Warning about power flush machines

[monolec]

Howdy All,
In case anyone is thinking of getting their auto trans. power flushed be aware of the 2 types of machines out there. #1 has it's own motor and pump and will destroy your trans., happened to my brother with his '98 GMC and his wife's '96 Caddy. This machine over-powers your trans. pump and a part in your t. converter. Brother was told that since it took 4 weeks for the part to fail it was not their fault. Cost to each vehicle was $4.00 for the part and $1000.00 for labor. At this time I had my truck scheduled at a local shop for a power flush from factory fill to L.E.'s 7500 power fluid and his story really got me concerned. I went to the shop my truck was heading to a few days early and told the owner what my brother went through. This is how I learned. His machine has no pump, my vehicle needs to be running so we use my own trans. pump. first the trans. pump is given a pressure test to see if it's eligible for power flushing safely and then it's done. I have nothing but good to report for my experience. My brother got his great service at the local Chev./Caddy dealership. If you know which way your fluid flows you can always do it yourself with a dropped cooling line.

[Husker 6.5]

Howdy All,
In case anyone is thinking of getting their auto trans. power flushed be aware of the 2 types of machines out there. #1 has it's own motor and pump and will destroy your trans., happened to my brother with his '98 GMC and his wife's '96 Caddy. This machine over-powers your trans. pump and a part in your t. converter. Brother was told that since it took 4 weeks for the part to fail it was not their fault. Cost to each vehicle was $4.00 for the part and $1000.00 for labor. At this time I had my truck scheduled at a local shop for a power flush from factory fill to L.E.'s 7500 power fluid and his story really got me concerned. I went to the shop my truck was heading to a few days early and told the owner what my brother went through. This is how I learned. His machine has no pump, my vehicle needs to be running so we use my own trans. pump. first the trans. pump is given a pressure test to see if it's eligible for power flushing safely and then it's done. I have nothing but good to report for my experience. My brother got his great service at the local Chev./Caddy dealership. If you know which way your fluid flows you can always do it yourself with a dropped cooling line.

Oh, definitely. Another problem is the self-powered flush machine will stir up anything on the bottom of your tranny pan and then pump it through your transmission. Those ultra fines then remain in the little nooks and crannies of your tranny just waiting for the fresh new fluid to pick them up and take them to your bands, clutches, valves, and bushings where they wreak havoc and destroy your transmission. My mechanic, who uses the passive machine, drops the pan and cleans it, then does the flush, drops the pan and changes filters, then tops it off. He's never had a customer experience a transmission failure yet.

Good heads-up for the forum, monolec!

Husker 6.5

[monolec]

Howdy, thanks for the positive feedback. Something I meant to add to my previous post and forgot yesterday. If ever you had to suffer the indignity of a catastrophic over-heating episode with your favorite machine and just by chance this marvel of modern technology had an auto trans., did you check the condition of your ATF ? What cools it ? What happens if it isn't cooled? you got it........sludge, varnish, breakdown of oil film strength and depletion of anti-foam and anti-oxidant additives. Sludge is more than just nasty to see and clean, there are quite a few chemical changes happening under heated conditions and acid-forming is a favorite. Need i say what acid can do to the rest of the oil's life or the seals and trans. itself? Just something to think about. Also all man-made compounds used in hoses and o-rings have a " cure point " , the max temp. they can withstand without losing their integrity. It only takes one time above that temp. to begin the breakdown of the material leading to leaking and breakage.