When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Hello this forum the best for great advise.. I took my 1999 corvette for services and the mechanic says with the 60k miles on. Since i not sure it's ever been changed to leave it alone since I don't have problems .. he says based on his experience that changing the fluid can cause a problem these tranny are recommend to change fluid at 100000 .. I confused I thought changing would be benefit and can't we add fluid with additive to help enter the particles needed for clutch.. he ok with changing the fluid for final diffrenc
I bought a 98 last summer with ~50k miles and have been working on it while it was parked. It used to be very, very difficult to find first gear. 2/3 times I would have to go into second then into first. Shifting into other gears was generally notchy as well.
I used the ranger method to change the clutch fluid with regular dot3 and changed the transmission fluid with Delco 88861801 manual trans fluid. I just took it out for the first time this year and it shifts like my s2000 used to! I am completely amazed at how different it feels. Im thinking it was the trans fluid as the clutch fluid was fairly clean to begin with. I also put on non-run flat Kuhmos and flushed the brakes. I'm in love with this car all over again.
Last edited by jackjohnson_218; Jun 21, 2017 at 09:06 AM.
Hello this forum the best for great advise.. I took my 1999 corvette for services and the mechanic says with the 60k miles on. Since i not sure it's ever been changed to leave it alone since I don't have problems .. he says based on his experience that changing the fluid can cause a problem these tranny are recommend to change fluid at 100000 .. I confused I thought changing would be benefit and can't we add fluid with additive to help enter the particles needed for clutch.. he ok with changing the fluid for final diffrenc
ial though.. what u guys think?
You didn't specify what kind of transmission you have. But then you mentioned a "clutch". Is this an automatic transmission?
(it would help us in giving advice, if we knew what we were advising about)
I just had my A4 tranny fluid changed at about 100k and the dealer(who has a dedicated Corvette tech) said that since there were no problems that a drain, replace filter and refill was the best route to take.
Flushing out the tranny with a machine can dislodge small particles/shavings that can do more harm than good. Mine is running smoothly since the service.
From: In a parallel universe. Currently own 2014 Stingray Coupe.
C7 of the Year - Modified Finalist 2021
MO Events Coordinator
St. Jude Co-Organizer
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
NCM Sinkhole Donor
CI 5, 8 & 11 Veteran
When I first bought my car, it had approximately 10K miles on it when I got it home. While the tranny fluid and filter (A4) may have been just fine, I went ahead and had my dealer change them as well as the coolant and brake fluid. That way I had a good starting point for future maintenance. It wasn't that expensive and I've had zero problems.
Chances are that your fluid and filter are OK with just 60K on the car and especially if the car is shifting fine. But the car is 18 years old. For the relatively reasonable cost of changing the fluid and filter, it is something to consider.
My mechanic did change the final drive fluid was and was in great shape .. I suspect it's been changed before.. they actually used lucas sythetic and additive.. runs very smooth.. new inspection sticker good to go.. I want change the tranny fluid though I think it's been changed before.. dunno if I should just leave it and change it 100.000. 49k more to go hit 100. I added clear catch can and my mechanic liked it has some oil already in the clear can.. definitely bypassing that blow back oil .. I show pics later today.. here pic my car on the gourney.. lol
Last edited by flyingjoey; Jun 21, 2017 at 11:20 AM.
My thoughts, and I am very far from a transmission expert but have had a bad experience flushing a transmission that had no issues.
Had a early 2000's Honda Civic with an auto tranny. Had about 110 000 miles on it and shifted perfectly. Auto repair shop sucked me into a transmission fluid flush. Big mistake.
It was good for about 2 weeks after, then started slipping badly. Never happened to me before. Talked to a few transmission shops as well as another mechanic and all said I should have left it if it was that old, the high miles, and it wasn't slipping.
Their reasoning is that all the particles in the fluid were creating friction that stopped the transmission from slipping. The new fluid is cleaner, slicker, no friction = slippage.
Never will do that again....it cost me a car as the transmission would have cost more to replace than the car was worth.
I believe if the transmission fluid has been changed as per maintenance schedule, not a problem. But if it has never been changed on a high mileage car and the transmission is shifting fine just leave it. One shop said it is a 50/50 chance it will work.
My thoughts, and I am very far from a transmission expert but have had a bad experience flushing a transmission that had no issues.
Had a early 2000's Honda Civic with an auto tranny. Had about 110 000 miles on it and shifted perfectly. Auto repair shop sucked me into a transmission fluid flush. Big mistake.
It was good for about 2 weeks after, then started slipping badly. Never happened to me before. Talked to a few transmission shops as well as another mechanic and all said I should have left it if it was that old, the high miles, and it wasn't slipping.
Their reasoning is that all the particles in the fluid were creating friction that stopped the transmission from slipping. The new fluid is cleaner, slicker, no friction = slippage.
Never will do that again....it cost me a car as the transmission would have cost more to replace than the car was worth.
I believe if the transmission fluid has been changed as per maintenance schedule, not a problem. But if it has never been changed on a high mileage car and the transmission is shifting fine just leave it. One shop said it is a 50/50 chance it will work.
This is my fear. Bought my 2003 with 84k. Should probably have changed the fluid but I didn't...mostly because the manual said to do it at 100k. I'm at 105k now but I'm afraid to do it. Had it checked at the dealer and they said it was full and the fluid color was still good so I left it alone.
Not trying to hijack this thread, but am I making a mistake? Should I just get it changed?
Change the fluid and filter by dropping the pan and clean all components.
Make sure to fill using correct c5 procedure..
Do this often.. most people don't leading to trans problems
I got the trans oil changed on my C5 soon after I bought it. We used the stuff from Chevy dealer and shifting was easier. It had over 100k when I bought it about 4 years ago
Because I track my A4, I change transmission fluid every couple of years and use Red Line D4 full synthetic ATF. Four fluid and filter changes since 2009 so far and the trans works perfectly.
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Slideshow: A Jaguar designer's personal project imagines what a modern front-engined Corvette might look like if Chevrolet revisited the golden age of the Stingray.
C5 transmission fluid change
