My inlaws live in Kannapolis. Im about three hours away from them in Summerville, SC.

 

aha. 4 hrs away. got it. i even have a cousin there. ga freshman receiver AJ Green is from there. yep, someday, i can drop the t off on my way to the beach and pick it up on the way back...

 

actually, if you get a truck with higher miles, and you, or the previous owners have no momory of ever getting the tranny serviced, it is better to leave it alone. fresh fluid can be thinner than thick old nasty fluid, causing clutch slippage in autos.

 

Which is exactly what happened to me and this experience is what prompted me to post what I did.

When I got my truck, it drove and shifted like a champ. I did what any new used vehicle owner would do when I got it home: I changed all the fluids. The tranny fluid was still red but it was very dark red with little black particles in it. I thought I was doing something good. After changing the fluid, not 10 miles later, the slipping started. 2 weeks later, I'm dropping 2400 for a rebuild. If I had left it alone, I'm sure it would still be going now without issues.

 

Nope. It has nothing to do with the viscosity of the fluid. Your explaination actually sounds quite silly. Transmission fluid is basically hydraulic fluid, they share many similarities. In transmission fluid there are additives and detergents, to keep moving parts clean and the valves free. If you get a transmission with over 100k on it and no one has ever serviced it then the old fluid has lost all of the detergents and additives, they are all used up. So now all your left with is old basically hydraulic fluid.

When you do a flush service on a high mileage unit you break loose the crap that has built up in every crack and crevis in the unit. This crap floats around and hangs valves or clogs up the cooler lines.

If you do a simple pan drop and filter change and just add in new fluid to replace what came out of the pan you will help the transmission.

Please stop perpetuating myths. I have never built a transmission that was serviced properly.

 

Geez what are you? A professional transmission technician??

 

MonteC, it would be great if you could post up a list of mods and best practices that would help the longevity of our 46RE's. I know my previous owner did a transmission flush service before, but going by what I'm reading here, I don't think I want to risk that again.

 

x2...excellent idea. This forum needs solid tranny advice more than anything.

 

EXACTLY!! I was hoping after 4 pages somebody would post this, otherwise I was gonna have to...I personally dont believe in doing flushes, because it WILL knock losse all the crap and thats when things go bad. Just drain the fluid, replace the filter, and replace the fluid.

May be different between gassers and diesels, but you should look into aftermarket torque cnvertors and maybe a valvebody if you do alot of towing. The factory convertor on diesels is one of the biggest reasons they go out.

And I have $7500 in mine...

 

No, but i did stay in a holiday inn express last night.