Transmission Fluid Change Subaru Forester
Cav
Forester every 30,000 miles. This seems a little too often. What do
you Forester owners advise? What about synthetic fluids, are they
worth the extra cost? How many quarts of oil should I purchase? Do I
need to replace the transmission filters? Gee that is a lot of
questions!! Thanx!
Cockatoo
I can't think of a good reason why you would not follow what's in the
manual, the specifications and quantities are there for you to plainly
see.
David Hutchens
about half of it out. I think the owners manual states only the total
capacity. I drained mine into an empty container (6 or 8 quart I think) and
measured it with a cheap plastic 1 quart measuring cup as I put into my
recycling container. I don't remember how many quarts but that may vary
anyway. Two dealers told me that the filter wasn't supposed to be replaced
and since they didn't stock them and they were about $50 I took there word
for it. Good luck.
Cockatoo <bu...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:3B58D6D7...@hotmail.com...
D Heath
the system, but only what comes out of the lower pan when you remove the
drain plag. My service man says about 4 quarts is what comes out. He too
said the filter is NOT part of the change and is not necessary to replace
each change. What the change accomplishes is to renew the fluid with about
45% new fluid added to the used. Thus the 30K miles recommendation will
still not fully renew all the fluid, even after 60K, since you will be
removing some of the new and the old at the next change point. The
cumulative effect of "frequent" changes is supposed to properly care for
your transmission. As Cockatoo says, it's probably best to assume Subaru
knows what their vehicles need. After all, we bought these things because we
think they know what they are doing, right? Hopefully that is a safe
assumption, though of course, noone knows it all. (I only am accused of
thinking I do. :-! )
--
Off to ride the mountains, Dale Heath
"David Hutchens" <dhutc...@triad.rr.com> wrote in message
news:vV667.120429$ih.23...@typhoon.southeast.rr.com...
Edward Hayes
transmissions than I can afford. I change every 30,000 miles and use
Mobil 1 synthetic. The change is 4.0 quarts +/- 0.2 qt. Use a new
gasket as recommended. ED
Cav <hoaxc...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:6d71f841.01072...@posting.google.com...
Jim Untch
to Mobile1 synthetic...Brian Fistler had some good posts regarding d.i.y.
fluid changes. Here is a repost of the procedure for completely changing
your ATF to synthetic...hth...Jim
Well, finally got around to replacing the transmission fluid on my 98
> outback with synthetic fluid. (Redline's D4 ATF) BTW, I thought the
shifting
> was awfully smooth before changing the fluid, probably the smoothest in
any
> automatic car I've driven... Well, it's even smoother now, especially the
> 2nd to 3rd gear shift while under moderate acceleration.
>
> Thought I'd give a few pointers incase someone else would like to give it
a
> try.
>
> I didn't want to simply drain the fluid from the pan and replace, because
> that leaves about 1/2 of the "dino" fluid still in the lines, cooler, and
> torque converter, so to get it all (or as close as possible) drained out
> here's what I did.
>
> Supplies:
> at least 10 quarts of ATF fluid (I used 12 quarts to make sure
everything
> was flushed well.)
> 5 feet (give or take) of 3/8 inch fuel line
> 1 crush washer for the drain plug. About 50 cents from your
dealer.
> 1 hose clamp to fit 3/8 inch hose. (You *shouldn't* need this
item, but
> after dropping part of the existing hose clamp, loosing
the little washer
> on it somewhere in the frame area, and having to drive
another vehicle up
> to the parts store to get a replacement clamp, I'd
definitely recommend
> having this extra part on hand before you even start.
It's what I'd call
> a 68 cent insurance policy.)
> 1 "transmission funnel" These are the "long" funnels (about 18
inches in
> my case)
> that you can put into the hole where the dipstick goes,
and still have the
> funnel reach above all the hoses in that area.
>
> 1. I took a 5 gallon bucket, added 11 quarts of water to it to get a
> "reference point" and marked the bucket. Then dumped the water out and
> dried the bucket. I used 3 gallons of ATF fluid (12 quarts) to make sure
> everything was fully flushed out, the capacity to fully change the fluid
is
> only 10 quarts.
>
> 2. I drove the car a few miles to warm everything up, parked it, and
removed
> the drain plug from the transmission pan and drained it into a 6 quart
> container I use for oil changes. (The plug is easily accessible by
reaching
> under the car from the driver's side. The plug is nearly straight in from
> where the mud flap is. (Just slightly to the rear.)
>
> 3. I dumped this fluid into the bucket I marked earlier. (FYI, it was
> approximately 5 quarts of fluid that drained from the pan, although I
didn't
> measure it exactly)
>
> 4. The idea is to disconnect the transmission hose coming from thee
cooler
> (in the radiator) and let the transmission pump the new fluid through the
> transmission, torque converter and cooler, pumping the old fluid into the
> bucket, and the new synthetic fluid throughout the transmission... To do
> this you need to figure out which of the two hoses goes to the cooler, and
> which one comes *from* the cooler... 2 hoses, 1 choice... I figured that
> meant I had a 10% chance of getting it right... well the 90% won out, so I
> re-attached the line, and tried the other one...
> The lines are "relatively" easy to access on the driver's side of
the
> vehicle, along the fender area, about 12 inches or so back from the
> battery... There is a metal bracket with two metal lines attached. The
> metal lines make a 90 degree turn towards the engine where they have two
> hoses attached to them. The lines are arranged so one is on top of the
> other. The bottom line is just *slightly* farther back (maybe 1/2 inch)
> allowing you to get to the hose clamp. Loosen the hose clamp, slide it
back
> over the hose, and remove the hose from the metal line. Push the 5 foot
> section of 3/8 inch gas line over the metal line, and run the line over
the
> fender and into the 5 gallon bucket that already has the mark, and the
fluid
> you drained from the pan.
>
> 5. Put the drain plug back into the transmission.
>
> 6. Add about 9 or 11 quarts of transmission fluid through the funnel
into
> the transmission.
>
> 7. Start the car, with parking brake firmly engaged. The fluid will
begin
> to pour out of the "gas line" you have in the bucket, rapidly filling the
> bucket.
>
> 8. While the fluid is pumping through the system, shift to reverse for a
few
> seconds, then drive for a few seconds, back to reverse for a few seconds,
> etc, so that all the different passages through the transmission get
flushed
> with the new fluid.
>
> 9. When the fluid gets to the 11 quart level on the bucket, turn the
engine
> off.
>
> 10. At this point, I let everything settle for a minute, to see exactly
> where the fluid was in relationship to the 11 quart mark on the bucket.
At
> this point, all the old fluid should be flushed, and the last quart or so
of
> fluid that came out should be your fresh fluid. I started the engine for
a
> few more seconds to empty out just slightly more than mark, leaving the
> transmission just slightly low by about 1/4 quart. (This was so that I
> could take the car out, drive it to warm up the transmission and then "top
> it off" with the remaining quart of ATF fluid that I had so I could get
the
> level perfectly full without having to worry about "over filling".)
>
> 11. remove the fuel line (I didn't bother putting on any hose clamp to
the
> 5 foot section of hose, since it wasn't under any pressure while I was
> "pumping out" the old fluid.
>
> 12. Reattach the transmission line that you removed, and re-tighten the
> hose clamp. (Or in my case, go to the auto parts store and get a
> replacement clamp.)
>
> 13. Check for leaks while letting the car idle for a few minutes.
>
> 14. Take it out for a test drive, and to get the fluid warmed up to
> operating temperature.
>
> 15. Park on a level surface. Check the fluid level (should be just
slightly
> low) and add the appropriate amount of fluid to bring the transmission
back
> to the full mark.
>
> Note: The transmission is checked with the car in park, engine idling,
> fluid warm. If you check the fluid with the engine off, and it reads
full,
> it will be under full when checked with the engine idling. In other
words,
> if the fluid level looks OK when the engine is off, you probably don't
have
> enough fluid in the transmission. (by about a quart)
>
> Why did I change the transmission fluid to synthetic? I changed it in
hopes
> of reduced wear, reduced varnish buildup, and because synthetic ATF flows
> MUCH better than regular ATF when it is really cold out, and has higher
> viscosity and protection when it is hot.
>
> I did *not* change the transmission filter in this exercise. I've only
got
> about 5000 miles on the vehicle, the filter should not be plugged at this
> point, besides I'm planning on changing the filter and only the fluid in
the
> pan next fall. If you wanted to change your filter, you would need to
> remove the bolts from the pan, change the filter, and replace the pan and
> gasket after draining the fluid in step 2. You would also probably want
to
> put the car up on ramps to do that, but to simply flush the system like I
> did, you can reach the drain plug easily without ramps thanks to the
> generous ground clearance the OB has.
>
> Brian
--
"Cav" <hoaxc...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:6d71f841.01072...@posting.google.com...
Hallraker
that changing ALL the fluid can be harmful in some circumstances.
Apparently, as a car ages, the tranny builds up "gunk" much as an engine
does with oil. According to what I heard, removing all of this gunk can
cause parts to fail or start leaks. It didn't make much sense to me until I
learned that synthetic oil can do the same thing to an otherwise OK engine:
start leaking. Supposedly, changing only part of the fluid twice as often
keeps some of the old fluid in there, enough to prevent the total
"degunking" while still providing enough fresh fluid to operate the
transmission reliably. Again, please note that this is something I heard
several years back, and might be incorrect - I'm just trying to throw some
thoughts out there. :)
OTOH, I was told when I had a complete fluid flush and fill on my Sable that
doing so could ruin my transmission. The mechanic explained to me that
"gunk" might be all that was holding the old transmission together, and that
a flush and fill might remove that crud and fail my transmission. Since the
transmission was slipping worse than in any car I've ever been in, I decided
to take the plunge. Fortunately, it did work, and bought me some time until
I was able to find myself a Subaru. :)
SO maybe there is some truth to what I heard years back. Any thoughts?
-Matt
"D Heath" <heat...@intelos.net> wrote in message
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Reid D. Albee
bucks.
"Hallraker" <hallr...@nospam.hotmail.com> wrote in message
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Rick Courtright
>
> This may be incorrect, so take it with a grain of salt, but I was once told
> that changing ALL the fluid can be harmful in some circumstances.
> SO maybe there is some truth to what I heard years back. Any thoughts?
I asked a friend who owned an operated an automatic transmission shop
for many years. He retired just as the electronic/computerized
transmissions were becoming popular, and worked primarily on American
transmissions, so take his advice for what it's worth.
In essence, he said one should set up a regular change interval (25k
miles was his suggestion) AND change the filter each time, or else DON'T
CHANGE at all. His reasoning was pretty much what Matt said: you keep
the fluid at a reasonable level of cleanliness by changing regularly,
but changing on a high mileage or neglected trans can break loose a lot
of crud. Not that the crud is "holding together" the internals so much
or sealing leaks as that it breaks loose and clogs passages in the valve
body or sticks in the clutch packs, causing all kinds of damage.
My sister's Explorer's trans recently went out, and the rebuilder told
her the same thing my friend said, so I guess the advice is still good.
Rick
Rick Courtright
>
> I have a bridge between Brooklin and Manhatten I will sell you for 500
> bucks.
Ah, the old "sounds like" game? Trickeeeee.... For the bridge between
"Brooklyn" and "Manhattan" $500 would be a steal... where's yours,
again?
Rick
Edward Hayes
will cost big bucks in a fairly short time. The same rule applies to
engines. If you have a gunked engine and change oil with new
detergents you will break loose all kinds of stuff. I experienced this
when I purchased a used car with ~ 50,000mi on it. I changed oil and
filter and within 3000 miles I had stuck lifters and an oil burner.
Edd
Rick Courtright <rcour...@iname.com> wrote in message
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Hallraker
had been run on dead jurassic park oil, and I didn't want to hassle with
staining the driveway with leaks, or potentially breaking loose a chunk of
something that could damage my engine. I'm just sticking with high quality
dino oil, I like the Valvoline Maxlife because it ridded me of an
intermittent oil burning smell that used to pop up once every 100-300 miles.
-Matt
"Edward Hayes" <Hay...@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
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