Ok so I ordered Amsoil ATF fluid with a WIX filter thinking I would do this myself. Now I'm not sure I want to deal with the mess! I have 118K miles, just bought the truck used so not sure if the tranny has ever been service but I want to change it over to Amsoil, so I want to make sure I get all the old stuff out.

If I take it to the local oil change place they will use the machine to flush all the old fluid out, is this a good or bad idea?

Should I use the local Dodge dealer or a quick lube place?

 

That many miles I would change filter and have front band adjusted also. I have heard horror stories about quick lube places. As a matter of fact I have changed several engines because they forgot to put the oil in.

 

not that bad... drop some cardboard on the ground to catch any spillage... I did it with only minimal droppage... I have a pretty big catch pan though...

but overall not as bad as I expected, if you slowly drop each bolt off the pan holding it level and easing it down once free... having 2 pairs of hands would be better...

 

If I change it myself the biggest issue I have is how do I get all the fluid out. I assume I need some machine to pump it all out. How does the dealership do a complete change/flush?

 

Don't worry about getting it all. Just drop the pan and get what you can out. change the trans filter. Then replace pan and refill with whatever your brand of ATF+4. Amsoil is fine.

Then get on a schedule of say every 20-30K miles. You might even want to change the fluid sooner the 2nd time around just to dilute the old with the new again.

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I thought I saw someone posted a few weeks back on how to pump down the TC also???

 

If I do it that way then I'm leaving about 10qrt of old fluid, to me it seems pointless to even change it out if I'm leaving that much old fluid. I just bought the truck used and have no idea if the fluid has ever been change and would like to flush it all and start with fresh Amsoil and get on a schedule that way.

 

I think I saw a post that says you take off the return line first, put it in N and let the pump, pump out as much as possible then drop the pan and change the filter. I've never changed tranny fluid before so I was not sure how hard this really is, or messy!

 

The advice im offering is what my 30 year Transmission builder gave me. It doesn't matter if you don't get it all out. It will replenish the additives in the old stuff too.

I wondered the same thing too. He said don't worry about it. It won't get all of it out....but it gets enough out. Then get on a schedule.

He also said do not flush. It can loosen up debris in the trans and clog things up and cause problems. ESPECIALLY if you don't change the filter.

Mine gets changed every 20k....with new filter....and always comes out looking like new.

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Yep thats the one,,,,, didnt seem to bad from what I remember reading....

 

If you do it that way than make sure you have someone standing by pouring new fluid in as you pump the old out, you don't want to run it out of fluid. Personally this method is too involved, with too high of a chance of damage, dropping the pan and changing the fluid in there as "TexasCTD" said is much easier.

 

I just changed my transmission yesterday for the first time at 60K and what a pain in the butt it was! Mainly because I hadn't done it before and I didn't have a transmission plug (but I do now!). Anyway, the service manual states that a complete transmission flush will take 12 quarts.

I spoke with several transmission experts who also agreed with others on this forum that you do not need to get all of the old fluid out. I followed the instructions in the service manual and removed the bolts on the side as well as the ones in the back. I then "attempted" to drop the front portion of the pan slowly to let the fluid drain out......right. What a mess! Anyway, I installed an oil drain plug and changed the transmission filter.

It took 7 quarts of fluid total to get it back to the max hot level on the dipstick. The fluid looks great. If I really wanted to I'd drain the pan again through my new drain plug instead of having to drop the pan again . This way only about 1/4 of the old fluid would remain but I don't think I'm going to do that. Having just done this, I wouldn't recommend taking the return line off of the transmission unless the old fluid didn't look right. Just my $.02.

 

I changed the fluid in the pan on Monday, and surprisingly didn't spill any fluid anywhere. I found that the key to staying clean is to change the fluid with the truck sitting on a slight slope, or positioned at an angle. That way the fluid will go out one specific end of the pan and not just out all sides like if the truck was on flat ground. Another key is patience, don't just unbolt everything as fast as you can. Give the fluid a few minutes to drain out and don't start going "gung ho" on the pan until the fluid flow has changed to "hardly a drip".

While a drain plug would be nice, I didn't really see the need for one when doing it this way. I'll just wait for when I replace the entire pan with an aftermarket one that will hold an extra 2 quarts.

 

I've done both the complete exchange (16 qts) and just pan (6 qts) without any mess, just buy a 10-gallon plastic tote from Walmart ($3.99), position it under the pan and drain away. Put the lid on the tote and take it to the oil recycling center when you're done.

Oh, and a fluid exchange is different than the much maligned power flush, as an exchange isn't done with extra pressure- just normal pump pressure. I understand the power flush is bad because the fluid is forced through at a high pressure and that's what may break loose debris that can lodge in unwelcome places.

 

That is how I ended up changing mine, not messy at all, never spilled a drop until I took the filter off, going slow was the key, just loosed the bolt until it started coming out. I found some pads at Wal-mart for .25C I put 3 of them under the tranny and they soaked up any spill, they worked great.