If you search “overlooked car maintenance” online, you’ll notice that nearly every list includes transmission fluid changes. Despite the transmission’s importance to vehicle performance and longevity, it’s out of sight and out of mind for most motorists – until they’re staring at a $3,000 repair bill. This post will answer the question: “Why change transmission fluid?”
Video transcript: Transmission Maintenance: What You Need to Know
Featuring John Gardner, ASE Master Certified technician, automotive technology instructor and host of Motorhead Garage, with AMSOIL Director of Product Marketing Len Groom.
John Gardner: Transmissions are complex machines, and with that comes a hefty price tag if you have to repair them. Welcome to this AMSOIL tech tip. Here’s a fact for you. You know routine fluid service and maintenance can prolong the life of your transmission?
That’s definitely a fact. And we believe in that here at Motorhead Garage. Here’s a maintenance schedule, and you can see everything that’s going on with all the maintenance. And right above there, you can see the actual transmission.
You can see it at forty-five thousand miles, ninety miles, and one hundred thirty-five thousand miles. To maintain that transmission is important. Now, how do you maintain it? Well, you can see it right here.
There’s a filter in the pan down there. There’s an actual gasket in an oil pan. It has to flow through there to the pump. I’ll show you that in a minute.
But this is not an instructional video, but we’re gonna actually show it to you as we go. Here’s how we did it. We actually removed the bolts. I like to do them from the back to the front.
Leave a couple in the back so you can tip it forward so you don’t take a transmission bath. All that fluid drains out, then you just pop the filter out, put the new one in, make sure it’s popped in there well so you’re not sucking any air causing any problems, then install the bolts on torque them to specification, but check your service manual. Every transmission’s a bit different. But, Len, we’re all about maintenance and service here at Motorhead Garage.
Why is it important to service a transmission?
Len Groom: Well, the fluid will degrade over time just from using it. As we talked about earlier with the transmission, the way that it works, it’s tough on the fluid and you can get sediment and debris and clutch material that that builds up in there. But the fluid itself has to deal with a lot of heat and a lot of stress. So it has to be have a very strong building block, so the base oils are important. The additive mix, it’s very important so you don’t get varnish and you don’t get buildup in the valve body. In fact, the Signature Series product can actually stay in there two times longer than the manufacturers recommend in severe service situations.
John Gardner: And that’s huge because we’re talking about wearing on the clutch packs. We’re talking about varnish on the valve bodies. And you guys right here, I wanna show you this. If you see this magnet right here, this is actually off a car.
Man, that is goopty goop. That needs to come out of there. So make sure you service your transmission. Check them out on the website.
You can buy directly from there or go find one of their representatives. You wanna make sure you change your transmission fluid.
Prevention is Best Practice
It’s easy to understand why.
Most people direct mental energy toward things that require attention, not to things that are working properly. I bet you don’t think about your water heater or septic system much. But they demand full attention once you step into an ice-cold shower in the morning or your basement floor suddenly feels squishy.
Human nature isn’t the only factor working against us.
The original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are making it easier than ever to ignore transmission service with the popularity of “filled-for-life” transmissions and differentials today.
Some OEMs don’t even include dipsticks or access plugs for checking or changing fluids. That sounds great to some motorists. “I don’t have to change or even check transmission fluid? Perfect.”
More Power = More Damaging Heat
The problem is, modern vehicles are tougher on transmission fluid than ever.
The OEMs are in an endless arms race to produce more power than the competition. All that added power has to pass through the transmission before reaching the wheels, yet modern transmissions are smaller and lighter than their predecessors.
They also use lower-viscosity fluids to help boost fuel efficiency. That translates into thinner fluid protecting against intense heat and wear inside a transmission that handles more power. This adds up to increased heat, and heat is one of the transmission fluid’s biggest enemies. It speeds the oxidation process and causes the fluid to chemically break down sooner.
Fluid that has broken down causes sludge and varnish to form, which clogs narrow oil passages and can lead to stuck solenoids. Soon, your vehicle can begin to shift hard, hesitate or quit shifting altogether. Unfortunately, that’s when many motorists finally start to pay attention to transmission maintenance.
