I have been told by quite a few people on this forum and others, every time you change your oil drain your tranny and refill until it starts coming out clean and only use Dex/Merc III.

 

Nah. Every 30,000 miles for standard use and every 15,000 miles for severe duty use. Drain and fill only.

Let's not start going overboard here.

 

That will take ten years to get clean fluid? He is saying his fluid has anywhere from 5 years to 300,000 miles. If that is the case he is probably ready to get rid of all of the old and get new. I would do it every oil change until I was draining clean fluid.

 

I believe that the drain and fill process that cruiser is referencing is a series of drain and fills over a short period of time. The theory is that you are essentially doing a nearly complete transfusion of the fluid without yanking off the pan or doing the dreaded flush. Search this site and you'll see full documentation of the process. It will take maybe a couple of weeks.... Not a couple of years.

 

Cruiser said every 30,000 miles, I said exactly what you said? Did you read my original post?

 

I believe the 15000/30000 mile interval was in reference to how often you perform the short period series of drain and fills. You advocated what sounds like a single drain and fill at each oil change, which could be as few as 2 per year.

My advice to the OP is to search this site and find this common technique that has been explained countless times here.

And, as much as I like arguing with ppl to prove a point, this one is not entirely mine so I will let you have the last word if you want it.

 

Personally I would NEVER flush a transmission! If I thought that something like that was required and knowing what I did about the XJ's I went to a transmission shop and had them change filter and fluid. It did have a small leak at the pan after about 800 mi. and I took it back in and he removed the pan and redid it again this time no leak.


In my mind "Severe Duty" includes off road and over heating the trans fluid not to the failure point but hard wheeling the same for oil. I never go over 1,000 mi. in the XJ between oil changes, oil and filters are cheap and mine isn't a DD either.


Each to his own but as they say "An Once Of.........."

 

Thanks everyone for the replys. I wasn't expecting so many people to respond to my post. I was never of really thinking of going to jiffy lube lol but I do see what everyone is saying by flushing it. Should I buy crappy trans oil and drain the old stuff and put the new stuff in and drive it for a couple days then drain again and fill with some high quality trans fluid? and I would change the filter anyways if im gonna drain it. I've never changed tranny fluid but I def don't wanna spend 200 for some mechanic I don't know to do it. Getting fluid in face is worth 200 bucks lol ha.

 

Lol, I don't really consider having a discussion and trying to help someone arguing?

What I have read about how to do this is every time you change your oil, 3000-5000 miles, every few months which ever just drain the tranny fluid and refill. Each time I have done this it has taken about two quarts. And when your fluid comes out looking clean then you are set. The FSM recommends draining tranny and refilling every 30,000 miles. Once you have done this enough and the fluid is coming out clean then you go on what the fsm says and every 30,000 miles drain and fill.

Please, by all means correct me if I am wrong because I am doing this wrong then.

To original op, I wouldn't put anything but what the fsm recommends in the tranny, Dex/Merc lll.

 

Schedule A:


Drain and refill automatic transmission fluid every 30,000 miles or at 24 months.


Schedule B:


Drain and refill automatic transmission fluid every 12,000 miles.


Fluid is Dexron III/Mercon


I would recommend not going beyond 12,000 miles, or less.


However, I see no problem draining and refilling the trans at engine oil changes. And draining and refilling the TC at the same interval. Unless, of course, you're too lazy to do it or too cheap to buy the ATF.

 

Oh for crying out loud. That's the factory recommended interval.

Use your God given senses to SEE the color of the fluid and SMELL the fluid.

Who needs an interval like every oil change at this point just because we read about it on a forum?

 

Yup....

 

How come it seems the later AW4s only took 2 quarts on a drain and fill and the Renix era took 3.8 quarts?

 

I'm currently in there on my 98 for a solenoid job and just took the filter off, but I was amazed to find this in the bottom opening. Any clue as to what it is? I'm guessing perhaps this is why the speedometer isn't working perhaps, but honestly I'm not quite sure. Owned this thing for a couple weeks so far and trying to get it all sorted out to get inspected and tagged.

Thanks.

 

I bet you're right!!

How dirty was the screen otherwise?