when doing a v6 auto tranny flush (yourself) for me its easier to pull the return line at the radiator to pump out the atf.. the question is do i need to plug the soft line leading back to the tranny to keep from air getting in? or could i just let it hang while i pump out fluid? thanks guys

 

dang no one? some of you have done this by yourself correct?

 

can just leave one connected to the radiator... there is always air in it, but good question

while you are there, inspect the fittings going to the radiator for the cooling lines, mine broke there ('99) and nearly ruined the tranny (if I didn't catch the leaking)

Otherwise, all I did was this, run engine for a while (until about a quart or two worth of fluid comes out), letting tranny pump fluid out of line into a pan, stop engine, pour in a couple quarts, run, wait, stop, pour in more, run, wait, stop, pour in more, etc .... I did this until it came out nice and red

you can leave tranny to radiator line connected, then run return line (radiator to tranny) into bucket (disconnect where it goes from rubber to metal) that way it forces all the old fluid out of radiator cooler too.

This way is sorta inefficient since it mixes old/new a little I went through about 2X more, but i had coolant in it so it was easy to see when it was clean

also a ton easier to start/stop with a remote start =)

 

the reason why i asked is someone told me not to get air in there.. to me, air wasnt the issue until your pump starts sucking air. then you have a problem. my plan is to either disconnect the return line either at the radiator or like you said at the point where the rubber meets the metal. OR ill have my mechanic use his machine that pumps out one quart at a time then it puts in 1 quart at a time... i may do it myself i just dont want to start/stop the truck so many dang times ya know? i think for a good full flush you need atleast 13-15 quarts.. amsoil is pricey..

 

I didn't plug mine MK....that was however long ago? I'm sure you remember all those posts back and forth before I actually did it!

No hiccups yet!

 

Those "pumps" are just a gravity fed tub on top, with another at bottom... so same thing for you to do yourself

as far as the pump goes, mine sucked out of the pan, I think, so that shouldn't be an issue as far as air goes

 

thats what i thought... dang jerk for making me think otherwise lol... i just remember that part wasnt talked about before (or i couldnt remember lol)... glad you got yours done quattro.. you like that amsoil dont ya? i love the stuff

 

Yupper!!!

Da Amsoil is GOOD

 

Couldnt you have one bucket full of new ATF in the return line, and a bucket of old atf to the other line, and let it cycle until clean fluid runs in the old fluid bucket? Or instead of a bucket of clean fluid, maybe a large funnel, keeping it topped off until clean fluid runs out the other side?

 

you can't use a bucket to "suck" since the pump doesn't suck out of the line, only out of the pan, only thing you can do is a large bucket connected to a hose that is higher than the pan (which is exactly what those "machines" are, they are simply two containers, one up higher)

A funnel could work, but even a quart at a time, the fluid takes time to go down the fill tube, backs up, and leaks where the funnel goes in

 

yeah it can be a messy job fo sho. thanks fellas.

 

What i did was get any bucket. Put and measure 2 quarts of water into bucket. At the water line get a permanent marker and mark the inside of the bucket where the 2qt mark is. So at least now you got a 2 quart tick mark on your bucket. I would have someone in the car be ready to start and shut off car, and let the car pump out till it touches the tick mark and than shut down car. Repeat as necessary. Oh and also buy a 2 ft transmission hose and use that as the outlet to stick into the barrel