I've had some bad experiences apparently related to transmission flushes. Wondered if any one else has too.

In March 1993, had 1988 Buick Century wagon (165000 miles) tranny flushed. Had done it two or three times in past. Tranny locked up in park after mechanic ran through grears one time. Cost of repair> 1700.00. I think some kind of pump failed. Not sure.

Last week, had 1993 Buick Cent. wagon (113000 miles) tranny flushed. Had done previouosly at 84000. This time, a couple days later, tranny wouldn't go into reverse or in any of the drive gears for a few minutes. Then, it started to work. HAven't had tranny looked at yet, so I don't know what's involved here.

Any one have similar problems related to flushes??

ty.....chuck

When you mean flush, you mean they suck out all the old fluid and replace it? Sometimes these quick lube places just do that and never drop the pan.

The only way to service a transmission is to drop the pan, clean it out, change the filter AND clean up the pan magnet. If its missing, install a new one. Only then can you 'flush' the system to be sure all the old fluid is out.
It sounds as if your '93 got a piece of debris stuck in one of the valves in
the valve body and hung it open for a bit of time.

BTW why is this in the Jeep forum? Maybe a mod might want to move it to the Engineering/Technical forum.

Please excuse. I didn't know I was in Cherokee Forum. I see where it states that.

Full flush was done, as far as I know from a reliable mechanic. I asked that pan be dropped and everything be done - new filter, etc.

It seems that older trannies run risk of getting debris stuck somewhere.

chuck

there's a difference between the services done on a transmission. a pan service or fluid/filter change is just that, some of the fluid that is in the pan and the filter. some transmissions have 10-15 qts of fluid. a pan service changes 3-5 of that. you can drain the torque converter as well, but that's a lot more work with a hose and pump or whatever. most places don't do that, and it's not always necessary that they do it either. then there's a flush where you disconnect the cooler line and replace fluid as the tranny forces out the old fluid. then you can use a machine that forces fluid through the transmission and replaces old with new... sometimes transmissions can develop problems with the last method.. whatever service you use make sure the mechanic uses OEM spec fluid. there is no "one-size-fits-all" with fluid. it has to maintain certain amounts of friction and maintain the seals(not corrode them) in the transmission. trannies are more and more proprietary in parts and fluid these days. wrong stuff will cause problems.

Granted this is a GC forum, but all should be aware that if you go to a fast flush quickie trans place , you run the very real risk of having yout trans destroyed within blocks of driving , as has happend to us in other than a GC, all they do is stir up the junk from the cooler and filter and distribute it all thru your trans , you gotta drop the pan , change the filter , and do a proper clean out