I just got my 2005 CC SB with 23K on it and I went by my service manager to ask some advise and show him the truck and he said I should have the trany flushed when I get back from the weekend. I said. Huh I did not read that let me look again. My Duramax supplement says under normal conditions change the spin on and the fluid every 50K, 25K for adverse conditions. Nothing about a flush in there and they want gosh was it $250 or $400, it was not something I wanted to pay. Do I need to do it? or should I just switch over to Amsoil myself?

you def. do not need to anytime soon. just take your time and switch to whatever you want later. these transmissions run so clean

I just dropped the pan on mine today at 29k miles and changed the internal filter. The fluid was as clean as new. If I was in your situation, I think I'd change the external spin on filter and have a look at the fluid that comes out and see how clean it is. Then I'd make my decision from there if anything further was needed. I doubt it though. Sounds to me like the dealer is trying to make a few easy bucks.

x2 change the spin on, make sure to switch the magnet. if the fluid is nice and red/pink, isnt burnt etc dont worry about it.

i am like the s/m. it is a used truck. i do all the fluids when ever i buy used just for piece of mind. atleast you know what is in there.

I am definitely going to do the filter the Amsoil filter should be in today, and I have no problem if I see anything odd draining and replacing the fluid. But they wanted an arm and a leg to flush it making sound like they were doing some sort of voodoo cleansing on it. I am like you do know it has a drain plug right?

Thanks for saving me $$$ again guys!

yes it has a drain plug. on the bottom rear. i think it is a 13mm. good luck

I do what the manual says. Change the spin on at 5k; I tow, so I'll change the fluid and spin on at 25k. That's it, 'flushing' is not necessary, and the internal filter should be changed only if the entire transmission is rebuilt.

At 25,000 miles I changed the spin on filter and replaced whatever came out from pulling the drain plug. Fluid looked like new, in fact the guy at Checkers where I took the old stuff asked why was I throwing away new fluid. Not suppose to even mess with the internal filter unless you do a rebuild from what I read.

Sure is a heck of a lot easier and cleaner job that doing a 4L80.

are you topping off the spin off with stock fluid, before spinning it back on.
if so where are you getting the fluid from dealer or autozone

welllll, my owners manuel says "Dex III Type H". I went to the dealer and asked what "Type H" ment and he said any Dex III nowadays has it but it won't be labeled, something about an additive that was put in after the original Dex III came out blah blah blah. There stuff didn't say "Type H"

I didn't like the way he answered it so I went shopping around. I finally found a store (o'reilly's I think) that had some Dex III Type H.

I did fill the filter before putting it on, don't forget the magnet off the old one.

after topping off the new filter how much other fluid is lost?
i am with you guys i am going to just do the filter for now.

If you bought the truck used you will never know how well it was taken care of for that period of it's life. Do you know if it was ever run hot or beat on with a tune or module? I say change the spin on and perform a flush yourself using the "Hoot Method". Quick, cheap and easy peace of mind IMO.

There were no signs of a tuner no modifications made to it at all that I can tell there is minor wear in the receiver so it did tow but not much I would guess. I think it was a work truck from the amount of Mud and yellow road paint I found underneath. It is just a guess but I was thinking it was one of those trucks you see parked in mud at road construction. I changed out the air filter as it was showing 50% on the under hood gage and judging by the rats nest in there the guy was no maintenance fanatic. LOL

welllll, my owners manuel says "Dex III Type H". I went to the dealer and asked what "Type H" ment and he said any Dex III nowadays has it but it won't be labeled, something about an additive that was put in after the original Dex III came out blah blah blah. There stuff didn't say "Type H"

I didn't like the way he answered it so I went shopping around. I finally found a store (o'reilly's I think) that had some Dex III Type H.

I did fill the filter before putting it on, don't forget the magnet off the old one.
I went to get a filter and a quart to put on before my next trip. It is a Wix filter but the fluid says Dextron III compatible or specially formulated for 2006 up but the guy said it is a synthetic and it is fine to mix with the stock fluid. (Which by the way is nice and pink and tastes fine) :o) my dealer did not have any fluid in quarts and I did not want to get a gallon when I am going to switch to Amsoil in a few months. Is this guy telling me the truth? He also said that the dealers use this synthetic for their trans flushes and that they just mix it about ½ and ½ with the stock. Talk about not sounding right.

Mixing ATF when flushing? That would never happen here. Sounds kinda funny to me.

I will post the exact fluid he sold me tomorrow before I put it in. I hope someone can tell me if I can use it or not.

Thanks

I went to get a filter and a quart to put on before my next trip. It is a Wix filter but the fluid says Dextron III compatible or specially formulated for 2006 up but the guy said it is a synthetic and it is fine to mix with the stock fluid. (Which by the way is nice and pink and tastes fine) :o) my dealer did not have any fluid in quarts and I did not want to get a gallon when I am going to switch to Amsoil in a few months. Is this guy telling me the truth? He also said that the dealers use this synthetic for their trans flushes and that they just mix it about ½ and ½ with the stock. Talk about not sounding right.


I don't think you should use the WIX spin on filter. Look at the holes in the top of it. The holes are smaller and laid out on a smaller diameter circle than the OEM Allison filter. In short, they get covered up by the magnetic washer and restrict fluid flow.

Wow okay it sounds like i should just return all this stuff and drain it put the Amsiol filter and Amsoil trans fluid it?

Okay here is what they sold me the filter is Car quest 96054 (he said it was made by Wix) the TF is also Car quest it is Dexron –VI Full Synthetic Automatic transmission fluid.
On the back it says: Car quest it is Dexron –VI is recommended for all 2006 and later GM vehicles with Hydro-matic automotive transmissions. It is fully back serviceable for Dexron III (H), (G), III and II (E) applications, meets GM specification GM 10060.
I think I should just go to the dealer get the filter and a gallon of the real McCoy.

yep,just change the spin on and drain the pan ,just to be safe,also change the rear diff fluid and the tranfer case [tranfer case might be very low]

Okay here is what they sold me the filter is Car quest 96054 (he said it was made by Wix) the TF is also Car quest it is Dexron –VI Full Synthetic Automatic transmission fluid.
On the back it says: Car quest it is Dexron –VI is recommended for all 2006 and later GM vehicles with Hydro-matic automotive transmissions. It is fully back serviceable for Dexron III (H), (G), III and II (E) applications, meets GM specification GM 10060.
I think I should just go to the dealer get the filter and a gallon of the real McCoy.

I would buy the filter from an Allison dealer for $10 instead of paying $40-$45 at the dealer. It is the exact same filter.

Local Allison dealer wants $294 for the 5 gallon pail. I have seen it on line for $240 I see some found it for under $200. Any suggestions? I can get the Amsoil Torque Drive for under $200

as for the filter the dealer is on my way home the Allison dealer is 40 minutes out of my way and i would still have to get the oil for this filter change from the dealer. i just need a little more piece of mind before i tow this weekend.

A lot of people like the torque drive, I'll probably try it an my next change. There is a dealer in Hayward, about 10 miles from Fremont. At the Allison web page you can find 5 dealers in your area. In the upper right corner under Locator. LOL

Yes that is where I got the prices. $295 local or I can have it shipped to me for $265. Or my buddy is an Amsoil dealer and I can get the oil and filter about $175. I looked on the Allison site and the Amsoil is okay to use. Then I looked on the Amsoil site and they did a head to head with the Transynd and they were almost identical

I read where Amsoil reverse engineered their fluid to get it similar to Transynd. Don't forget to remove the magnet from your used spin on and install it on the new one. Have a good trip. Richard.

:confused:

Bought my '04.5 LLY in July. Since I could not confirm it had been done, I went ahead and changed tranny fluid. Man, was I glad I did! The gunk I saw come out of that thing left me cringing. I'm so glad to see red fluid in there again! :bounce:

However... I didn't do it myself. I had VIOC do it for me. They pumped the old fluid out of the dipstick hole. They claim that the way they do it, they also get the fluid out of the torque converter. But... they don't change any filters. Plus... the VIOC manager told me this year truck doesn't have a spin-on filter. Since I've not been under the truck, I don't know.

Did I screw up? If so... what do I do now? :uhoh2:

:confused:

Bought my '04.5 LLY in July. Since I could not confirm it had been done, I went ahead and changed tranny fluid. Man, was I glad I did! The gunk I saw come out of that thing left me cringing. I'm so glad to see red fluid in there again! :bounce:

However... I didn't do it myself. I had VIOC do it for me. They pumped the old fluid out of the dipstick hole. They claim that the way they do it, they also get the fluid out of the torque converter. But... they don't change any filters. Plus... the VIOC manager told me this year truck doesn't have a spin-on filter. Since I've not been under the truck, I don't know.

Did I screw up? If so... what do I do now? :uhoh2:

If you have an allison, then you have a spin on. I do not think the flushes screw anything up... I was always under the assumption that if done at the proper interval, the flush was not nessesary. Alot of GM dealers do flushes too and recomend them on allisons, they are normally just after your wallet IMO.

Allison, does not recommend the flush, I am guessing that it is because it seems like that doesn’t truly get all the old fluid out and new fluid in. but I am no expert just been reading the tread and the links.
I just did my spin on and the fluid looked great. The magnet had a gray gunk on it but it was not to thick and no large particles. I assume this is normal clutch and assembly material. I was about a quart low so I was glad I got the 2 quart bottle. I will run the stock tell the 50K mark and then decide what to put in. I think I will use the money I just saved to get a programmer and save some gas miles.