100,000 Mile Transmission Flush and Service Questions

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

WildernessJeep

Full Access Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2013
Posts
110
Reaction score
15
Location
Houston, TX
Dealing with a 2005 Yukon Denali AWD, with 110,000 miles. The FSM says that at 100,000 miles I am supposed to flush the transmission and change the transfer case fluid. I'm cool with the transfer case fluid, that's just a drain and replace. I can't imagine the transfer case has a filter.

I know that about 1/3rd of the fluid is hung up in the valve body on most transmissions, and that a simple drain and refill generally won't get it. Plus, I have to change the filter too. Is this something that I should take to a shop for? I know that they advertize a "hot flush", but really don't know how hot fluid flushing would be any different from the new fluid once it is warmed up.

Opinions??
 

Sasquatch

Full Access Member
Joined
May 3, 2009
Posts
1,249
Reaction score
387
Location
Orange County N.Y.
A lot of guys here agree that a flush isn`t a good thing to do. It may change all the fluid but in the process it stirs up debris that could cause problems later.

I changed my trans fluid with this method and it worked great.

http://www.truckmodcentral.com/forums/f63/how-flush-your-transmission-gmt800-gm-truck-4699/

The only hard part is dealing with the shift linkage bracket, It blocks you from dropping the pan. They`re blind torx bolts and in my case i couldn`t get them loose so i just bent the bracket to get the pan down.
 

kschumake83

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2013
Posts
122
Reaction score
7
Location
Orefield, PA
Do not let them do a pressurized flush on your truck.

Its easy, drop the pan and change the filter. After that don't do anything until you remove one of the oil cooler lines. Put about as much new fluid in the dipstick tube as what came out of the pan. Put the transmission line in a pan and start the truck until about 2 quarts come out. If the line starts shaking stop. Fill 2 quarts into the dipstick tube again and repeat until clean fluid comes out.

There are much better write ups than that out there, I just gave you the nutshell version.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
 

Wake

Full Access Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2012
Posts
418
Reaction score
20
Location
Stafford, VA
Trans Fluid Change.

I had one flush in my life on a car 15 years ago, it cost me the tranny not too long after that.

What I do now is change out the trans pan with a drain plug pan and change the pan fluid every other oil change. Right at 5qts came out of the deep pan on my 02 Trailblazer (same 4L60E trans). So it was pretty easy to change out the fluid that way.

You only get around 1/3 of it out this way but doing it so frequently dilutes the old stuff in there. Putting on a pan with a drain plug also makes the filter changes at 50K miles much easier as well.
 

kschumake83

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2013
Posts
122
Reaction score
7
Location
Orefield, PA
+1 my Pontiac had a similarly designed fwd trans and I had it flushed by a shop at 34000 miles. By 36000 I only had 1st gear left. That's why I put in my disclaimer in before my previous post.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
 

scottg918514

Full Access Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2010
Posts
341
Reaction score
5
A lot of guys here agree that a flush isn`t a good thing to do. It may change all the fluid but in the process it stirs up debris that could cause problems later.

I changed my trans fluid with this method and it worked great.

http://www.truckmodcentral.com/forums/f63/how-flush-your-transmission-gmt800-gm-truck-4699/

The only hard part is dealing with the shift linkage bracket, It blocks you from dropping the pan. They`re blind torx bolts and in my case i couldn`t get them loose so i just bent the bracket to get the pan down.

This, if you want to flush a trans, should be doing it from new. Don't flush a trans after 100k. Drop pan, change filter and replace as much fluid as you get out. Then after 10 k, pump and replace as much as you get from dip stick. Then again after another 10k. After that should be good for another 60k or more, just depends on if you tow or not.
 

Xshooterx

Member
Joined
Jun 20, 2013
Posts
51
Reaction score
0
So what do y'all recommend for a 60,000 mile tranny. Pressure flush, flush like the link posted earlier, or just change filter and replace what comes out of pan?
 

kschumake83

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2013
Posts
122
Reaction score
7
Location
Orefield, PA
The link posted earlier, I would not do a pressure flush on a gm trans unless I wanted to kill it. If you keep up on regular maintenance you will never need to do more than that. I would actually do what Wake suggested after flushing it good with the method in the link. Doing 5 quarts every so often would seem like the best route to go.
 
OP
OP
W

WildernessJeep

Full Access Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2013
Posts
110
Reaction score
15
Location
Houston, TX
Well, I just hauled a Jeep around Colorado for a week, and drove to Mexico, so I'll do the full flush. This transmission has never filled me with a ton of confidence. It is kind of clunky and occassionally misses a shift (although I have never had a problem under load). Some of that may be transfer case and AWD system lash, but I'm gonna try to take care of the transmission the best I can.

I'll report back once the project is done, and let you guys know how it went.
 

livingez_123

Full Access Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2013
Posts
1,796
Reaction score
109
Location
Sandy, OR
Stay away from the quick lube places, they will trash your trans with the system they use. AAmco says at 100k the electronics should be replaced it includes the shift solenoids and the TCC solenoid and the MAP sensor. it's a tune up for your trans.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
129,070
Posts
1,809,880
Members
92,135
Latest member
Cbrpilot2
Top