to change the fluid or not?

[Sigpros]

My son bought a 97 4cyl auto ranger. I am pretty sure the fluid has never been changed. It is pretty dark. I have heard for years if it wasn't ever changed not to do it. Then I have read to change it. What do you guys recommend?

 

[Blmpkn]

I'd leave it be

 

[Ranger850]

Same ^^^
If it shifts fine, leave it alone.

 

[Sigpros]

ok thanks it has 145K on it. definitely don't want to mess it up. I have only done a filter change once and ended up putting a transmission in a week later

 

[RonD]

I disagree

The anecdotal stories of having problems after changing Automatic trans fluid is just that anecdotal, word of mouth

Here is where the stories come from
Someone has a problem with transmission and changes the fluid, doesn't help of course but then trans breaks down, so it MUST be because fluid was changed
No, it was because the transmission was already broken

If your fluid is dark then you probably have a heat issue, slipping, but you just can't feel it yet
Changing the fluid/filter won't help but.............if the new fluid gets darker fairly fast you will know there is an issue


It's the same as changing the engine's oil, never heard those anecdotal stories about that causing engine failures, how come?
Because people would think you are nuts, lol

No different for automatic transmissions, if the fluid gets too hot for too long its chemical structure changes, and it gets dark
So change the fluid and filter, just like you do on the engine

 

[Shran]

The problems people run into are mostly related to the power flushing machines that force fluid through the transmission to clean it out and in the process stir up a lot of crap in the process. Best practice for the average person is to get a pan with a drain plug - install that and a new filter, refill your fluid, drive it a week or two, drain & refill again, repeat one or two more times if you like. That will remove virtually all of the old fluid.

If it fails right after you change the fluid, it was going to fail anyway.

 

[ekrampitzjr]

I agree with Shran on this. Change the fluid. A good shop that has the machine will drop the pan, replace the filter, top the fluid by whatever was lost when dropping the pan, and then use the machine to change the fluid. Any crap in the pan should have been removed while changing the filter. I suspect some shops use the flush machine without actually dropping the pan and changing the filter, so the whole thing takes less time.

 

[sgtsandman]

I agree with the above. Change the fluid and filter as a drain and fill. Do not do a flush. The fluid a lot of places use is a "universal" fluid instead of the proper spec for the vehicle. I also recommend the idea of getting a transmission pan with a drain plug or getting one installed in the pan you have. Transmission fluid changes with pans that do not have a drain plug can be very messy.

Now for the part to take or leave... In the Honda SUV world, when fluid is found to be that old, I/they recommended a triple drain and fill to get as much of the old fluid out. Drain and fill with a filter change. Drive it around some, like to work, the store, or whatever. Enough to get the transmission to go through all the gears and cycle the fluid through the whole valve body and torque converter. Then do another drain and fill. Drive it again and do a final drain and fill with a filter change. 99% of the time, the reported issues, if there was any, went away and never seemed to come back.

Also, like mentioned above, if there is a physical issue due to the previous neglect, this won't fix the problem or prevent it but if you are lucky, you may have dodged that bullet by doing what should have been done multiple times before you got it.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Another one for change the fluid.

 

[Sigpros]

Thanks guys. Any brand of pan with the drain plug? The fluid is dark and the power steering fluid looks like old engine oil. So we need to change it too. This will be my sons daily driver. He’s 16 at the end of the month and ready to have the little truck going

 

[sgtsandman]

Thanks guys. Any brand of pan with the drain plug? The fluid is dark and the power steering fluid looks like old engine oil. So we need to change it too. This will be my sons daily driver. He’s 16 at the end of the month and ready to have the little truck going

It depends on the year and what transmission it has. What is offered out there varies. You might be able to find a steel pan with a drain but most are aluminum from brands like PPE.

The best I can tell you is to do an internet search and see what comes up. Another option is to look up the bung and either have it welded into your existing pan or order a new steel pan and have it welded on. Size and thread pitch is wide open to whatever you want in that case and it would be a cheaper option.

As far as the power steering. Yeah, I would change that out too. You’ll have to look up what fluid it uses. Most use some form of transmission fluid. My 2011 uses the same fluid as the transmission, which makes it nice and convenient. Changing it all out is a bit more of a pain and I’ve never seen a listing on how much the system holds. I would figure that two quarts would do the job. I suck the old fluid out of the reservoir and refill with fresh fluid every three years to prevent introducing air into the system. You would probably have to do that a number of times before the fluid looks pretty new over all. Change the reservoir fluid and drive it around and repeat until it looks good.

 

[rubydist]

I am with the guys who say not to change it. I have personal experience with Ford auto transmissions that worked fine before the fluid change and shortly after quit working. The stories are real, regardless if others believe them or not.

 

[19Walt93]

I worked at a Ford dealer for 42 years and built all our transmissions for about 5 years before I was "promoted" to service manager. Change the fluid doing a drain and fill with a new filter, then repeat after a few hundred miles of driving. Use Motorcraft fluid unless it calls for Mercon/Dexron II(which I beleive a 97 does), in that case I'd use Valvoline because they have a Mercon/Dexron III. Avoid "universal" fluid and don't have it flushed unless you're going to do a drain and fill with a new filter immediately afterward. Clean fluid will harm nothing.