my father has a 1993 toyota camry LE with over 200,000 miles, he was going to have his transmission flushed but a mechanic at a toyota dealership said since it had never been flushed before and it was over 200,000 miles that it would cause the seals on the transmission to start leaking and eventually the transmission would drop. I am looking to know if any mechanics out there agree with that? Do you believe there are any risks to flushing the transmission???? Can anyone please answer my question seriously!
As long as it is done properly there is no risk. The proper way is to take the pan off and clean it, change the filter and then flush it. The more common and improper way that it is done by the express lube places is to hook it up to a flushing machine that pumps the old fluid out and the new fluid in via the cooler lines without removing the pan or changing the filter. If you do it like that all it will do is stir up all the dirt and debris on the bottom of the pan and pump it through the tranny, this could lead to tranny failure as transmissions have very sensitive parts as well this could as the other mechanic has stated cause the internal O-rings to leak and this will mean the transmission will not maintain pressure in the clutch packs and will cause it to slip and wear out quickly. If you do regular fluid changes on your transmission (every 50k miles or less) then you shouldn't need to flush it as long as the fluid hasn't become burnt.
there is nothing wrong with flushing a high mileage transmission as long as the pan on the bottom is dropped and the filter is replaced and the pan is cleaned and resealed after wards.if the trans is just flushed without changing the filter or cleaning the pan then it leaves residue in the transmission which gets loosened up and eventually is distributed throughout the transmission causing other problems such as leaking seals and sticking valves. so just make sure if you do the flush you follow up with a filter change and a good pan cleaning ! you should also add a large magnet to the inside of the pan to catch metal debris which gets worn off the internal metal parts so they don't get circulated throughout the trans they just get stuck on the magnet and get cleaned whenever you change the filter.that is of course unless it already has one in the pan! also don't make the magnet too tall as to interfere with anything on the valve body.no taller than 3/4 of an inch high!
Yes that true you're much better off to just change the transmission filter and filter a few times over time and a lot of driving that will clean the system saver. Hope that helps and best of luck.By the way always use the proper factory recommend transmission filter kits and fluids.I'd call around for the best possible prices on fluids and filter kits and if planning on keeping that vehicle for sometime then make a deal buy a few kits.
