Trans flush - the dealership said do not do it.
 

I just dropped off my 2011 F250 6.7L with a local ford dealer for a transmission fluid flush and coolant flush. The service adviser told me they recommended not flushing the transmission since it has high millage (281k). Does that make sense to anyone here?

a Ford flush consist of changing all the fluid and nothing more the name "flush" gets peoples imaginations going, it should just be called a "fluid exchange machine" so what was his alternate suggestion? do nothing?


and does the service advisor daily drive a Prius ?

also whats the tranny service been this far ?

Some people think at that mileage the fluid has particles in it which might be keeping your tranny alive and "filling in the voids" and new fluid will bring up issues that weren't there. I think it's insane they said don't do it though. It's your truck, you're paying for it.

Well - they said they can not do a normal fluid exchange. They said their machine would "only" allow them to back flush the fluid with chemicals that are intended to remove any oxidation in the gear box (which I also don't understand why that would be needed since... well oil and daily usage. The guy probably drives a 2019 base model mustang from what I could tell ;)

No idea on the service history if any. It isn't acting up/ slipping. It does make some odd shifts some times due to my Mini Maxx tuner that is in there, but if I set the tune to stock or "tow", it is very predictable. That's not a mechanical problem though.

I was just as surprised to hear the dealership say it. It's a torque converter and a gear box. As far as I am concerned, the oil needs to be replaced.... :S

More often than not changing all the fluid via a special machine or just multiple drain and refills on a high mileage unit exposed issues and just caused customers to blame a failing unit on the person/organization that changed the fluid

It could just be personal experience but the dealer is just trying to be cautious. I would never in a million years drain all the old fluid out of a trans with 281k. its a ticking time bomb at that point and im wagering if he moves through with a complete fluid exchange he will have issues sooner than later.


[COLOR="Black"][/See my words in red. Its a general rule of thumb hat saved MANY folks from replacing the transmission or rebuilding when dealing with high mile units. You and other may not like or agree with the mindset but again im coming from personal experience and there are always exceptions to generalities but I would highly discourage the complete fluid exchange of high mileage units unless you have the coin/time for a new/rebuilt unit soon enough. But if you are a gambling man I say go for the flush, heated fluid exchange, vacuum whatever they use and keep us updated, just don't be mad or surprised if you experience issues soon. COLOR]

No I totally agree. It's just funny because dealers will typically do whatever as long as the customer is paying and it's rare for them to offer good advice lol. At that mileage though I wouldn't probably do one either.

if they are using chemicals and doing a "back flush " they are not using an actual ford heated flush machine IMO and that may be since in my understanding Ford did not force dealers to buy this equipment ( that's why many don't offer the service at all )

that dealer probably services a lot of brands but no one is forcing them to add chemicals

personally, i would not let them touch my transmission

My dealer told me the same thing and I was only at 100K. I told him to do whatever but I wanted fluid and filter changed.

Shows how much he knows. The first service interval in the owners manual is 150k.