trans fluid

[whompinxj]

took a look at my transmission fluid the other day and it was pretty burnt up. I work at a quick lube so it would be free to do a t-tech flush, but i dont know if there will be counter effects afterwards. Or i can drop the pan and replace the filter and seal, which would cure my minor leak. I have about 140000 on the aw4 and my question is flush or pan drop?

p.s, I did drain and refiil about 5 quarts out of the trans about 10000 miles ago, Previous service history is unknown.

[andyr354]

I don't like power flush personally. I just do a regular flush.

I disconnect the pressure line to the cooler and run a hose from it to a bucket. Get a line of bottles ready and have somebody start the engine. Keep pouring oil in at a decent pace. Go until the fluid in the bucket is coming out clean.

Maybe your shop has a fancier way of doing the same thing, but the above has always worked for me.

Andy

[doubledoors]

I wok as the service manager for a repair shop in northern California that services Jeeps and other cars, and I would absolutely recommend that you drop the pan and replace the filter and pan gasket. Once transmission fluid is old and burnt, it loses its ability to properly lubricate, protect, and cool the system.
failure to replace the filter can cause reduced fluid flow in your transmission, and all those miniscule bits of metal shavings in the pan and filter will just stay in the system.
It is much, much cheaper to do the preventative maintenance now and replace the filter and pan gasket, than replace the tranny later.
Best of luck
David

[safn1949]

Yea,replace the filter first and then flush the tranny.If you can afford it synthetic ATF is the way to go,it will run cooler and last longer as well as hold up to heat better.Heat is the #1 killer of trannys:cheers:

[mjma]

don't have it flushed!! my friend did it to his pathfinder cause he's lazy, had to sign a waiver because he has >100k, so he stupidly did. right after the service, tranny seals started leaking!

I would change the filter and install a tranny cooler. the heat of the XJ kills the tranny fluid quickly if you don't have an auxilarary tranny cooler. get the biggest one that you can get!

[lawsoncl]

I wok as the service manager for a repair shop in northern California that services Jeeps and other cars, and I would absolutely recommend that you drop the pan and replace the filter and pan gasket. Once transmission fluid is old and burnt, it loses its ability to properly lubricate, protect, and cool the system.
failure to replace the filter can cause reduced fluid flow in your transmission, and all those miniscule bits of metal shavings in the pan and filter will just stay in the system.
It is much, much cheaper to do the preventative maintenance now and replace the filter and pan gasket, than replace the tranny later.
Best of luck
David

FYI, the "filter" on an AW4 is just a fine mesh screen. Don't waste the $40 for a new one as you can just flush it out with carb cleaner. I don't recommend power flushes as they tend to break crap loose and plug up the valve body. Make sure you use the correct tranny fluid Dexron IIe or Dexron III - not ATF4+.