I need to freshen up my automatic tranny fluid sometime in the near future.
Has anyone used a fluid extractor with any success to do this job.

Think'n about something like this:

 

Take advantage of the convenient drain plug on the AW4 and don't bother with an extractor...

EDIT: Now that i think about it, I guess you're trying to pump out the TC and all the lines as well? Another option there is to just let the transmission pump itself into a bucket.

 

Why not just follow the FSM, remove all the pan bolts except for one on either side of a corner, loosen those two, then break the pan free to use the opposite corner as a funnel to dump into a pan?

This is just as much fun as it sounds.

 

I just drained and refilled mine a few times. Being able to get it all out at once would be nice though

 

Is it blue ridge that cuts the feed line into the cooler? Pump it out with a helper working the ignition and gear select as you fill until it turns red again. Then a 2inch piece of 3/8 oil resistant tubing and a couple screw clamps to tie the line back together.

I did this to my xj at 260k. Fluid came out black/brown and chunky. I'm at 272k now and everything seems normal.

 

I find it easier to cut the soft line on the return, then use a 3/8" brass barbed coupler to splice back together. Once you've done that, it's 'real easy to install an aux cooler with a second barb coupler.

 

I saw a video of a guy cutting the hard line to install a sensor instead. Couldn't figure out why he did that, but I'm thinking about adding a temp sensor where I tied into my cooler.

 

I've always been of the school of thought that a trans. temp sensor should be upstream from the coolers, since that will show the temp of the fluid leaving the trans at it's hottest point. But, one downstream of the coolers should still show good relative temps, and would be easier.

 

I guess I should add that my XJ has a really neat feature where I automatically have to add ATF fluid every couple thousand miles. That helps keep clean fluid in there. I can only assume that it's factory engineered.

 

I might have to consider that for my next mod.

 

Not looking to do any kind of flush, just remove some old fluid and add fresh fluid.

Yeah, yeah the drain plug routine, but i'm not 19 any more and crawling under my Jeep is a royal PITA bad back and all. That'll be plan B if i have to.
Thought this method would be easier on these old bones of mine.
After every time i change the engine oil my back pays for it for a few days.

Apparently since no one here has used the extractor method, guess i might be the first to try it out.

Thanks for the replies.

 

Update!

I picked up a Holt fluid extractor from HF on sale for $70 last week.


Tried it out today. Man that thing worked great, way better than expected.
A few pumps and it siphoned the tranny fluid by itself. Took about 5 minutes to get about a little less than 3 qts. out.
The only mess was a few drops dripping from removing the tubing after done but this was the 1st time and i'll be ready for the next.

The old fluid was somewhere between dark brown and black but didn't smell burnt.
My transmission is the original with 334,000+ miles on it.
Had 3 or 4 flushes over its lifetime with the last about a 150K miles ago.

Don't know if its a placebo effect but it seems to shift smoother just about seamlessly now.

I highly recommend this fluid extraction method for those like me who don't like to crawl under the Jeep and as a side benefit, no goofy problems with the drain plug either.

 

moparado,

Thanks for the update! You may want to do this a few more times over the next few driving cycles if the fluid was in bad shape. Get as much new fluid rotated in as possible. Dark brown or black fluid is pretty spent.

 

Agreed, the temp sensor, if not in the trans itself, should be on the hot side line before the coolers. Putting it in the return line doesn't tell you anything about the temp of the trans itself.

 

trying to remove fluid without crawling under? disconnect the line of your choice, put in bucket, start jeep. done. how much fluid do you wanna remove?