Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Change transmission fluid in my vehicle.

I've done a few tranny fluid and filter changes and they can be messy. No so much hard but a pita imo. I take my personal vehicles to the shop for the service. For 80 bux or so it's not worth the hassle to do it myself.

thanks guys, This vehicle has been rock solid in the cold Iowa winters, have replaced the battery a few times, never had problems starting. I was wondering about the cold freezing the gas lines also, but didn't think it would only affect speeds above 55 or so...

I may just take it in, I have a guy that has been pretty reasonable on other things in the past, 1/2 price compared to the dang dealers.

Hey, the worst it could be is a transmission rebuild!

Oh wait...

Good luck, Randy!

Can you leave it indoors somewhere overnight to eliminate the possibility of water in the lines? at higher speeds, your obviously drawing more fuel through the lines, so if there IS anything in the lines it could interfere with the flow. If you could eliminate that fact...it has been colder this winter I think.

140,000 miles?? Ya, you're past due Randy. I change mine at 30,000, but I'm anal about fluid changes. 60,000 is probably just fine, but 140,00 is way too long (in my opinion). I'd run it to a shop and have them do as Jay mentioned. Have them change the pumpkin fluid while they have it on the rack. Fluids also contain cleaning agents. It's pretty important to stay on top of that. The bands start slipping after they get gummed up. The Servo starts acting up as well. I hate working on auto trainies. They are a pain in the but...

If you do take it to a shop, make sure they don't sell you on a straight flush. They need to drop the pan and change the filter.

Adrian, it does sit in our garage all the time, but it is not heated. I would think at 55mph your drawing less gas, less rpm's and your in the D gear, compared to when your accelerating faster in 1, 2, 3, etc. at higher rpms's? I could be wrong. I can tell you when I step on it, the V6 has plenty of ummmf, and it appears to shift down and has no problem, just at cruise speeds. I think the problem is the tranny or rear end, not sure...

Sounds like it would be messy, heck sometimes when I change the oil I'm messy. I'll probably run it to my mechanic friend, it treats me right..

Frozen fuel lines, is a bit of a stretch, the higher fuel pressure pretty much alleviates any issues, unlike carbs with only suction drawing the fuel up the lines. Just in case their could be some moisture in the line you can try some gas line antifreeze just make sure it is fuel injector safe, the old stuff used to eat the o-rings on the fuel injectors etc., on that note a fuel injector clean might also be wise, as they can get gummed up and dirty over the years causing some surging as well.

Didn't get a chance to check the fluid levels/color this morning but did drive it into work. Around 55mph cruising speed, light pressure on the gas peddle (I'm not flooring it) is when you feel it, especially up hills. I think I even felt a little ruffnous (?) or it didn't seem as smooth at the D gear. The Rodeo is a 4x4 vehicle v6 and has L, 1, 2, D Automatic transmission. I'll call my mechanic today to see what he charges to drop the pan, drain everything, replace the filter, etc...I tried tapping the break quickly, but I don't think that helped...

Today it is supposed to hit 55F (crazy for early February in Iowa), so anything that would be frozen in your vehicle should melt today if left out in the sun.

I have never understood why people change fluids without installing a new filter, I've seen guys do oil changes and re-use the old filter. If me or anybody else is going to change any fluids anywhere on my vehicle that involves a filter, the old filter is coming out and a new one will be going back in regardless of the mileage.