Transmission Service

I have had my 3500 done twice the last time the GM dealer flushed it. Price was like $150. I just had my 5500 done and they flushed it, very dirty according to them, price was like $300 (the medium duty trucks take more fluid). I figure if the dealer says flushing is a good idea than I guess I will believe them.

Thanks,Charlie D and to all ouf you who responded.

I had mine done at a local Allison shop. Fluid change and filter. If you have an Allison shop in your area, Take it too the folks that work on them ever day. Just my nickel's worth......

bob213 wrote:
I have an 05' and Allison does not reccommend a flush. If you have an Allison dealer near you you can buy Transynd for alittle over $30 a gallon and a spin on filter for about $9.00. Allison has a drain plug so it's no problem to change. You don't drop the pan for the internal filter unless you are doing an overhaul. Drive for 10,000 miles and repeat and Allison considers this to be a complete switchover to synthetic. You will notice smoother shifts and lower temps. It takes alittle over two gallons for the exchange and fill the spin on before you put it on. I change my spin on every other oil change. Cheap insurance for an expensive transmission. This is just what I do. I'm not saying it's by the book, but from being on the diesel forums it is usually an accepted maintainence schedule.

Did the same double drain and fill on my previous '06 LBZ with Transynd. Local Allison dealer charges %45/gallon. I also agree that Allison does not recommend a flush. I change the engine oil every 7500 miles and replace the transmission filter and top off every 15,000. Be sure that the magnet does not get thrown away when the filter is replaced. Be aware of $9.00/transmission filters even if they are red. That filter is probably Chinese. (Edit to say that $9.00 filter is not necessarilly Chinese but I have seen them.) Go to the Class A Motorhome forun on RV.net and read the post "Let Me Know if You Have Allison Transmission Fluid Questions". That guy is THE expert on Allison and Transynd, I just "BUMPED" it to bring it up again. The posters name is "hzjcm8"

I bought a new D/A in 2002. I used to drain the fluid every year and also change the spin-on filter at that time. And by drain, I mean just what would come out when I removed the drain bolt. My thinking was that if I do this every year it would satisfy the requirement for that complete change out. And it really is simple and easy to do. Just don't forget to re-use the magnet that's on the filter !
You might want to be cautious about doing the Jiffy-Lube thing. I seem to remember that using that method was a big no-no for some reason.

On edit - Just to be clear, I do not mean that I am not recommending Jiffy-Lube. Just stating that I remember the method of using that device to replace the trans fluid was not recommended.

I changed to transynd at 12000 miles with a flush at the chev garage. I have drained it myself 2 times and it is a 7 qt refill. I have changed the Allison external filter 3 times and after this coming week after the rv trip I will do the external filter again. Over kill is all I know, rear diff I have done 3 times, fuel filter once a year but 6000 miles is a years drive for us. 63316 miles on the old 05 chev.
chevman

Thanks, john&bet, I may check with a local guy first. I've used him for years on our car. He seems to always be cheaper than the dealer.

When I had the dealer do my Dodge,twice, it was over $300. for both trans and rear end. The last two or three times I have had a very good local trans shop do it for $100. and $110. It goes in Monday morning again for its service. Have 152k on my stock trans and am very happy with it so far. Pick your poison as they say.

Fluid and filters, no flush, on my 2010 Ram was $200.00 at a reputable transmission shop.

B.O.

FWIW I paid $145.10 last time.
OBTW it was just the drain and replace ATF and filter :W
It's just to big of a mess in my garage to DIY. That is a really nice feature with the Allison.