[TazTaurus]

Just curious, I normally change my tranny fluid every 20-25K miles and drive half of the time in the city and the other half on highways. Is this interval to long, to short, or about right? Also, does anyone use additives for the tranny like anti-slip additives or anything like Auto-Rx???? I've used the Auto Rx stuff for the engine and it's done wonders for it. Thanks in advance!

 

[JCC]

In my opinion this is about right for in town driving and or high load or high speed driving. Expecialy in the AXOD-E. Very dusty would be even more often. Setting aside the transmissions that I know have run 300,000 miles without an oil change or engines running 50,000 or 75,000 by just adding oil. If the oil is not the same color as when it went in, its dirty regardless off the milage.

 

[jj57]

Lubeguard transmission products are some of the best I have seen. And the new Lubeguard ultra platinum is a gold in a bottle. It smooths out rough shifts, all gears naturally flow and the best part has to be if you have a shutter, it stops it instantly.

I put one in at every flush, never a problem, even on my old GEN 2 Sable. Never a transmission problem, and got it at 24,000 miles and sold it at well over 90,000 miles.

 

[jinhopark]

Originally posted by JJ57@Feb 26 2004, 01:43 PM
It smooths out rough shifts, all gears naturally flow and the best part has to be if you have a shutter, it stops it instantly.

What exactly is meant by a "shutter", I think I know what you mean...but please clarify.

Also, is LUBEGUARD found at most autoparts supply stores, or is that a specialty/online order thing?

 

[saerandy]

I did an Auto-RX cycle in my transmission and was pleased. You don't want to run with it as an additive in your transmission though. Just do the cycle & change it out. I am trying to save my transmission & get a lot of milage out of it. It was essentially neglected for 65000 miles or so, so I hope it isn't too little too late.

I am planning on 10000 - 15000 changes from now on since fluid is so cheap, and the change is so easy to do.

Stay tuned. . .

 

[TazTaurus]

Hmmmm, I'm somewhat hesitant in leaving the fluid in for too long so I'll stick to my current schedule. As for the Auto-Rx, is there a special tranny formula or do I use the same stuff that you put into the crankcase? Also, I read about this before but forgot what people said regarding using magnets on the tranny pan to catch additional debris that may have bypassed a cloged tranny filter. thanks for the replies!!

 

[RWeaver]

Man, I'd stick with your 20~25K. That's dead on for your normal driving.

I'd never use an additive of any type. Period! If you think you need something else in there, ask yourself, Why? Then do the research.

Here's what I've found... Regular transmission fluid burns up (turns brown) as it wears out. These Gen I & II (AXOD & AXODE) transmissions run hotter than most production transmissions and therefore, burn-up transmission fluid faster than many other cars. Additives will not keep it from burning up. Only a fluid that can handle higher temps will last longer.

Conclusions... 1. Change the fluid often; 20~25K. 2. Use a trans cooler to help keeps the temps down some. 3. Switch to a synthetic ATF, as they can handle higher temps. 4. Combine either 1 & 2, or 2 & 3.

 

[saerandy]

You run the same auto rx in both, just different amounts & cycle times. When I dropped my pan to change out the filter (I know they recommend a T-Tech, but I wanted to change my filter out as well) I was speechless at the amount of crud on the magnet. It was at least 1/8 inch thick on the magnet. After seeing that, I'm running a magnefine. I also put one on my brand new vehicle as well. Cheap insurance. . . http://www.bulkpart.com/cgi-bin/miva?Merch...ory_Code=Inline

The pan alreadt has a magnet in it, but it has to be cleaned every once in a while.

 

[TazTaurus]

Thanks for the info everyone! Hey Saerandy, is this magnet in my pan? I have a 1990 3.0 v6 with the Axod, I beleive, and the last time I cleaned the pan I don't remember seeing a magnet. Are the magnets just in the later models or maybe I'm just blind.

 

[JCC]

Just blind. However , sometimes people forget to put them back in after a fluid change. There is nothing more agrivating on such a simple job than seeing the magnet laying on the bench after you're done. My '92 vulcan needed a fluid change after a few thousand miles on the used tranny I put in because the original filter was still in it when I got it. The doner car had 90,000+ miles on it, so I am still getting all the buildup out of the tranny.

 

[TazTaurus]

Damn, 90,000 and still intact with the original filter. I'm surprised it still works. Well, if I pull the pan out and don't see any magnets I might drop in a couple small ones. Anyone know the approximate size of these magnets? If so, about how many are there? Any other 1st gen vulcan owners out there that have seen these magnets? I'm not doubting JCC or anyone else but inquiring minds just wanna know!

 

[saerandy]

On the AX4N the magnet is not a small thing. Picture a healthy slice of cucumber. That's how big the magnet is, only it has a hole in the center. Looks like a very large washer.

In the AX4N the magnet sits at the opening of the filter probably to better catch particles before they enter the filter.

Since it is such a pain to remove the pan, and it sounds like you had it off not too long ago, why not just run the magnafine? It'll do all that and more. I'm not exactly sure of the forces inside of the pan when you're going 90 MPH down the highway, but I'd always be concerned that small magnets might dislodge & cause some major problems.

Also, the gunk I had on my magnet was a serious amount. I had a small dent in my pan, so I decided to put a new pan on. The new pan came with a new magnet, so I could just trash the old one.