Anyone ever use Lucas Transmission Fix as part of a normal fluid change on a normally functioning transmission? My truck has almost 85,000 miles (136,000? km) and the transmission shifts fine, but I want it to last a long time.

I am going to have the fluid changed at 86-87k when I get the oil changed again (every 2500 is when I get the oil, filter and front end lube done) since the last time was at 72k and the one before that was 58k when it needed repairs when we bought the car. The fluid is still nice and dark pink/light red, but I know that doesn't speak for the actual fluid quality in terms of the additives.

I already use the Oil Stabilizer in the engine with a 10 psi oil pressure increase and a little less ticking noise on initial startup that goes away after a couple minutes (I always let it "warm up" for 5-10 min every time I start it up. No noise, runs like a charm after letting it warm up). I also use the Upper Cylinder Lubricant in the fuel system to keep it clean and try to get better gas mileage. Also depending on the fluid quality in the front and rear diffs, those are also going to be changed if they need it, even if they were done last year (the rear one was not done correctly. Express oil change place only sucked out the fluid and left residue and then refilled it. It is due for a new rear diff cover also because it is starting to get rusty.). Transfer case fluid, brake, power steering were also changed in the past year Am I missing something else here?


Thanks.
BD

 

IMO you are wasting money changing oil every 2500 miles unless you are using it in severe conditions. I change mine every 3000-3500 but I use mine to delivery mail part time so I consider it to be semi-harsh conditions with all the constant revving and stopping every few seconds going from box to box.

Oil stabilizer? What's that? Does it make it thicker? If so you could be doing more harm than good especially in cold weather that we are having right now.

3000-4000 miles between changes if you're using regular dino oil (non-synthetic) is all you need to do. use a good oil, maybe high mileage. Lot's of good oils out there, but I've been very impressed with the cleaning ability of Pennzoil.

I recently started using a half quart of MMO (marvel mystery oil) during an oil change (replacing half qt of oil with the MMO) and have been amazed at the increase in power and gas mileage. but I'll skip the MMO sometimes.

 

Some folks swear by the Lucas tranny stuff, but I say it's better to change the fluid on a regular basis. If you have an auto, I recommend every 25-35k miles.

 

I just change the trans fluid/filter every year. My BlaZeR2 has 127,000 miles on it. Stay away from a complete flush of the trans. As far as the oil changes go, I change mine every 3,000 miles and use high mileage oil.

 

Why not a complete flush? Funny you should mention that... My mom took her car into Lexus and they only dropped the pan and changed the fluid and said the method that doesn't entail dropping the pan and uses a machine damages the tranny. How is it actually bad?

Also the book under "Severe Service" says 15k for fluid and filter. Since this car does alot of hill and mountain road driving and also alot of high speed interstate driving (including during the summer when the temps hit triple digits), I would consider it to be severe service. This truck also sometimes does some wheel spinning in the winter since I normally wait until I really need the 4x4 to use the 4x4.

The weather around where I go to college has been bad over the last few days with snow and ice storms. The parking lots on campus are not plowed. On Friday, I went to turn into the lot (the road was clean) and I was only moving like 5-10 mph and the truck went sideways and almost hit a curb. Had I hit it, the truck would be on it's side.

I am just trying to make this truck last a very long time through the maintenance schedules so I don't have an engine or transmission failure when I least need one because frankly, after all the repairs we have put into this car, the only things we really want to pay for to keep it going (if we can help it) are regular maintenance items and gas.

Also P.S.: The college town I am in is full of trucks and SUVs and I can't go one day without seeing more than a dozen Blazers, Jimmys, Bravadas, S-10s and Sonomas.

 

I have an 89 S15 Blazer that I have owned since new. It now has about 415K on the body. I replaced the engine at almost 380K, The trans had a failure about 180K and was rebuilt the rebuilt lasted a couple of years and instead of having this trans rebuilt I purchased a GM Goodwrench Remanuafactored trans. Just change the trans fluid and filter on a regular basis, same with the oil. For oil I just use full synthetic that way there are no impurities in the oil and I skip additives. This is my daily driver and runs like a top.

 

UPDATE: I had my oil and tranny fluid (only way was with the machine) changed on Friday and there are Lucas products in both the engine and transmission. I am happy to say that I feel an obvious difference in how the transmission is operating. We have had single-digit temperatures over the past few days here. I live off-campus and I have to drive to classes every day. I would let the truck warm up for like 5 min and then drive 5 min to the commuter parking lot. After pulling out of the driveway, I would notice that the tranny would wait until like 2500 rpm (higher than usual for a shift and I am just barely touching the throttle since my first turn is just outside the driveway) and then shift sluggish into 2 if it was really cold outside. After the fluid change with Lucas, I can't even feel the shift and it shifts like a new car and the truck has almost 87000 on it.

The engine however is still about the same. It runs fine, but in single-degree days, it makes a ticking sound for like 3-5 seconds after the hard initial start and it would come back and get alot louder if I try to drive it when it is cold. The Lucas raised my hot oil pressure during the summer by about 5-10PSI average and almost eliminates the tick on startup if it is warmer than 25-30 degrees.

 

Give it some time. Sounds like you have a lifter that doesn't like to pump up when its cold out.

 

Please excuse my inexperience with 4.3L noises, but does lifter noise indicate damage or possible future engine damage? It has been doing that for a while.

 

If it is a sticking lifter, it really won't damage much, but you will not be getting peak performance out of that cylinder because the lifter is not fully opening the valve like it is intended to do.

The lifters used in these engines are hydraulic roller lifters. They use oil pressure from the oil pump to "pump up" and take the lash (slop) out of the valve train.