What is the key to a long and successful Automatic Transmission life. Maintenance is the key to keeping your automatic transmissions internal parts soft and supple and happy, such as gaskets, seals and components we term hard-parts and soft-parts. These parts are very sensitive to heat, mileage and the time between maintenance’s.
Whether you have new car or you just put a used transmission in your car, don’t discount the importance of maintenance. In fact if you install a good used transmission it is wise to do a “service” immediately, therefore establishing a starting point for your used transmissions maintenance schedule.
Any replacement transmission purchased from a reputable company can be a great replacement for a broken transmission. However, buying a used transmissions and not knowing the last time it was serviced makes it a good idea to service it right away, that way you have started a maintenance schedule to go by for your tranny.
Maintenance schedules vary from brand to brand or from the age of the vehicle. We also need to consider the type of usage your vehicle will experience, meaning is it a work vehicle, a grocery getter or general transportation with an occasional trip to the feed store where you may buy some hay and feed and other heavy items. Transmissions produce lots of heat, so making sure they cool properly is a key ingredient to long life, especially when put to the test.
Cars built from the early ’90’s use a synthetic based transmission fluid from the factory. Synthetic automatic transmission fluids (ATF) withstand more than twice the heat of a conventional ATF.
To make it simple, request synthetic ATF, it costs more, however, it lasts longer and your transmission will last longer. A quality ATF has all the additives it needs, usually about 25 additives are mixed in to a light 10 or 15 weight oil.
As a general rule if you drive about 20,000 miles per year than I would suggest changing your ATF and transmission filter once a year. If you drive over 20,000 miles a year but it is mostly highway driving, 40,000 miles is a good interval, if it is a work vehicle than it depends on how hard the vehicle works.
In most work vehicles the ATF and filter should be looked at and changed about every 12000 miles. On the other end of the spectrum, if you drive less than 12,000 miles per year just change the ATF every year. The importance of yearly maintenance in low mileage vehicles is to remove condensation that builds up in the ATF. Simply put, you should drive enough to get your transmission hot enough to burn the condensation out of the ATF. You can always go for a 50 or 60 mile ride to get your tranny hot. Yes, it takes that long for the trans. to heat up all the way.
GotTransmissions.com has one more important suggestion. If your car overheats, because the ATF cools through the radiator, it is mandatory to change the fluid. This is because more the fluid will become damaged from the engine being overheated. The engine and transmission are bolted together. The radiator and the cooling system needs to be checked and fixed too.
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