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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 150
CEG\'er
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OP
CEG\'er
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Posts: 150 |
are there potential dangers in changing the atx fluid yourself? specifically, my uncle said that if you let air into the system it messes up the tranny... is this a job i could do safely the 'hose in the bucket' method or should i be SCARED?  Thomas 95 LX v6
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Joined: Jul 2000
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Hard-core CEG'er
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Hard-core CEG'er
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I've always done the basic drain, fill, run-5-minutes, drain & refill. Takes about 4 Qts. per fill. Easier than changing oil. Mobil 1 or other synthetic fluids (Mercon compatible) will hold up better. I like the blue trick shift fluid. Snappier shifts and quicker down shifts. The hose & bucket is tough to do by yourself.
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Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 472
CEG\'er
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CEG\'er
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 472 |
if you have any type of tranny problems youll soon find out, if not you should be good to go, what is the history of changing fluid?? how many miles, you should change every 10-15k, do it in the spring, so going into the hotter summer months you will have fresh fluid
96 gl sport, atx, rip at 95k
FDNY 343 remember 9/11
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 150
CEG\'er
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OP
CEG\'er
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im afraid the previous owner beat the sh*t out of this 'tour. pretty sure she didn't change atx fluid for far longer than 10-15k. car had 84k when i drained it (4 qts) a few months back but i've been wanting to do a complete flush... what do u guys think: hose in the bucket OR drain, refill, and repeat (a few times)?
Thomas
95 LX v6
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Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 472
CEG\'er
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CEG\'er
Joined: Sep 2002
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drain - refill - drive around - drain - refill, the more you drain and refill the more you change, twice should be sufficient
best of luck to you
96 gl sport, atx, rip at 95k
FDNY 343 remember 9/11
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 150
CEG\'er
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OP
CEG\'er
Joined: Aug 2002
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thx - and what atx fluid would you guys recommend for my car?
Thomas
95 LX v6
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 21,653
I have no life
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I have no life
Joined: May 2002
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i'd drained/refilled mine with 12qts of mobil1. i noticed it was slightly easier to get into gear. hope for even better results when i drain/fill again in a few months.
98.5 SVT
91 Escort GT (almost sold)
96 ATX Zetec (i brake to watch you swerve)
FS: SVT rear sway bar
WTB: Very cheap beater
CEG Dragon Run - October 13-15
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 17,248
CEG road warrior
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CEG road warrior
Joined: Aug 2001
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I just get mine flushed by someone qualified every 20K...because I beat the crap out of my car. 
Hector
2003 Rally Red Mitsubishi Evolution VIII
257HP/259TQ
2005 Lapis Blue Mazda 6s
RET: 00 Cabernet Red Ford Contour Zetec ATX SUPERCHARGED
160HP/141TQ
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Hard-core CEG'er
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Hard-core CEG'er
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Drain and fill is one of the best way to dump money and not do a good job. It'll take way too much fluid to complete change the fluid in the tranny using the drain and fill method. I opt for a complete machine flush, or at least a ghetto flush. A proper flush can get 99% of the fluid while a drain and fill can only change 70% of it.
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 1,336
Hard-core CEG\'er
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Hard-core CEG\'er
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Originally posted by AirKnight:
Drain and fill is one of the best way to dump money and not do a good job. It'll take way too much fluid to complete change the fluid in the tranny using the drain and fill method. I opt for a complete machine flush, or at least a ghetto flush. A proper flush can get 99% of the fluid while a drain and fill can only change 70% of it.
AirKnight is correct here ... think about it for 2 minutes and it will all fall into place. Just for easy math, let's assume the car's tranny takes 12 quarts of fluid. To make things round out, let's assume that when you "drain" the transmission, you can only drain and subsiquently refill only 4 quarts at a time. Now, let's assume that your fuild is 100% burnt and definitely in need of a draining/flushing. Using the drain/run/refill/repeat method would work as follows:
100% burnt fluid, 1/3 of which is removed and diluted with 100% pure fluid. This leaves roughly 67% burnt fluid. Now, if all the old fluid stayed sperated from the new, this method would work and you would have 100% new fluid in after 3 drain/refill routines. However, when you run your car, you are turning the Torque Converter, which is doing a pretty good job of mixing the new with the old.
So, second drain and refill result in NOT draining 100% burn fuild, but diluted 67% burnt fluid ... so on and so forth. You will NEVER exchange 100% of the burnt fluid with this method, NEVER. You will merely be diluting the mix. Kind of like how we used to do in high-school with the parents liquor collection 
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