ATF change

[J A Blazer]

I'm going to drain and refill my 2000 OBW transmission tomorrow with Dexron III. How many quarts should I expect to put in, assuming I don't touch the filter? Any reason to change the filter?

[NoahDL88]

Should be less than 10 on a drain and fill, 2 gallon bottles should do the trick. as far as the filter, its a spin off, it takes 5 minutes, costs 5 bucks and saves you mucho denero in the long run. its a no brainer, change the filter.

[Schwinnbob]

Just taking the drain plug out and draining will get you almost exactly 4 quarts. Don't know about the filter, Subaru says it lasts the life of the trans. Not sure where to get it for $5 they are over $20 at the discount Sub places. I usually drain mine of the 4 quarts and put 4 new in. I do this 2 or 3 times a few weeks apart. Not as good as a full change but good enough for me.

[idosubaru]

i do 3 drain and refills as well. one drain will only get half or less of the ATF out.

 

install a transmission cooler while you're thinking about the trans. a well spent $30.

[nipper]

change the spin on filter. There is a screen insdie the tranny dont touch or change that.

 

nipper

[stevecd]

A little off topic, but I have heard that it can be beneficial to change the filter screen. Like when you get torque bind, however nipper you say its bad to do, just wondering why.

~Steven

[nipper]

A little off topic, but I have heard that it can be beneficial to change the filter screen. Like when you get torque bind, however nipper you say its bad to do, just wondering why.

~Steven

1- filter screen is just that its just a screen, its not a filter. It jas very large holes that dont get pluged, Its just for material.

2- You remove the pan the wrong way you can make a leak and never get it right again

3- subaru says it needs no serviciing. Jou dont change the pickup screen in the oil pump, and that is exaclty what it is, the same thing.

Torque bund you change the fluid. No where does it say change the screen, and i have never said that. TB is a rear clutchpack issue of gum buildup (90%) of the time.

[stevecd]

wow, good thing I haven't got around to it , thanks for the info.

[J A Blazer]

I'm getting conflicting advice on the necessity of replacing the screw-on filter. Dealer wants $42.00 for the filter, which is one reason why I hesitate. One web-site regarding diagnosis and maintenance of the 4EAT says that under ordinary circumstances (whatever that means) it is not necessary to change this filter. What is the collective wisdom of this group? TIA.

[idosubaru]

4EAT's have been around since the late 80's but are not all identical.

 

i'm not positive on the dates....but it doesnt matter just look at your transmission, you can already tell yours has a spin on type.

 

pre-1998 do not have a spin on filter. these are the ones that don't require any filter replacement because there's no filter to replace. change the ATF. there is a screen as nipper said but it's pointless to replace...also as nipper said.

 

1998 and newer 4EAT's have a spin on that you can change.

[nipper]

Which leads to the question, if it was not meant to be changed, why did they go through the expense and bother and making it an easily replaceable filter.

i would change it once every 3 years.

 

40.00 is cheaper then 1500.00 dollars

 

nipper

[idosubaru]

do the newer ones have a screen and filter, or just the filter now?

thought that was odd they added them too since the old 4EAT's are decent auto transmissions to begin with the. the first ones that came out are quite reliable.

[nipper]

do the newer ones have a screen and filter, or just the filter now?

thought that was odd they added them too since the old 4EAT's are decent auto transmissions to begin with the. the first ones that came out are quite reliable.

 

thats what i was wondering. That was not a cheap thing from an engineering point of veiw to add to a perfectly fine transmission. Maybe they got nervous from the svx failures , who knows. There is still a screen.

 

nipper

[johnceggleston]

the maintenance schedule at cars 101.com says to inspect youe trans fluid @ 30k and 90k miles. i believe at the very least i would change the filter then.

 

why would you change the fluid and not the filter.??

 

http://www.cars101.com/subaru/subaru_maintenance.html

 

 

 

thats what i was wondering. That was not a cheap thing from an engineering point of veiw to add to a perfectly fine transmission. Maybe they got nervous from the svx failures , who knows. There is still a screen.

 

nipper

[nipper]

i agree. change the fluid change the filter, seems very odd.

 

nipper

[cabron]

This is a timely thread. I have a 01 legacy. I intend to change the fluid this week. I called the dealer this morning, says no need to change the filter. Only change if it has visible damage or rust.

 

What are your thoughts on synthetic fluid?

 

Tranny oil cooler; I intend to install one. Any idea which line is the return line from the rad. I intend to put it in series with rad, after the rad. Your thoughts?

 

Any pitfalls I should be aware of. I intend to change the fluid in the driveway. Pull off the drain plug. and refill it. Hard to access the dip stick. Is there any other way to refill the tranny.

 

Your thoughts are allways appreciated.

 

Thanks

[nipper]

This is a timely thread. I have a 01 legacy. I intend to change the fluid this week. I called the dealer this morning, says no need to change the filter. Only change if it has visible damage or rust.

 

What are your thoughts on synthetic fluid?

 

Tranny oil cooler; I intend to install one. Any idea which line is the return line from the rad. I intend to put it in series with rad, after the rad. Your thoughts?

 

Any pitfalls I should be aware of. I intend to change the fluid in the driveway. Pull off the drain plug. and refill it. Hard to access the dip stick. Is there any other way to refill the tranny.

 

Your thoughts are allways appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

dont use pure synthetic, use some sort of hybrid. Synthetics lower friction. Automatics need friction to operate. a hybrid is a mix of both worlds. a cooler never hurt

 

nipper

[byronc10]

I have searved time in a tranny shop and I can tell you subs are a slick piece for the service industry easy to work on there is one trick i learned you could use to get a better flush of fluid

at the radiator find the pressure line OUT of the radiator attach a length of hose and clamp it on to the radiator leavin the hose to the trans loose place the loose end from the radiator into a drain pan with good capasity I recomend 2 people to do this !!!!! fill the trans with fluid . start motor at an Idle fluid should only come out of the hose you added and clamped onto the radiator. do this only till the flow starts to be speratic before it pumps air stop engin and repeat this will give you a system flush removing most of the old fluid and replacing it with new in the converter and the radiator reinstall your cooling lines to the radiator and refill and top off the trans remember keep your fluid level on the low side of the dip stick trans fluid expands a lot and low is better than to full there are also additives to inprove your shift or smooth it out depending on what you want this will take about 12 quarts of fluid

[cabron]

I have searved time in a tranny shop and I can tell you subs are a slick piece for the service industry easy to work on there is one trick i learned you could use to get a better flush of fluid

at the radiator find the pressure line OUT of the radiator attach a length of hose and clamp it on to the radiator leavin the hose to the trans loose place the loose end from the radiator into a drain pan with good capasity I recomend 2 people to do this !!!!! fill the trans with fluid . start motor at an Idle fluid should only come out of the hose you added and clamped onto the radiator. do this only till the flow starts to be speratic before it pumps air stop engin and repeat this will give you a system flush removing most of the old fluid and replacing it with new in the converter and the radiator reinstall your cooling lines to the radiator and refill and top off the trans remember keep your fluid level on the low side of the dip stick trans fluid expands a lot and low is better than to full there are also additives to inprove your shift or smooth it out depending on what you want this will take about 12 quarts of fluid

 

Any idea which line is the "return" line on 01 legacy

[Commuter]

dont use pure synthetic, use some sort of hybrid. Synthetics lower friction. Automatics need friction to operate. a hybrid is a mix of both worlds. a cooler never hurt

 

nipper

I've been using full synthetic for years in my 97 OB 4EAT (mostly Mobil 1). Synthetic lowers operating temperature which is usually the killer for automatics. Heat breaks down the ATF, transmission failure follows. I have not had any issues. In fact, after the clutch pack replacement recently, the dealer just put in dino oil. I can tell. It's a bit sluggish.

 

Manual transmissions need some friction for the synchromesh units to function correctly. I've never heard the comment before that automatics need friction.

 

Commuter

[nipper]

I've been using full synthetic for years in my 97 OB 4EAT (mostly Mobil 1). Synthetic lowers operating temperature which is usually the killer for automatics. Heat breaks down the ATF, transmission failure follows. I have not had any issues. In fact, after the clutch pack replacement recently, the dealer just put in dino oil. I can tell. It's a bit sluggish.

 

Manual transmissions need some friction for the synchromesh units to function correctly. I've never heard the comment before that automatics need friction.

 

Commuter

 

Automatics have wet clutches. If the fluid is to slick, it can cause the clutches to slip longer then they would normally and cause excess ware. Synthetic trannny fluid is fine for newer cras, or cars made for it. If you didnt notice a differnce in your shifting, fine. There are a number of people who noticed more shlipping in the tranny and switched back to regular fluid.

Its not an automatic recomendation for syn fluid, but the hybrid seems to escape this problem compltly. It really varies from car to car. I just dont like to recomend that change on a cr that has spebt most its life with std fluid, without letting somoone realize there may be a negaitve affect on the transmission. Soobie trannies are fairly robust with the std fluid, so personally i dont see a need or the expense of the synthetics, unless you live in the mountains or tow a trailer. Tranny failures seem to be few and far between (not including torque bind).

 

nipper

[2000outback]

So Nipper.What do you recommend for ATF fluid for my 2000 Outback.Is the trans drain plug easily accessible?

[2000outback]

So what do you recommend for ATF fluid for my 2000 Outback.Is the trans drain plug easily accessible?

[Wayne Boncyk]

Automatics have wet clutches. If the fluid is to slick, it can cause the clutches to slip longer then they would normally and cause excess ware. Synthetic trannny fluid is fine for newer cras, or cars made for it. If you didnt notice a differnce in your shifting, fine. There are a number of people who noticed more shlipping in the tranny and switched back to regular fluid.

Its not an automatic recomendation for syn fluid, but the hybrid seems to escape this problem compltly. It really varies from car to car. I just dont like to recomend that change on a cr that has spebt most its life with std fluid, without letting somoone realize there may be a negaitve affect on the transmission. Soobie trannies are fairly robust with the std fluid, so personally i dont see a need or the expense of the synthetics, unless you live in the mountains or tow a trailer. Tranny failures seem to be few and far between (not including torque bind).

 

nipper

 

Nipper and I have gone around more than once on this issue. He's a strong believer in std "dino" AT fluid, and I'm as strong over in the synthetic camp. IMHO, which is supported by my buddy the chemical engineer who works in the oil industry, synthetic AT fluids are the same viscosity (i.e. the same amount of "sticky") as the dino types, but they keep that characteristic over a wider operating temp range, and they don't change chemical composition as fast as dino oil does when they're subjected to long spells of high heat. That's why synthetics are better, especially if you pull a heavy load and heat up that tranny more than the casual Sunday driver.

 

I've run with synthetic for a while now, in a 10-yr old OBW that had nothing but dino oil in it until the clutch pack seized up from torque bind. I tried a straight flush and fill with synthetic at first, which didn't clear the binding completely, and I eventually replaced the clutch pack and re-filled, again with new synthetic. I've run nothing but synthetic in there ever since, and the tranny is performing flawlessly.

 

I honestly think that these Subie trannys are so well-built that it really doesn't matter if you use dino or synthetic fluid in 'em. Just keep whatever is in there clean and change it according to the recommended interval, and you'll be fine for many thousands of miles. Of course, YMMV!

[idosubaru]

i think a transmission cooler is far more valuable than what type of ATF to use. some transmission shops install after market trans coolers on rebuilds as standard practice because they are that effective at preventing trans damage. of course they get to bypass the weak and unknown condition radiator that way too. consider an aftermarket trans cooler. any type of off road or towing, heavy load usage should definitely get a trans cooler.