First time ATF PMF, have a question

[outback97]

I'm due for changing ATF on our '09. In the past and on all our vehicles I've always just done a 2X or 3X drain and fill for my ATF fluid servicing, but this time I wanted to try the PMF like the cool kids do.

How-to: PMF (Poor Man's Flush)

OK...well you searched the net...and you cannot for the life of you, figure out how to flush your trans.....well now you found it!....and there is a thread for it...so no more excuses for not knowing how to flush your own trans...if i see another person asking if there is an ATF flush...

www.xterranation.org

A couple comments I've read on DIY youtube videos of the PMF give me some hesitation about it:

Really need 2 people
One to add transmission fluid while your pump it into container
I can hear the hydraulic pump noise at times
Low fluid which can cause it to fail

If you brake the pressure line betwin converter and cooler,you’re not sending any oil pressure to the shaft bearings.

I guess my question is this: How much fluid can you safely pump out of the system before topping back up? Rook's post I linked talks about running 6-7 quarts out before refilling. Should I do like a quart or two at a time, stopping and starting the engine several times?

Probably overthinking it, but don't want to do any damage to the transmission.

 

[IM1RU]

Steve give me a jingle. DM incoming

It doesn't take two people.
It takes two hoses, and one measured receptacle.

I jack up the back end, hook up the hoses, start the truck, and put it in gear.... let it run for a moment... 5-10 seconds. stop, measure the amount, pour in the same amount. Repeat, making sure to go through every gear a couple times, until the fluid coming out is the same color as the fluid going in. Keep checking the level on the dip stick. Then I go drive until the trans temp is about 120 or so, and check again. sometimes I have to add a little, a couple times I've had to drain a little. Easy peazy. Do your power steering at the same time.

I do mine every two years, regardless of mileage... same with diffs and transfer case.

YMMV, but I have only twice once drained from the pan before hand, and neither time did I find even the slightest bit of debris....
So I just don't bother.... 170k on the vehicle and the trans runs like new.

 

[outback97]

Steve give me a jingle. DM incoming

It doesn't take two people.
It takes two hoses, and one measured receptacle.

I jack up the back end, hook up the hoses, start the truck, and put it in gear.... let it run for a moment... 5-10 seconds. stop, measure the amount, pour in the same amount. Repeat, making sure to go through every gear a couple times, until the fluid coming out is the same color as the fluid going in. Keep checking the level on the dip stick. Then I go drive until the trans temp is about 120 or so, and check again. sometimes I have to add a little, a coupe times I've had to drain a little. Easy peazy. Do your power steering at the same time.

Thanks Rob, I appreciate it!

I'm at work but should be able to call you this afternoon if that works for you.

 

[IM1RU]

Thanks Rob, I appreciate it!

I'm at work but should be able to call you this afternoon if that works for you.

As long as it's before 5:30 we're good. Got a show tonight.

 

[outback97]

Rob, great talking with you and thanks again for the helpful advice!

 

[IM1RU]

My pleasure Steve.

 

[outback97]

To follow up on this, the poor man's flush went pretty well this weekend.

Things I learned, mostly putting this here so I can remind myself in a few years when doing this again:

Getting access to the lower ATF rad hose was made a lot more difficult by the auxiliary fan (and winch and wiring). I eventually got to it with some long 90° needle nose pliers coming in from under the right side of the fan, and was able to work it loose, but there's very little room for my hands in there. If the fan were easier to remove I would have done that.

5/16" clear tubing worked great, 3/8" probably would have as well. I think I'm going to grind down the hose mender I used because it was a PITA to take the barbed ends back out of the hoses.

I should have kept better track of the fluid in / fluid out, even something as simple as writing it down on each cycle would have helped. During this job I stopped to chat with two different neighbors, my wife, and a friend who called me. Between all that and the fact that I started with one partial container of ATF, I started to lose track. Figured it out eventually, so all was good.

Driving around the neighborhood the shifting felt smooth, so Sunday we took it out to the desert for a little day trip to get out of the city and get off the pavement.

 

[ThatGuy]

To follow up on this, the poor man's flush went pretty well this weekend.

Things I learned, mostly putting this here so I can remind myself in a few years when doing this again:

Getting access to the lower ATF rad hose was made a lot more difficult by the auxiliary fan (and winch and wiring). I eventually got to it with some long 90° needle nose pliers coming in from under the right side of the fan, and was able to work it loose, but there's very little room for my hands in there. If the fan were easier to remove I would have done that.

5/16" clear tubing worked great, 3/8" probably would have as well. I think I'm going to grind down the hose mender I used because it was a PITA to take the barbed ends back out of the hoses.

I should have kept better track of the fluid in / fluid out, even something as simple as writing it down on each cycle would have helped. During this job I stopped to chat with two different neighbors, my wife, and a friend who called me. Between all that and the fact that I started with one partial container of ATF, I started to lose track. Figured it out eventually, so all was good.

Driving around the neighborhood the shifting felt smooth, so Sunday we took it out to the desert for a little day trip to get out of the city and get off the pavement.

Hope it shifts better now that you flushed that thing out!!

What kind of snake is that anyway? Really pretty.

 

[IM1RU]

What kind of snake is that anyway?

I believe it's called a Nope Rope.

 

[outback97]

Hope it shifts better now that you flushed that thing out!!

What kind of snake is that anyway? Really pretty.

It was shifting fairly well before I flushed it, but did notice what felt like a little slippage when offroading uphill. Now after the flush it's shifting great, smoother around town, and I didn't feel any slipping this weekend. Old fluid was not too dark, but noticeably browner and dirtier than the bright red of the new fluid.

It's a small gopher snake; it was only about as thick as my finger and maybe 18" long. I've seen them up to about 5 or 6 feet long here in Utah, and yeah they're cool to see, and they are mesmerizing to watch them move around. Sometimes they mimic rattlesnakes by hissing and coiling up, but they're pretty much harmless to humans if you leave them alone.

I was hiking down a small steep wash and watching where I was putting my feet. Reached out to a rock to balance myself and just before I put my hand down on the rock, looked where I was reaching, and saw this little guy. Good reminder to never put your hands or feet where you can't see when you're in the desert!

 

[ThatGuy]

It was shifting fairly well before I flushed it, but did notice what felt like a little slippage when offroading uphill. Now after the flush it's shifting great, smoother around town, and I didn't feel any slipping this weekend. Old fluid was not too dark, but noticeably browner and dirtier than the bright red of the new fluid.

It's a small gopher snake; it was only about as thick as my finger and maybe 18" long. I've seen them up to about 5 or 6 feet long here in Utah, and yeah they're cool to see, and they are mesmerizing to watch them move around. Sometimes they mimic rattlesnakes by hissing and coiling up, but they're pretty much harmless to humans if you leave them alone.

I was hiking down a small steep wash and watching where I was putting my feet. Reached out to a rock to balance myself and just before I put my hand down on the rock, looked where I was reaching, and saw this little guy. Good reminder to never put your hands or feet where you can't see when you're in the desert!

Wow. Nice photo though. Made that snake looked bigger than it was!
I worked along the border in Arizona for a few years. Got my fill of snakes and killer bees. Was attacked by a wild turkey once who had evidently fallen in love with my truck while I was out hiking