4EAT ATF drain and refill questions

[peter]

So it seems that my 98 Legacy has some torque bind issues. Im gonna try replacing my ATF and see if that will help because even though it was drained last February and only has 13000 miles since then I checked it today and its brown and smells like burnt electrical. I talked with the guy at Oil Can Henrys where I had everything done and he said its fine and that its normal for Subaru ATF to be like that and it only gets bad when its black. He said he would cut me a deal and do another drain and refill for $50. I think Ill just do it myself cause I highly doubt they would do a complete drain and refill 2 or 3 times to get most the old fluid out unless they charged me extra.

So what would be a good ATF to go with, should I drain and refill 2 or 3 times, and is it really as simple as just unscrewing the drain plug and refilling to the right level?

[xoSubieLegacyxo]

I'm changing my ATF fluid this weekend. I found this link that really helps. You should need approximately 4 quarts with a filter replacement, and yes its just draining the fluid out of the plug, and a couple of bolts to remove the pan. I' going to write a detailed DIY for future reference. Here's the link I found!
How to Change Automatic Transmission Fluid in a Subaru Outback (http://www.ehow.com/how_4519925_change-automatic-transmission-fluid-subaru.html)

[bulldozer24]

Also get a can of seafoam trans tune and poor half of it in and drive for about 5 miles so it can clean every thing before you drain it.

[dodik]

well the link you provided tell how to replace entire fluid not just 4 quarts iirc there is more in the tranny mine takes about 9 quarts i think. the difference is if you just drain from the pan you only draining whats in the tranny body itself which should be between 3.5-4.5 quarts and you have to put that much back. when you disconnect a line like in the link you will empty torque converter and all the lines and cooler as well this will be a lot more complete flush. dont know if second method damages anything but my mechanic taught me that trick a while ago.

[peter]

A DIY would be great, I was hoping there would already be one somewhere here but no such luck. And I had heard somewhere that filter replacement wasnt necessary, and that some models have and external filter and others one you can only access by removing the pan, so Im still slightly unsure about that

[peter]

Heres a similar article for flushing, http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/maintenance/1272521

but I have heard that flushing can be bad especially on older or high mileage transmissions, so idk if I want to risk it and go that route or just drain and refill

[xoSubieLegacyxo]

Heres a similar article for flushing, http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/maintenance/1272521

but I have heard that flushing can be bad especially on older or high mileage transmissions, so idk if I want to risk it and go that route or just drain and refill

how would it hurt the transmission? It would be the complete opposite and help it spin much easier. Because the Transmission Fluid helps lubricate the parts inside. Don't see how it would hurt it, unless you go from a synthetic to a normal brand. Then you will destroy it!

[ubar legacy]

Heres a similar article for flushing, http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/maintenance/1272521

but I have heard that flushing can be bad especially on older or high mileage transmissions, so idk if I want to risk it and go that route or just drain and refill

how would it hurt the transmission? It would be the complete opposite and help it spin much easier. Because the Transmission Fluid helps lubricate the parts inside. Don't see how it would hurt it, unless you go from a synthetic to a normal brand. Then you will destroy it!
ive heard that with flushes, you run the risk of getting stuff clogged in passage ways

[Huffer]

Don't bother with a trans flush - they force fluid through and if the machine hasn't been properly cleaned prior to your vehicle you may end up with deposits AND/or fluid that is incompatible with your transmission.

BTW, if you have torque bind, you can try draining and refilling your fluid with OEM grade fluid, and throw in a red bottle of LubeGard ATF Protectant. If torque bind is gone within 100miles of doing this, you will be number 15 on my list of fixed vehicles with LubeGard.

:)

[peter]

Don't bother with a trans flush - they force fluid through and if the machine hasn't been properly cleaned prior to your vehicle you may end up with deposits AND/or fluid that is incompatible with your transmission.

BTW, if you have torque bind, you can try draining and refilling your fluid with OEM grade fluid, and throw in a red bottle of LubeGard ATF Protectant. If torque bind is gone within 100miles of doing this, you will be number 15 on my list of fixed vehicles with LubeGard.

:)

Exactly why I want to avoid going to a shop and doing a flush. And I had already planned on doing the lubegard after you mentioned it in a previous post.
I am still slightly confused, if I do a drain like mentioned in the 2 links above is that still fairly safe and it drains completely right? And if I just used the drain plug I would have to do multiple drains and fills

[Huffer]

If you have torque bind I usually recommend a 2-drain+refill process, adding the lubegard in the 2nd refill, or if you are feeling a little more spendy you can use 2 bottles of Lubegard - one at each refill.

[loganmossmusic]

Don't bother with a trans flush - they force fluid through and if the machine hasn't been properly cleaned prior to your vehicle you may end up with deposits AND/or fluid that is incompatible with your transmission.

BTW, if you have torque bind, you can try draining and refilling your fluid with OEM grade fluid, and throw in a red bottle of LubeGard ATF Protectant. If torque bind is gone within 100miles of doing this, you will be number 15 on my list of fixed vehicles with LubeGard.

:)

Actually, it will be 16. I used your advice to someone else awhile ago and fixed a friends 4EAT. Still surprises me that it works that well, but Im not about to complain about a cheap, effective and long term transmission fix.

[Huffer]

^^^ whoohoooo!!!