Need Help?

1989 Chevrolet 3 4 Ton Pickups Base Fleetside 131.5

1989 Chevrolet 3 4 Ton Pickups
Do you own this car?
Estimated Mileage
 Miles
Enter current mileage for most
accurate info about this vehicle


Track Your Service Records
Get Recall Alerts
Get Updated Value Estimates on Your Car.

back to question list

Ask the Community

Ask Our Auto Mechanics


January 21, 2013, 11:48 am

Allen L
 

Question: Need opinion on changing automatic tranny fluid


This vehicle has a 305 engine with automatic transmission. 4wd. It is mainly used as a plow truck around the farm. It has about 250k miles on it now. I got it at an auction several years ago. Generally it is running good. Every once in a while I will think it shifts odd or "hard"..mostly it does good.

Anyway...I have no idea when the last time the tranny fluid was changed. Anyway...lots of guys on line say at this point not to change the fluid because it will hasten problems coming. Other guys say change but don't "flush". And others say it really doesn't matter.

I'm leaning towards changing, new filter, but no flush so as not to "shock" the system.

Thoughts?? Goal here is to keep truck running as long as possible without a rebuild. If it broke down now I would probably rebuild. If I could get it to work another 3 or 4 years....and many more miles...I may skip it and put the plow on something else.

Thoughts??


January 26, 2013, 8:24 pm

Ron W
Expert Mechanic

I would recommend you change the filter and transmission fluid. I don't recommend flushes.

And it is true that sometimes when you service a transmission that hasn't been serviced in a long time, they can fail. It's not from the service, you just removed the gunk that was holding it together. The transmission would have probably failed anyway, cleaning it out just made it happen slightly quicker.


0/0 users found this helpful.

Ask our panel of certified auto mechanics a question. We pay for their advice so you don't have to



My Auto Score

See the free AutoCheck score

Meet The Experts
Kim Perrin
Kim Perrin is our resident mechanic here at DriverSide. Kim worked as…
Tyler Orr
Tyler Orr is an expert in German and Japanese cars and has been a mechanic …
Elizabeth Kriesten
Elizabeth Kriesten worked as an automotive technician for several years at Dodge…
Tips on Servicing

Car Brakes: How Do You Know When to Change Them?

By Zach Bowman For those who suffer a daily commute through heavy traffic, your vehicle's braking system can bring thousands of pounds of metal, plastic and empty Starbucks cups to a stop hundreds of times before you get to work. It goes without saying that these pieces wear out, but they do so slowly, meaning you may not notice they need attention until ...

Read more…