It looks like the link old_school posted is the correct process. Flushing with a machine that forces fluid through is bad because it knocks all kinds of crap out of the filter and then forces it through the transmission.

 

Thanks, Old_School. I previous found this link: http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars...enance/1272521 It's pretty close to the procedure recommended in your link. Here's the part where they talk about the purge: "...attach a small hose either to the line connector or the radiator outlet in order to collect the ATF. Put the hose into the largest jug you can find, and let the engine idle until air starts spurting. Many professionals enhance this procedure by pouring a few quarts of fresh fluid into the dipstick tube at roughly the same rate that the old fluid is coming out, thus adding flushing action." My main question is, which is better. The method above, which includes running it "until air starts spurting" seems like it would get more of the old stuff out, but I wonder about the risk of damage to the tranny. The method in the dodgeforum seems safer, but might leave a bit more of the old fluid mixed in with the new. Do you have an opinion on which would be better?

 

You guys are really looking way too deep for such a simple repair.

Just drop the pan. Let fluid drain. Reseal. Pour in new fluid. Drive 5k miles. repeat. Drive 5k miles. Repeat. Drive 100k miles.

It’s really not THAT complicated unless you want it to be.

The fact is, a power flush isn’t as bad as people make it out to be. The machines are made and used at shops all across the nation. What causes damage by a power flush is if there is abnormal wear inside the transmission and a large enough chunk makes it way into a large hole to **** off a sensor or friction point.

Take the internet with a grain of salt guys. The online forums for automotive world is more negative than positive.

How many people will come online to write up their complaint about a power flush? 10 out of 1,000.

How many people will come online to write up their awesome performance from a power flush? 1 out of 1,000.


..now in terms of using the wrong fluid. Yep. Flush it out. But don’t make it complicated.

 

Thanks PublicHair. I thought about using that method, but the problem, by my way of thinking, is that it would leave a larger % of the old fluid in there than the full purge, even after repeating it a few times. Each time, I’d be draining out some % of good with the bad, leaving a large % of the old / bad fluid in there. I consider that I have 100% “bad stuff” in there now: 9 quarts of old, 5 quarts of unapproved fluid. The first time I drop the pan and replace 5 quarts of good ATF+4, I’d still have 65% “bad stuff” there (9 quarts out of 14). On the second time, I’d still have 40% bad stuff, and by the 3rd pass, I’d still have 25% bad stuff in there. I hear my old calculus professor’s voice ringing in my head: “You can asymptotically approach 0% bad stuff, but you can never reach 0% bad stuff”. By purging it from the start, I would immediately have 100% ATF+4 in there. The pan-drop and repeat method seems like more work, but more importantly, runs with a larger % of bad fluid for a longer time: 5K miles with 65% bad, 5k miles with 40% bad, and 100k with 25% bad. Someone else in another forum (I don’t recall which one) created an Excel spreadsheet to show this type of calculation. I didn’t download it, but it probably did the same math that I did here. Sorry to make it seem more complicated than it needs to be! Of course, after that college calculus class, I switched majors from Engineering to Business, so I could be wrong!

 

Negative. You won't drain only out a small amount. The bulk of the fluid is extracted by the drop of the pan, you know, where most the fluid sits when off. Just like motor oil...

Lets throw common cense in there. When do you check your oil? When motor cool and off where oil settles.

Transmission fluid same way, tho some require luke warm or operating temp in either park or neutural, due to natural expansion of fluid or proper thickness.

Running a different fluid doesn't equal instant death. It will take many many miles to wear down parts due to improper fluid type either due to velocity or additives (or lack of)

 

I still think purging is the best option here. That other fluid certainly isn't designed to work with ATF+4, so who knows what it might do. The less of it in there the better.

 

I've never personally done the tranny fluid swap on this vehicle, so I can't speak from experience, but everything I've read says that dropping the pan does not drain what's in the torque converter, causing only 5 to 7.5 quarts to be drained. Before researching this, I had assumed the same thing that you are saying, but most posts I've seen say otherwise. When you've done your pan drop, how much do you collect? My Haynes manual shows that a drain & refill takes 5 quarts, but the full capacity is 9 to 14 quarts, depending on the model and options. Since I have the tow package, with the tranny cooler, I assume that I'm on the higher end of the 9 to 14 quart range.

 

Your lucky hydra hasn't seen this yet, he will strongly disagree on that.

 

PupicHair, your flat wrong on your analogies!


Yes you should have taken it directly to the Dealer to ensure it was completed correctly using the right FTF+4 fluid. Purging is the only way to get all that fluid out. You have to drop the pan, filters then refill and purge.

It says right in the owners manual, do not use multi-vehicle ATF, however this fluid is Allison C-4 recommended which is a plus IF and I say IF they used the NEO Synthetic brand version. Basically, Allison C-4 compliance is much higher than that of ATF+4, so in all actuality your fluid could be just fine.

I am currently still using Mobil One ATF Fully Synthetic which is NOT ATF+4, http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/...hetic_ATF.aspx it's basically the same thing as what is in yours. Trans has been doing great, knock on wood. The difference most likely could be the oil base of being Hydro verses Polly. Mobil One uses Polly which is a hell of a lot better base oil, Royal Purple and a few others use the same. Being the pour point on yours is much lower I suggest the base oil in the fluid you currently have is only Hyro Cracked, which would actually still better base oil than OEM ATF+4. My question to the shop is, what exact name fluid did he use? Was it Fully Synthetic?


There is only about 5-6 quarts in the pan and filters, the rest is in the torque converter, lines, and coolers. Only changing what's in the pan is only half if your lucky. Purging is the only way to go to remove fluids both bad or burned....Just say'in!

 

Thanks for the info, hydrashocker. Actually, I did which is why I only use a Chrysler licensed ATF+4. I took it to a new mechanic, and he added the multi-vehicle fluid.
He used "Performance 500 HiVis MVP ATF" which, based on the product sheet he sent me, appears to be from GP (General Petroleum). The product sheet wording is almost identical to the NEO fluid, but the test specs are not identical, so it may be produced by the same manufacturer, but with a different formulation. I could not find this product sheet on the web; I only found another product from GP, with a similar logo, so again, I can't be sure. I have a phone message from the distributor who supplies the fluid to the shop that I used, so I should know more later today. My question for you is even if the stuff is fully synthetic, and / or a better base oil, what about the friction modifiers? I've read in other posts that the Dodge trannys are very particular about the amount of modifiers - too much or too little in the multi-vehicle formula could cause slippage or shudder. What's your opinion on this?