A Good Question if you have got an automatic transmission: I recently had the transmission in my Chevy Impala (51,000 miles) power flushed at a local Goodyear dealer. The technician told me it was not necessary to also replace the filter since the equipment they used (Wynn’s) would also clean the existing filter. I went along with this explanation. Now, in mentioning this to my very knowledgeable mechanic, he told me I was given bad information and wasted my money since the filter would still have retained contaminants. What do you say? — A.G., e-mail
Answer: I’d agree that you received poor information from that technician. But I don’t believe you wasted your money. Just so you know, there’s no way to flush contaminants out of the filter with transmission flushing equipment. But, I’m a believer in power flushing the transmission with the proper flushing machine, especially when the old fluid is mildly discolored. That’s because the old-fashioned method of servicing the transmission fluid involves removing the transmission pan. This method only removes about one-third of the fluid in the system and the other two-thirds remains in the torque converter and transmission cooler. The best way to remove all the fluid is by flushing. END.
But, you do need piece of mind, go ahead and have the filter replaced. To do so, the transmission pan will need to be removed.This will obviously add to the bill. Is it worth it? A few more bucks having the pan lowered and inspected, and having a new filter installed is priceless. Regardless of the fluids color and condition, it is possible to have a major problem occurring that may be fixable. If the pan is not lowered and inspected, you have no visual way to prove it.
More concerning is the fact that you will experience a major transmission failure from this irresponsible action, prematurely, causing the need for one of our good used transmissions for sale, as opposed to a repair if said problem is found early in the failure process. Trust me on this, get the filter changed too, or go somewhere that will.
