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Two Fluid Flushing QuestionsShoud the transmission or power steering fluid system be flushed outThis weekly Q&A session answers your questions about cars and trucks. This week explores a couple of flushing questions, one transmission and one power steering.
Question: Transmission Fluid FlushMy transmission fluid is very dark and most likely dirty as well, should I make an appointment for a transmission fluid CHANGE? Or do I need a transmission fluid FLUSH? And how much do you think the price would be for each project, approximately? Thank you... Answer:The only ones who recommend you get a transmission fluid FLUSH are the people who make the transmission flush machines and the shops who buy them. As has been stated many times and in many places no automotive manufacturer recommends a transmission fluid as a regular service. In fact General Motors, Chrysler, Ford and most of the import manufacturers recommend AGAINST it, going as far as voiding the new car warranty if it is done. All that is recommended is a regular automatic transmission service which entails dropping the transmission pan, replacing the transmission filter where applicable, draining the torque converter where applicable and refilling with fresh, new automatic transmission fluid. A simple service like this usually runs from $59.95 to $159.95, depending on the year, make and model of vehicle. On most vehicles it is a very easy Do It Yourself job which can save you over half the cost of having a shop do it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Question: Power Steering Fluid Flushing.When do you need to have the power steering flushed? We have a 1995 Toyota Camry V-6 with 140,000 miles. Our shop recommends it, but we never heard of replacing the power steering fluid, much less flushing it. Thank you, S. Gilkey Answer:Again, as in the Q&A above, the only ones who recommend you get a power steering fluid FLUSH are the people who make the power steering flush machines and the shops who buy them. If the fluid is dirty looking the most you need to do is get a turkey baster and suck out as much power steering fluid as you can from the power steering pump reservoir and replace it with new power steering fluid. You can do this a couple or three times if needed, running the engine for a few minutes between each. You can use either power steering fluid or automatic transmission fluid, both work equally well in the power steering system. That's all for this week. Feel free to browse the archives for past topics and other resources. And, as always, if you are stuck and need an immediate answer you can always call Vince on the phone.
The copyright of the article Two Fluid Flushing Questions in Auto Tech & Repair is owned by Vincent Ciulla. Permission to republish Two Fluid Flushing Questions in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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