Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting transmission oil change?

Does sticky shifting suggests a transmission oil change? 98 GL, with 80,000 miles. As I don't know much about cars:
1) Does a transmission flush worth it?
2) How much would it cost?
3) Will it do any damage to the transmission?
Thanks!

I take it we're talking ATX? A flush would cost roughly $100. If you've never had any flushes or ATF changes, I don't know if I would recommend starting at 80,000. The CD4E needs to be maintained regularly, just like the engine. Flushing this late in life could cause deposits in valves to be flushed out. Some of these deposits may be filling gaps and holes in the valve body, and once they're flushed away problems could develop. This isn't always the case, but there have been more than a few reports of people's ATX dying within a year of getting a late-life flush.

sorry, my fault, it's manual. Does it need a flush?

Nope, there's really no way to "flush" the MTX-75. Just drain and refill, like the engine. The only difference is that to fill, make sure the car is level and fill with fluid until it starts spilling out. That's when you know you're done. Different years of the MTX-75 require different amounts (2.1 as opposed to 2.7 qts) but "fill-till-spill" will always work.

Thanks so much for the information.

Will the 'drain and refill' on MTX-75 help? Same risk as you described for ATX?

I don't know of any risks in changing the MTX fluid, although someone else may know... MTX's don't have valve bodies and all that other stuff that can fail. If you're having problems shifting, your synchros may be starting to fail, but a fresh change of fluid along with some friction modifier (check the FAQ section) should help. Once the search function is back up and running I would suggest looking through the Transaxle forum for discussions on different fluids and their effect on shifting; there's some really insightful stuff there.