drain and fill question

[not on the rug]

i was planning to do a few drain and fills on the tranny and was just wondering how many you guys usually do. i know you can only get about 4qts out at a time, so i was thinking of doing 3-4 drain and fills. does that seem right? also, how did you guys do it? do you do it once, then drive around for a few minutes, then do it again, and keep repeating? do it once a day for a few days in a row? does it even matter?

[skinny2]

I would recommend planning to do one drain and fill and then decide if more is needed based on the condition of the fluid. I did my first one at 60k and the fluid looked and smelled fine so I left it alone. I just did the second drain/fill last week now approaching 100k miles and again the fluid looked to be quite good so I again only did the one. The transaxle fluid however was very dirty and stinky both times.

[smj999smj]

I just get a gallon jug of Valvoline Maxlife ATF and do a drain and fill every 30000 miles.

[ShipFixer]

I just get a gallon jug of Valvoline Maxlife ATF and do a drain and fill every 30000 miles.

For the transmission? I thought it was like 13 quarts?

[smj999smj]

You will only drain 4 qts. when you do a drain and fill. The rest will stay in the torque converter and the rest of the trans, along with the cooler lines, coolers, etc. If you want to get more than that, you will need a trans fluid exchanger (sometimes referred to as a trans flush machine). This is the same as most automatic transmissions, except some Fords which have a drain access hole and plug for the torque converter.

[Captain]

When you did yours trans refill did you fill from the dipstick tube?

[disallow]

yes the dipstick tube is the correct filling location.