Car fluid change frequency
Discussion
Do car manufacturers issue guidelines for when fluids such as gearbox oil, power steering fluid etc should be changed?
I've had my car (VW) for several years and know items such as these do not fall under the normal service routine so wondered if they are covered under separate guidelines by VW.
If not, how do you judge when to change such fluids?
IIRC, the only fluids that have regularly been changed on my car are the engine oil and brake fluid.
(This question came to mind after watching an old episode of Wheeler Dealers where Ed was changing the gearbox oil on an old Jag XJS!)
I've had my car (VW) for several years and know items such as these do not fall under the normal service routine so wondered if they are covered under separate guidelines by VW.
If not, how do you judge when to change such fluids?
IIRC, the only fluids that have regularly been changed on my car are the engine oil and brake fluid.
(This question came to mind after watching an old episode of Wheeler Dealers where Ed was changing the gearbox oil on an old Jag XJS!)
Many/most gearboxes and final drives are sealed for life these days. The magic of synthetic oil is to blame!
Power steering systems on Fords will gradually leak and effect a fluid change, other makes don't seem to need it.
AFAIK, Citroen hydraulic fluid is the only one with a regular change interval for 'ancillary' circuits such as steering.
Power steering systems on Fords will gradually leak and effect a fluid change, other makes don't seem to need it.
AFAIK, Citroen hydraulic fluid is the only one with a regular change interval for 'ancillary' circuits such as steering.
Ive always tended to change the gearbox oil when I buy a car, along with the engine oil. I once watched a video on youtube of a Japanese guy who worked for one of the big tuning houses and he said when you do a track day, changing the gearbox oil is more important than the engine oil.
Just like engine oil, depending on how you drive the car and the frequency it can be better to change the oils more often as the cost is fairly small if you can do it your self.
I flushed my AYC clutch bath oil a couple of times when I bought my evo and I now change it every few months to be safe as its easy to do
Just like engine oil, depending on how you drive the car and the frequency it can be better to change the oils more often as the cost is fairly small if you can do it your self.
I flushed my AYC clutch bath oil a couple of times when I bought my evo and I now change it every few months to be safe as its easy to do
angusc43 said:
Merc went from recommending gearbox oil changes to saying they were sealed for life. After several years of gearboxes grenading they've gone back to recommending oil changes......
Think they now specify one at 40k miles which gets a lot of cars past the warranty period, then no further specified changes. Or so I was told by one of their technicians. Good mark up in a replacement gearbox I suppose.McSam said:
The next question for the guys who change gear oil, PSF and so on regularly is this - can you ever feel the difference afterwards?
Or do you do it purely as preventative maintenence?
It is preventative but I could definitely feel the difference when I changed the gearbox oil, I didn't notice any change from the diff oil but it was cheap and easy to do.Or do you do it purely as preventative maintenence?
McSam said:
Hmmm.. What sort of difference did you pick up? Smoother changing action, or what?
Yeah, the difference from a cold start was really noticeable. The interval on my RX8 is 60k or 5 years so it was due a change but for the cost and difficulty of changing it I would be tempted to do it on any car I had.Edited by wolves_wanderer on Wednesday 26th January 23:23
McSam said:
The next question for the guys who change gear oil, PSF and so on regularly is this - can you ever feel the difference afterwards?
I don't know about gearbox oil on a manual, but I had the ATF flushed on my S60 and it was night and day. So much smoother, crisper and more responsive than before the change, and less prone to oddities like downshifting then immediately upshifting coming out of a corner, or repeatedly locking then unlocking the torque converter lockup going uphill at certain speeds.The old stuff was quite dark, though... that at only 60k, which does suggest in some cases "sealed for life" while still technically correct may result in a rather short "life".
Eggman said:
Don't forget coolant! The anti-freeze bit keeps on working, but the corrosion inhibitors only last about two years. Once they've packed up completely, all your engine's aluminium bits and bobs will start going furry.
There are Longlife coolants good for 10 years, as specified by GM in USA. Long life fluids help contribute to the very low running costs of American cars.wolves_wanderer said:
McSam said:
Hmmm.. What sort of difference did you pick up? Smoother changing action, or what?
Yeah, the difference from a cold start was really noticeable. The interval on my RX8 is 60k or 5 years so it was due a change but for the cost and difficulty of changing it I would be tempted to do it on any car I had.Edited by wolves_wanderer on Wednesday 26th January 23:23
I'm considering it since my 120,000-mile-old gearbox is an obstinate b
h when she's cold, I may well have to look into changing the oil. I chalked it up to old and knackered linkages, but if it's not hard to do a change on my car, surely it's worthwhile 5 USA said:
Eggman said:
Don't forget coolant! The anti-freeze bit keeps on working, but the corrosion inhibitors only last about two years. Once they've packed up completely, all your engine's aluminium bits and bobs will start going furry.
There are Longlife coolants good for 10 years, as specified by GM in USA. Long life fluids help contribute to the very low running costs of American cars.VW coolant is a change after year 3, then every two years thereafter.
McSam said:
wolves_wanderer said:
McSam said:
Hmmm.. What sort of difference did you pick up? Smoother changing action, or what?
Yeah, the difference from a cold start was really noticeable. The interval on my RX8 is 60k or 5 years so it was due a change but for the cost and difficulty of changing it I would be tempted to do it on any car I had.Edited by wolves_wanderer on Wednesday 26th January 23:23
I'm considering it since my 120,000-mile-old gearbox is an obstinate b
h when she's cold, I may well have to look into changing the oil. I chalked it up to old and knackered linkages, but if it's not hard to do a change on my car, surely it's worthwhile angusc43 said:
Merc went from recommending gearbox oil changes to saying they were sealed for life. After several years of gearboxes grenading they've gone back to recommending oil changes......
Jaguar still claim their gearboxes (or ZFs to be precise) are 'sealed for life'
, but I'd recommend anyone with a Jag auto to change it every 40-60k.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff