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My shifts are noisy ( :

1K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  vincethesoundguy 
#1 ·
I'm still driving my 02 Forester. It now has 177,000 miles on it and going pretty strong. It has the 4 speed automatic transmission.

For many miles now, probably 50k or more, I noticed the driveline making a clunking noise as it passes around 30/35mph, on a upward shift point. There's a noticeable turning sound just before and then the clunking. Here's some clues. The sound appears to come from the underside of the car very near the driver's side door, not under the car like if it were coming from the transmission, and it's worse (noiseier and physically harder shifting) in hot weather. I believe that's because the viscosity of the transmission fluid or the transfer case grease is lower. It's much quieter in the cool part of a Central Florida year (30's - 60's). The front axles were new about 60,000 miles ago, and the driveshaft bearings seem fine, but there is some play if you you rotate the shaft while the car is sitting.

Is it just wear and tear or something worse? I realize with 177,000 miles on it, parts will be wearing out, but would like some guesses before I bring it to the dealer for their opinion.
 
#5 ·
Just recently I bought some transmission fluid and a new filter for it and was planning to change out as much fluid as you can drain from it. I've done this before. The frustrating part is how little you can actually drain and replace. My theory of doing multiple drains and replacement is that you'll never get rid of all the old fluid no matter how many times you drain and replace. In other words the first time you do it you're replacing about 33% of the old fluid. The next time you're only replacing about 22% old fluid, and the third time you're replacing about 15% old fluid. All together with three attempts you're only replacing about 70%. That means 30% of the fluid is still old. Remember, when you replace the drained fluid the second and third times you're also discarding some new fluid.

I hear horror stories about transmission flushes, but it seems far more practical than a success rate of 70%, and 15 (or so) gallons of tranny fluid put into the waste stream (recycled or not).

Only my opinion.
 
#7 ·
Doing a FLUSH on an old trans that's having problems is a sure fire way of making it WORSE...

Flush crud from one place where it's possibly not causing a problem to a place where it could definitly cause a problem...

Drain, change the filter and re-fill... it's cheap and it COULD fix the issue if it's never been done...

I just did the fluid in my moms old Forester (now mine).... Nobody took care of it... it had 140k on the trans fluid (though it wasn't acting funny)... it came out looking "new" for lack of better term... bright red, clean...

Change your fluid and filter, it's cheap, and it might just suprise you... If it doesn't work it cost you fluid..
 
#8 ·
Found this while researching the flush question:

All American Automotive Tech
RE: Transmission flush - good or bad idea? 6/12/2009 4:59PM - in reply to Transmission Flushed Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
For a 10 year old vehicle I wouldn't recommend a flush. A flush is a pressurized fluid push through the transmission, and although a good machine can exchange around 98% of the old fluid for new, there is the possibilty of damage. At our shop we don't do them on vehicles with more than 60,000 miles. The reason for this is that there is an internal liability once the transmission has some wear/aging on it. The internal seals may not handle that much force on them, and if they break, that vehicle won't be driving out of that shop, or if it does, look for big problems down the road. The unit will basically have to be rebuilt. I would recommend a fluid and filter change. With this service, you will not get all the fluid out of the transmission. There will be fluid trapped in the torque converter (4-6 quarts) and as much as 4 quarts trapped in other places like the cooler and cooler lines etc. You may only get 4-6 quarts of old fluid drain out. This is why you want to stay ahead of the fluid curve and change your fluid every 25,000-30,000 miles.

Read more: Transmission flush - good or bad idea?
 
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