans immediately began slipping and got worse from there requiring a rebuild. and you think the transmission would have lived longer without changing the fluid deam on. unless he used the wrong fluid the tranny was already sick and ready to die. the new correct fluid did not cause the problem. .

From : tbone

on fri 28 nov 2003 112204 -0500 tbone fatchance@noway.now wrote those stories are based on the small amount of grit and reduced slipperiness in the old fluid giving the worn out old clutches enough bite to still function for a while. as i said before im no transmission expert but this very thing did happen to my cousins transmission. it was working well but the fluid was pretty old never changed. after he changed it the trans immediately began slipping and got worse from there requiring a rebuild. and you think the transmission would have lived longer without changing the fluid of course it would have. a lot longer who knows but longer than it did with the change. deam on. unless he used the wrong fluid the tranny was already sick and ready to die. no it was just worn out and yes it would need to be rebuilt soon anyway but it probably would have functioned for another year or so. the new correct fluid did not cause the problem. well lets see. the transmission worked ok fluid was changed transmission slipped. seems like it caused the problem to me lol. now i know that the transmission was worn and needed to be repaired but the old fluid did keep it functional and that is the whole point of not changing really old fluid. if the trans is already worn out and has old fluid changing it may cause it to fail completely and wasting the money on the filter and fluid. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving .

From : roy

on sat 29 nov 2003 105757 -0500 tbone fatchance@noway.now wrote it really seems that you cannot see the forest through the trees. i am not saying that people should not maintain their vehicles or that a poorly maintained one will last as long or longer than a well maintained one. what i am saying is that if the trans is already worn out and still has its original trans fluid replacing the fluid will provide no benefit may actually disable the trans and waste your money on the fluid and filter that will be discarded when the trans gets rebuilt / replaced. it is better to either just rebuild it then or let it run until it fails and save your money for the upcoming rebuild or sell it to someone else before it fails. unless you know the tranny is worn out the chances are better that changing the fluid will get you more miles out of it than that it will accellerate the failure of the transmission. over several decades of working on cars for a living i have definitely seen a lot more cases of sick transmissions coming back to life and going many more miles after a fluid change than ive seen transmissions fail after a fluid change. empirical evidence mabee - but overwhelming in my case. licenced mschanic since 1971 wtf!!! you dare to claim practical experience and application as a basis for an answer stand away from the keyboard now!!!!!!!!!!!!!! gbmfg roy .

From : jlchas stokes

my 02 ram 1500 quad cab seems to have a bit of a problem starting when it is hot. on two occasions it would not start until i guess it cooled down after about 20 min. it started after i took it in for service and two recall fixes. any ideas the dealer cant figure it out they adjusted the shift linkage. .

From : chas stokes

says... its way overdue for a service with band adjustments and fluid / filter change so just take it to a reputable independent shop and have it given a good once over. truth. chas .

From : chas stokes

fair enough i have no real opinion either way. i was just explaining the justification over the statement and saw it happen myself. i have no problems with the tranny and the fluid is clear red and unburned. i am just not sure if it has ever been done. i was talking to the previous owner yesterday and he was telling me that the tranny was replaced at 60000 or so and he could not remember if he ever had it serviced. it is now at 187k. this group is a perfect example of what i was talking about. some people believe it will hose it up to change the fluid while others believe it will help. chas .

From : budd cochran

its way overdue for a service with band adjustments and fluid / filter change so just take it to a reputable independent shop and have it given a good once over. -- budd cochran in tribute to the united states of america and the state of israel two bastions of strength in a world filled with strife and terrorism. ------ fair enough i have no real opinion either way. i was just explaining the justification over the statement and saw it happen myself. i have no problems with the tranny and the fluid is clear red and unburned. i am just not sure if it has ever been done. i was talking to the previous owner yesterday and he was telling me that the tranny was replaced at 60000 or so and he could not remember if he ever had it serviced. it is now at 187k. this group is a perfect example of what i was talking about. some people believe it will hose it up to change the fluid while others believe it will help. chas .