What You Need to Know About Transmission Fluid Changes

The transmission fluid is a very important part of your engine. Without the proper levels of transmission fluid in your car, you will experience all kinds of problems. Additionally, if the transmission fluid is not changed periodically, you will experience problems. Some people have come to believe that transmission fluid is something that never needs to be replaced. While it does not need to be changed as often as oil does, it is still very important to check and maintain clean fluids in your car..

The schedule by which to change your transmission fluid will differ between manual and automatic transmissions. Every 30,000 miles is a very good suggestion for all drivers regardless of whether they own an automatic, or manual. Those who are heavy manual transmission drivers are suggested to get a change every 15,000 miles. Intervals for automatic cars goes up as high as 100,000 miles between changes. There are reasons why you would want to change the transmission fluid more often than that. Because of the long length of this kind of fluid in automatic cars, some believe it never needs to be changed. This is incorrect and can lead to costly repairs.

The problem that you will run into with it is the build-up of metal particles. These particles will float through your engine and build up in different components causing you other kinds of problems. The money you saved on not changing the transmission fluid will seem like a drop in the bucket compared with the price of replacing the entire transmission later on. This can be avoided by simply changing the fluid regularly. Keep in mind, automatic transmissions run hotter than a manual does. For this reason, transmission fluid can actually be broken down over time. This will cause the fluid to not lubricate as well which will lead to mechanical problems.

Those thinking about changing their own transmission fluid may want to reconsider as it is not as simple as an oil change. With regular oil, you can utilize gravity to easily drain the car of any oil it contains. It is much more viscous and requires a transmission flusher to get everything out. It is recommended to bring in your car to get this kind of fluid change in order to make sure all metal shavings in the old fluid will be washed away. Not removing all of the fluid can cause you just as many problems as if you did nothing.

Those looking to check the levels between maintenance visits simply need to know what they are looking for. Keep in mind, most manual engines will not come with a dipstick to help you check the fluid level. Those with an automatic transmission will want to either have their mechanic point out the right dipstick, or check the owner's manual. Many will confuse the crankcase dipstick with that of the transmission. Keep in mind, generally the only reason why the fluid level will be low is if there is a leak. If you check your level and it is low, you need to get your mechanic to check out the transmission right away.