transmission to flush or not to flush?

[mikejax21]

i have a 95 q45 that has 184k miles on it. the transmission doesnt like to shift into drive right away when its cold. the fluid is pink and doesnt smell burnt but it doesnt smell sweet either.ive been talking to a good friend of mine (mattd1979) and we've been thinking of doing a fluid swap. i know i need 14 qaurts of fluid but i dont feel the m1 fluid is worth the investment, im going to instal and external cooler along with a new external filter. to get to the point does any one think this is going to help? my last q had the same symptoms before the transmission completely lost reverse.

[Skibane]

If it was me, I'd go ahead and do it - particularly if I didn't know the service history of the vehicle.

Reluctance to shift into drive when cold is a pretty typical symptom of worn seals - Essentially, the seals lose some of their flexibility with age, and don't provide good ATF pressure until they warm up. There are seal conditioner additives that can help this problem considerably, but you have to keep adding them periodically - they tend to evaporate over time.

[mikejax21]

thanks for the advice do you have a particular brand of additive that you could recommend?

[Skibane]

I've had good luck with Trans-X.



BG Products ATC Plus would also be a good bet - They make quality stuff.

[mattd1979]

The link below is from what I did with mine.

post4852383.html#p4852383

Below is the additive that I added to the transmission after the drain/fill process.

[Q451990]

Be sure to replace the in-pan strainer/filter as well. If clogged, they can reduce fluid flow and pressure as well. I'd absolutely do the flush and items you mentioned... worst case it still doesn't shift right and you're out the cost of the fluids.

Heath

[mikejax21]

well we did a fluid transfer instead of a flush. now the transmission feels a lot better so hopefully in the morning when its cold it should shift right into drive

[oldmako]

I had mine flushed with a BG machine when I bought it at 108K I took them 14 qts of M1.

After the job was done the tech notified me that the fluid they used was also a terrific synthetic fluid so no need to buy additional (and $$$) M1. So, before you toss out all the extra coin, you might want to quiz the mech doing the flush.

BTW, my trans has given me zero problems and now has almost 210,000 miles on it.

[Q45Owner]

I personally will never do a transmission flush on any of my vehicles ever again. I had one done once on my Lexus LS400 and within a month, the transmission failed. The car had about 90k on it at the time and shifted perfectly before I had it done. Since then, I have ONLY done drain and fills on my transmissions and knock on wood, no issues. I think you run a risk with the flushes, especially if the fluid hasn't been changed in a awhile. I think doing drain and fills are better because you're not messing with forcing fluid through the moving parts of the transmission. It also allows the transmission to adjust to the newer fluid without shocking it (just my opinion of course).

[BadQ45t]

Oldmako, you have a 99' which is a totally different ball game. I think what seems to happen is that if you have regularly serviced and flushed your transmission there is never a harm to flush it. But for cars that are older that have not have had consistent flushing done to them you run into issues.

I wouldn't use a LS400 as an indicator as those had poor transmission's as did early Q's. I have always flushed my auto slush boxes and my 97' is strong as hell and has been flushed 3 times in the 13 years I have owned it, but only have 100k on it.

[Infinitiguy19]

I plan on doing a drain and refill on my Q45's Automatic Transmission every time I do a engine oil change. I change my Q45's engine oil every 3K miles. In a year or so I plan on doing a Manual Transmission swap.

[maxnix]

I plan on doing a drain and refill on my Q45's Automatic Transmission every time I do a engine oil change. I change my Q45's engine oil every 3K miles. In a year or so I plan on doing a Manual Transmission swap.

While this is better than doing nothing, it still leaves 60% of the contaminated ATF in the TC and planetary gears. A true mechanical exchange is indicated with a pan drop, filter, gasket, O ring and one time bolt replacement. Look for a BG shop (www.bgfindashop.com) or a SnapOn garage with the Sun machine, which will also remove the PS fluid as well if it is not brown.