bork Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 From what I gather, for my auto 1999, the dextron III is no longer available. I just got this car & want to do all belts seals, & fluids. If I do a 1 time tranny fluid change out with a cheapy fluid, then put in subaru fluid last change out. (maybe putting on a few miles on cheapy fluid & on cheap filter, before doing the Subaru brand filter & fluid)What is a good cheapy to use? Also I was going to use the 2 bucket method, using hoses off the radiator cooler/exchanger, sucking in clean fluid in one full bucket while the other empty bucket catches old fluid, until clear red. Can anyone tell me which hose pushes & which hose pulls fluid? or direction? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 It will not 'suck in' the clean fluid out of a bucket though. That return line goes to the pan, not directly to the pump suction. Do not let the level get so low the pump sucks air! For 'cheapy' fluids, look for the bulk gallon jugs such as at Advance Auto or similar places. Usually they will say for applications formerly calling for Dexron III or something like that. I would not use Dexron VI, it is thinner than the good 'ol fluid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danbennett2u Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Agreed, to get this changed you will need to do a drain and fill 3 times (does not drain all fluid at once), this seems to be the generally accepted way to do this. I just just the cheap Dexron stuff at walmart. No Tranny issues in several hundred thousand miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike104 Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 For a '99 I wouldn't bother with the Subaru fluid. The consensus on the best procedure is to do three or four drain and refills in short succession. I use the Vavoline MaxLife ATF fluid but anything that is suitable as a Dex III replacement would also work. The '99 probably has an external transmission filter and I would not bother changing the internal one, too many chances for leaks. If you change the external spin on filter (it looks like an oil filter) read this thread and see what filter you want to use: http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/66-problems-maintenance/23762-subaru-transmission-filter-different.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Agreed, to get this changed you will need to do a drain and fill 3 times (does not drain all fluid at once), this seems to be the generally accepted way to do this. I just just the cheap Dexron stuff at walmart. No Tranny issues in several hundred thousand miles. +1 on above, I change fluid as described above. Walmart branded ATF works fine for me. No issues after using it for several years. Suggest driving minimum of 5-10 minutes between changes. The trany dip stick from low mark to high mark is only a pint. Pour in slow intervals, and check level on dip stick between pours, as it is very easy to over fill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 You can unhook the line to use less fluid to get a nearly complete change than draining multiple times; that's normally how I do it. It just won't suck fluid from a bucket in the return line. You have to say overfill by a quart, then start and idle until 2 quarts pump out, then shut down and add more fluid a few times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bork Posted December 1, 2011 Author Share Posted December 1, 2011 Big Thanks !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 You can unhook the line to use less fluid to get a nearly complete change than draining multiple times; that's normally how I do it. It just won't suck fluid from a bucket in the return line. You have to say overfill by a quart, then start and idle until 2 quarts pump out, then shut down and add more fluid a few times. OK so which hose do I disconnect for the "outflow"? I'm not sure how this is more effective. What is to say that the fluid added from the dipstick stays "unmixed" with the rest of the fluid? Can someone explain the anatomy of the fluid path? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarl Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Since all the oil should circulate through the cooling system (i.e. not stay "pooled" anywhere) I would expect the mixing to be very small. I would certainly expect less old ATF than what you get after the 2nd or 3rd drain and fill (*) The circulation of ATF inside the transmission is not a single circuit so it's probably not easy to get a % of mixing using this procedure. However, the torque converter should be by far the largest volume of ATF inside the tranny (except for the pan), but because its one of the hottest parts I think it's safe to assume there isn't much stagnant ATF there. (*): I have seen some interesting posts about this, with different values. If with each drain you remove about 50% of the existing fluid, then by the 2nd drain you will have 25% old ATF, 3rd=12.5%, 4th=6.25%, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 So, which hose to disconnect? Any pictures for the cavemen among us? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 OK so which hose do I disconnect for the "outflow"?I'm not sure how this is more effective. What is to say that the fluid added from the dipstick stays "unmixed" with the rest of the fluid? Can someone explain the anatomy of the fluid path? There is still mixing, probably mainly as it passes through the torque converter. But it seems to be less mixing than draining the pan and then filling and driving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bork Posted December 4, 2011 Author Share Posted December 4, 2011 So, which hose to disconnect? Any pictures for the cavemen among us? Well I found out on mine, the fluid enters the bottom of the radiator on drivers side & exits on passenger, back to the tranny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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