Quote:
Originally Posted by RandomFact314
***Sorry for the typo in the title***
I know many people say to never change your trans fluid but mine is brownish... I do not want to completely change my fluid but cant I atleast drain a quart out and put a quart of sythetic in?
I already bought the sythetic trans fluid b/c these mechanics told me I was short some trans fluid so I got this and put a little in to fill it (even though it wasn't that low)
So is diluting the dirty with new ok?
Changing 1 quart of nasty for 1 quart of new cant hurt  |
Why go with synthetic? How will that matter? It won't make any difference. The fluid that is in the system is non-synthetic, but it is contaminated. Contaminated fluid will ruin transmission components.
Seeing that the fluid is brown, whatever damage that might exist has already been done. Unfortunately it's not a good sign, and changing the fluid at this late stage probably won't help. However, it wouldn't hurt to do it either, because
not changing the fluid just prolongs and guarantees the unaddressed deteriorating condition. The most inexpensive and practical attempt you can make as an attempt towards remedy would be to drop the pan and change the fluid and filter. You will only be changing about half of it, as the remainder stays in the system in the torque converter. But changing half is better than changing none at all, and you can do a drain and refill again in a month to try to keep it clean. If you are lucky you will ward off needing a tranny rebuild, which is a very costly repair.
Most A/T's fail with dirty, contaminated fluid. Some fail no matter what you do, regardless of changing the fluid regularly if the transmission is of inadequate design or prone to failure. But you'll never never go wrong by changing A/T fluid at the first signs of irregularity or deterioration (pinkish, brownish, burnt, etc.). It amazes me that so few people drain and renew their fluid regularly. Changing the fluid only costs a few $$ compared to well over a thousand $$ for rebuilding the tranny.