Nothing wrong with the Spill and fill method at all. I use the fluid bucket exchange method at 100K but that is me.. :-)

i use valvoline max life ......full synthetic
also run a magnafine in line filter

I do mine every other oil change 12k miles

I use the magnafine also and change it every other year.


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Same here. I made the switch a couple years ago to Maxlife. I replace the magnefine filter every other drain and refill. I do drain and refills every 10k so I replace them every 20k. The filters are rated for 30k miles though.

I am just curious, how does the fluid look at 10k mile change intervals?

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I do annual drain and fills of my A340F and thr fluid remains the same color as it does pouring in. So far it has worked well for me.

I use either AMSOIL or Valvoline MaxLife ATF. I typically do it at the beginning of the year. I get out about 4.1 to 4.2 quarts.

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Fluid looks darker than new but no where close to reddish brown. It's not pinkish red like new fluid but closer to a solid darker red color. My trans gets worked harder than some. In that 10k miles, It probably went through a few wheeling trips and other mountain driving.

Some might think 10k drain and refills are excessive but I don't think so. The old rule was doing a full exchange every 30k miles. When you do a drain and refill, you get out around 4-4.5 quarts which is around 1/3 of the 12 quart capacity. By doing 10k drain and refills, I've essentially exchanged out the system capacity over a 30k mile period. I know drain and refills are a dilution process and aren't a true exchange or flush, but it's very effective to keep the fluid in great shape.

Waiting 30k miles to do a drain and refill, in my opinion, is grossly insufficient to keep your fluid in good shape, especially if the person does any mountain driving or 4wheeling where higher trans temps are achieved. With 30k drain and refills, you're only exchanging out the system capacity every 90k miles.

Fluid is affordable and drain and refills are simple to perform. It might be excessive, but I want to give my transmissions the best chance at a long life.

Nothing wrong with what you are doing.. :-) Thanks, I was just curious if it was starting to change already and the from your information that is a yes. :-)

Two last questions...how many quarts does it take to do a simple drain and refill, i.e. no flush, no dropped pan or filter change? Also, I have one quart of Castrol and three O'Reily. Can I mix and match (all are Dexron III)?

Approximately 4 quarts.
It will be ok to use the ones you have.

I got out about 4.1 to 4.2 quarts when I did a basic drain and fill, just for reference. Ymmv.

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Wow for that many miles it looks amazing

It's best to still check the dipstick tube. It's usually 4 quarts but in one rare case I had 5 quarts come out. Not really sure why but I'm glad I checked.

As a secondary note, the 2WD transmission has a smaller pan and a drain/fill is about a quart less than the 4WD trans.

-Charlie