Based on an idea I outlined in another topic in series 111.

A month or so ago I became aware, through smelling the ATF, that a towing incident a month previously may have seriously overheated the ATF.

Various sites caution against a forced mechanical flush using cleaners on a poorly maintained transmission such as mine. A number report that such situations may in fact lead to a catastrophic failure of the transmission because built up deposits loosen and move through the box. Similarly, there are a number of cautions about a box where the fluid has been badly overheated, stating that it is reasonable to expect the box to fail as a consequence.

I see nothing to loose by performing a more gentle flush which I called a 'softflush'.


This process uses a concept of a serial, stepwise. dilution resulting in a geometric progression, sequence, of the concentration in a logarithmic fashion.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c168/yanndee/IMG_1608b_zpscabu7kfp.jpg

It took a while, with the nudge of a member here and help from a maths forum, to create a spreadsheet that clearly outlines the process to me.

I used OpenOffice.org Calc :

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c168/yanndee/red%20dwarf15_zps1ijdf2yv.jpg

As can be seen, by the time of the fifth drain/fill/mix the amount of the original (very) dirty ATF is at just above 2 %.

I took a sample of each drain and intend to draw one from the current contents and then analyse them to see what I can learn.

If the box is still behaving in a year I'll be satisfied. (If it doesn't I've got a spare box from another wreck I got for 150$ inc transport and as I've already used parts from it above that value the box is free.)

The process I choose to use is like this:

1 Drained and filled.
Drove for about 100k's to mix the ATF.
2 Drained and filled.
Drove
3 D/f
D
4 D/f
5 Drained. Removed the sump, Care with the gasket. It happened to be the original gasket. A very stable fibre gasket. I put it on grease proof paper and squeezed a bead of RTV on the depressed areas (after clening it in detergent and letting it dry.) and put g.p.p on top and used a smooth roller to roll a flat new surface.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c168/yanndee/IMG_1611_zps1tungpbt.jpg

Let set for a couple of hours and peeled the paper off. Used a stanley knife blade and a hole punch to create smooth edges all around. Thorughly cleaned a filter and used some cork gasket material to replace its gasket. (I had all this pre-prepared using parts from a wrecked box except for the sump gasket which didn't work in the first attempt as the cork gasket shrunk! but worked well with the fibre gasket. Put in some extra magnets (why not?) and bolted it all up. Filled.

Then bottom cut off a bottle like this wedged between the fusebox and loose filter box makes an excellent fast fill.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c168/yanndee/IMG_1607_zpsktfjitq5.jpg


Put a sheet under the car for a bit to test for any leaks. OK.


So now there is about 2 % dirty fluid which I deem to be acceptable.

Total cost 20l Penrite ATF SPIII semi. Apart from the last change the car was never off the road for more than an hour.

The sump plug gasket worked fine throughout though I like the idea of using the gasket rings off discarded sparkplugs. Will do next time.


edit add : I forgot to mention performance

After the first couple of changes there was no real change except it was different. It seemed to me that the gearchanges were a bit funny, more noticable, after the fourth and fifth that all smoothed out and it seems clear to me, if that is to be expected I don't know, that the power throughput has improved and the car seems to be using less fuel and takes longer to heat up. (Before all this the car seemed to be dragging itself around, particularly uphill.) I'll check consumption over the next couple of fills.

That is a very comprehensive write-up, thanks for taking the time to show your findings.
Its a compelling proposition for those who don't have the time or means to get a professional flush, or their transmission is in a similar condition to yours or who prefer to DIY where possible. It has me pondering whether or not to do my next flush myself on the wagon :hmm:
Please keep us posted with your further findings :)

I like the approach and understand the maths behind the progressive dilution of the dirty transmission fluid.
Will any of the build up deposits be dislogded into the progressively cleaner ATF (assuming ATF has some additives to manage these particles)?
That would increase the dirtyness during each of the flushes and alter the % remainder.

Nah I doubt fresh ATF by itself would be able to dissolve existing crud already inside; you're just praying that gunk doesn't sluice off in large chunks big enough to jam your solenoids... hopefully get trapped in the filter.

Don't see need for the fancy math :) sounds like its just drain & fill 5 times? More always better I guess, if you've got the patience.

Last time I DIY'd was when I still had a helping pair of hands & a TH with 140k on the clock. Bought 3 jerrycans of the Castrol fluid, fed it in thru the top whilst it trickled out thru the bottom with the engine running. Fluid probably never been changed, it was jetblack. Kept going until the dribble turned red, took halfway of the 3rd can. Changed the spinon filter, car ran fine.

I souvenired a jarful of the black ATF, it's still black after all these years. Hasn't settled any sediment, so it must keep it suspended.

And still haven't found use for that halfcan of Castrol yet. :)

I am speculating - so in response to the next bit - don't shoot me please.

But the stuff that keeps the deposits suspended, gets bound up as a result of suspending the deposts.
Flushing in the manner described would renew the additives and thereby making it available to washout and suspend more deposits.

That washout might take time (who knows how much!) but it would be interesting to look at the ATF say 6 months later and see if it is blacker than the norm.

I initially thought that the transmission held 12 liters and four was drained out when doing an atf change. So I was driven to find a universal formula for a serial dilution, a spreadsheet that one can plug in the full volume and the change volume of any transission and get a simple instant readout to work out at which point such a flush as suggested will have achieved an acceptable (to me) contaminant concentration. At the same time when you have a transmission with 7.5:4 litres (full/change vol) it's no surprise that it's after about five changes it starts getting good.

The response post to my post floating this notion in another thread in the third gen also suggested that the contamination is increased by loosened contaminants that a full change necessarily leads to. I find this to be true. How significant, I don't know. Going by responses and readings, If it hasn't failed in 12 months it's ok from that pov. ( I took the sump off again ( * ) and found the magnets already beginning to form little pyranids of whatever. Also the fluid (which I've yet to properly analyse (I've got (why hot?) one of the little bottles standing on a strong magnet at the moment and will spin the lot in a diy centrifuge later et.c. )) is pretty discoloured compared to freash fluid. I wonder to what extent there is a strong coloruing agent and or something that degrades the fresh fluid (which is now 98 % of the fluid in the transission.) It no longer has the burnt smell and it seems more viscous, definitely red. It 'blobs' more on the dipstick that the runny dirty fluid it started with.

The car has significantly more pull going uphill. It used to feel like it was dragging itseelf around town.

( * ) The attempt to rescue the old gasket in the way I outlined in the first post failed. I noticed a drip a couple of days ago and had to drain, to find the gasket in tatters. I wouldn't do it that way again. At a pinch if >I had to< use an old reasonably whole gasket again I'd not let the gasket goo set but clean the mating surfaces and spread it on there and fit the gasket and then get a new gasket, If it holds, fine. in this instance I used a sheet of cork and cut a new one (hole punch 7mm, sharp stanley blade). Just fitted it this arvo. I'll put it over a driptray for a while. Looks ok so far.

what's a new gasket worth btw? :) also wondering why all that rejuvenation effort

(Like its a Magna, in Oz. Not like the euro oddities I grew up with, zero parts supply in Asia.)





That washout might take time (who knows how much!) but it would be interesting to look at the ATF say 6 months later and see if it is blacker than the norm.

No I get what you mean, you want fresh fluid to try soak up existing crud.

Bit like putting fresh young red into a crusted old bottle/cask to soak up old flavour... hey, works for sherry! ;)

"Norm" could be another uncertainty though; ATF is a pretty complex fluid, it's gotta lubricate bearings AND still allow friction at the clutches. It goes black when it gets burnt, not just from worn out filings (they'd get filtered). Brandnew tranny might stay red for 40-60k, old worn out slipping tranny might go black in 10k from sloppy running.

why? - economics and independence : I live far from a well stocked, ordinarily priced parts supplier which means everything is part cost plus pickup costs. Yesterday was a holiday and I needed a gasket so I used a sheet of cork I bought last year. As I learn what gaskets ( or anything else ) I can make and which I cannot I get more independent. I can do what I need to when I need to irrespective of whether I can afford to pay someone to do it at any time.

Seems like a lot of time and effort to acheive the same results as if the fluid was replaced in one hit.

The following is from a 3rd gen service manual but i'd imagine the process to be identical...

With the ATF at normal operating temperature, replace the ATF using the following procedure.

1. Remove the right hand hose connecting the transmission oil cooler pipe to the oil cooler (built in to the bottom
of the radiator).

2. Connect a suitable length of hose from the radiator cooler pipe to an oil drain receptacle, large enough to hold the
quantity of discharged fluid.

3. Start the engine and discharge the ATF.

Operating conditions: “N” Neutral gear and idling.

Caution

Start the engine and then stop it within one minute. If the ATF is discharged before the one minute elapses, stop the engine at that time. Amount of ATF discharged: Approximately 4.5 (litres)

4. Remove the drain plug at the bottom of the transmission case and discharge the ATF. Amount of ATF discharged: Approximately 1.0 (litre)

5. Install the drain plug and gasket, applying the specified amount of torque.
Tightening torque: 32 Nm

6. Fill with new ATF through the oil filler tube. Amount of ATF added: Approximately 5.5 (litres)
NOTE: Stop pouring if the entire amount of new ATF cannot be added. (Do not exceed “COLD” level)

7. Repeat the procedure in step (3) and discharge approximately 3.0 litres of ATF.

NOTE
Check the ATF discharged in step (8) for contamination. If it is contaminated, repeat steps (7) and (8).

8. Add the new ATF through the oil filler tube. Amount of ATF added: Approximately 3.0 (litres)

9. Attach and secure the hose that was disconnected in step (1) and securely insert the oil level gauge.

10. Start the engine and let it idle for one or two minutes.

11. Move the selector lever through all gear positions, ending in Neutral position.

12. Make sure the ATF reaches the “COLD” mark on the oil level gauge. If there is not enough ATF, add more.

13. Drive the car until the ATF temperature reaches normal 70–80
C and recheck the ATF level. The ATF must be within the “HOT” range.

NOTE: The “COLD” level is for reference only and the “HOT”
level serves as the standard.

14. Securely insert the oil level gauge into the filler tube


Again, note the above is for 3rd gens and as such the torque settings, volumes etc will be different but the process should be the same.

Presumably the OP was taking the normal route of draining the ATF just from the drain plug.
That leaves a fair bit in the torque converter, hence the math approach of how many drains does it take to get clean.

If the above procedure of pumping out all the ATF is safe, then it is a lot less wastefull of good ATF.
Can't answer if its safe to do it this way (not a car mechanic!) but would be interesting to hear the opinions of others on this flush method.

I copy/pasted the above from the Mitsubishi Service manual. However, as i stated, this is for a 3rd gen but i can't see it being any different for the 2nd gen.

Just bumping this thread as I am thinking of doing something to renew the ATF in both the magna TP and the Verada KS.

Both these cars have never had a ATF change (as far as I am aware!) and are sitting at about 100K KM on the clock.
The ATF doesn't smell burnt, is not black and is is pretty transparent.
ATF in the verada is lightly pink and in the TP a bit more like light amber.
Neither car is used for towing and are driven mostly short distances (ie not that hard on working the AFT).

I don't think the colour of the ATF is that informative about the condition of the ATF (more likely just a the result of faded red dye).
But I am open to be challenged on this as I don't really know.

The whole ATF issue is quite confusing as there are so many conflicting opinions about how long it lasts, flushing methods, coolers, filters etc.

These 2 opinions though seems to be propping up consistently.
1) if done frequently (eg as per scheduled 30K KM) its a good thing.
2) if never done, and it is blackish, its a bad thing so leave it be.

Best reasons given for 2:
If it is black then clutch material has become suspended in the ATF (ie become worn) and the clutches may slip in new ATF (as it is thinner).
Total flush may disloge so much built up desposits that is will block filters and stuff up the pump.

But what to do when you are in between these extremes??

This thread is about a "gentle" flush that takes a cautious approach by slowly diluting suspended contaminants and maybe gently dissolving and suspending "built up" contaminants.

Like to know if anyone else has tried this approach and what was the result?
Also like to get opinions on if I should change the ATF given its overdue by 70K KM.

I find that it can be difficult to tell the condition of the ATF.

The bad fluid seems is more runny. Good fluid seems to stick or clump more on the dipstick, the bad fluid spreads out more.

To get a sample of the last fill after running a while I got a clear tube (a couple of meters) from the hardware shop and pushed it down the filler tube and siphoned off a few cc's. In volume what looked 'not discoloured red' on the dipstick, in a bottle was 'definitely discoloured' even though by then it was just 2 percent contaminant left. That black powder appears impossible to get out completely and even very diluted it is still a potent tinter. So, colour not a good indicator of goodness of ATF.

I personally think that the burnt smell is distinctive compared to clean ATF but there is not a clear distinction the cleaner the dirty fluid becomes. So except for telling very bad from very good fluid smell is not reliable.

It seems clear to me that if it has not been changed for along time it will need changing and by then a full machine flush can be a bad thing. This gentler method seems to not disturb deposits as much as a full machine flush and while it doesn't remove all black tint material I'm sure the quality of the ATF in the box is just about as good either way.

So, if the fluid (compared to clean) is too runny, smells bad, not clear red in volume, the car seems sluggish and it's been a long time since a complete change consider this method.

It took five 4liter changes with 100 k's mixing times in between and a filter/plug washer/sump gasket change with the last to bring it to an acceptable level of contaminats and a confidence that it's as good as it can get short of a machine flush with the problems that can bring. All up about 200 bucks. Now I'm just waiting to see if anything goes wrong. So far ok.

@ ts3700000
I was thinking along the same lines and remembered your post about the gentle transmission flush.

A few cc in a test tube will for sure give a better perspective on contaminants in the ATF, that is if I can get a plastic tube down that strangely shaped dipstick tube on the verada KS.

Will do a blot test and compare the spread (and rate of spread) of the new and old ATF's (I'll use a small pipette).
The thinner fluid should spread more (but I was also under the impresion that blackened ATF was thicker?).

I know one thing - definitely not going to subject these cars to the full machine forced transmission flush.

Did you use OEM mitsubishi ATF, an equivalent SP3 aftermarket ATF or multi vehicle ATF?

If AMC has any members that are auto transmission gurus - would be great to get their opinion.

I found a clear plastic tube 10mm OD - 8mm ID with a little bit of wiggling worked ok.

Perhaps it's a bit denser but not as viscous. After reading your post I tried (saved the samples from the flush) a sniff test, a drop (from the first sample and the last (siphoned off, the others from the drains)) on a level sheet of glass and on a sloped piece of glass using a syringe to try and drop an equal sized drop from each sample. I didn't think cross contamination would be an issue and just wiped the glass down with some paper. I did the same on a sheet of metal. - nothing conclusive : of the cleanest sample: possibly the surface tension is greater AND it flows better. I need to standardise the and refine the tests to get any clear results/ Also I'll look out for a hydrometer to test the specific gravity or relative density. I think the use of a pipette is a good idea.

afa a centrifuge goes my latest idea is to fill short pices of clear hose and fix them to the propellers of a floor fan and spin them horizontally.

A strong magnet under the sample bottles overnight, week, didn't do much at all.

Once one has (if?) a good set of data then perhaps matching that to in the moment (garage) dipstick check of blotting into a service station tissue paper, a sniff, a visual, touch, can give more accurate info about the state of the ATF in the most common of situations. It was the smell of burnt above anything else that got me started on all this in the first place.

(a mate just drop by and aleted me to the old painters 'ford cup viscosity test' and I think a couple of syringes filled, with the plunger gone should do nicely. I'll try that tomorrow.(note to self))

Using the syringe to test the viscosity seems like a worthwhile experiment.
Should give reasonable accuracy as well, especially when using a smallish needle nozzle to draw out and differentiate the time to empty.

I am sure that some process exists that would leave a DIYr some information to judge the merit of their ATF.
Just haven't seen it.

Local mitsu dealer wants $5.50 for a crush washer and $48.20 for 5L of ATF.

What size/kind of crush washer is used on the AT - is it 14mm X 19.5mm / copper?
Hopefully Repco or SCA can do better for this part.

Not much choice for mitsu dealers here so I guess I'll have to pay the premium price for the ATF!

(gotten a bit side tracked, back on it on the w'end)

The plug washer is the same size (and a good substitute) as the washer on a sparkplug.

I use penrite semi atf mhp which, when on special is 32$ 4 l at supercheap otherwise 40. (Curiously it's more expensive to buy a 20 l can.) Your price seems ok to me.

I think that makes it a 14 mm inside diameter washer.
Auto shops don't seem to carry crush washers, so it looks like mitsu is price gouging for that part.

Price of the ATF here is a few dollars more than at some other mitsu dealers (location dependant it seems!).
I'll stick with their formulation though, as that matches what is in there already.

The whole ATF issue is quite confusing as there are so many conflicting opinions about how long it lasts, flushing methods, coolers, filters etc.
New cars have no dipstick nowadays so no way for the average joe to check fluid.
Also transmissions are sealed for life............... they say!!!
For normal driving i would think........what about all those that do lots of towing?? Vee

No-one seems to know what "sealed for life" really means.
Even manufacturers that started with these sealed for life AT's now admit that these AT's still need to be serviced.

For light duty driving (ie no towing and modest people loading), the ex mechanic I often seek avise from, believes the ATF is good for 200K KM.
On top of that, he mentioned that its not uncommon for cars to come in with stuffed AT's, 2 month or so after doing a power flush.

I surmise that if you have burned the ATF with heavy duty usage, and keep driving with it, then a power flush may lead to a problem.
Knowledge of your driving habits, smell of and black deposits in the ATF, provide a few clues for the DIY maintenance service of ATs.

This thread though could do with some input from those with a deeper knowledge of ATs.
Particularly in terms of the merit for this DIY soft flush approach by TS370000.

(I got ten 5 mil plastic syringes from the chemist for 35c each. I try to make all these things cheap with readily available material and easily repeated.)

I read some info and realised the importance of temperature and atf.

http://www.viscopedia.com/viscosity-tables/substances/automatic-transmission-fluid-atf/

http://www.viscopedia.com/fileadmin/_processed_/csm_Graph_Oil_LM_ATF_III_1024_6a3a6f96ad.png

iow, a meaningful test must consider temperature.

@ ts370000 Did you do the viscosity tests?

Not yet. I got stuck into other things. I have the fluids saved as well as part of the things I need. I chose 5ml plastic syringes which I'll mount on a board in a box that I'll be able to have at a high temperature. Testing at a high temperature seems important based on the graph I linked to. I have a heater and a thermometer. At the moment it's about finding the time to put it all together. I will do it. Perhaps within a month.

I know what lack of time to do these kinds of things feels like - I'll keep an eye on this thread.

If your transmission has been stressed to the point of massive clutch material floating around then you most likely are wasting your money on flushing it.

A bit like having worn engine piston rings and expecting the look of nice clean oil on the dipstick to fix the lost compression.

Believe it or not it ain't hard to replace the clutch packs in a transmission.

If it has been stressed and thus gone blackish from clutch shedding then the concensus seems to be to not to do a power flush.
Reason being (AFAIK) is that the new (clean) ATF will have a lower viscosity and the clutch will slip.
Hence our interest in the viscosity of used ATF and ditto when the old is mixed with the new.

I presume the soft flush will end up with the same result for this extreme end of AT abuse.

This exercise is great because it addresses less extreme "abuse" conditions of the AT and can be done with just plug draining.

That said - a thread on how to replace the clutch packs seems a great idea.

Based on an idea I outlined in another topic in series 111.

A month or so ago I became aware, through smelling the ATF, that a towing incident a month previously may have seriously overheated the ATF.

Various sites caution against a forced mechanical flush using cleaners on a poorly maintained transmission such as mine. A number report that such situations may in fact lead to a catastrophic failure of the transmission because built up deposits loosen and move through the box. Similarly, there are a number of cautions about a box where the fluid has been badly overheated, stating that it is reasonable to expect the box to fail as a consequence.

I see nothing to loose by performing a more gentle flush which I called a 'softflush'.


This process uses a concept of a serial, stepwise. dilution resulting in a geometric progression, sequence, of the concentration in a logarithmic fashion.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c168/yanndee/IMG_1608b_zpscabu7kfp.jpg

It took a while, with the nudge of a member here and help from a maths forum, to create a spreadsheet that clearly outlines the process to me.

I used OpenOffice.org Calc :

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c168/yanndee/red%20dwarf15_zps1ijdf2yv.jpg

As can be seen, by the time of the fifth drain/fill/mix the amount of the original (very) dirty ATF is at just above 2 %.

I took a sample of each drain and intend to draw one from the current contents and then analyse them to see what I can learn.

If the box is still behaving in a year I'll be satisfied. (If it doesn't I've got a spare box from another wreck I got for 150$ inc transport and as I've already used parts from it above that value the box is free.)

The process I choose to use is like this:

1 Drained and filled.
Drove for about 100k's to mix the ATF.
2 Drained and filled.
Drove
3 D/f
D
4 D/f
5 Drained. Removed the sump, Care with the gasket. It happened to be the original gasket. A very stable fibre gasket. I put it on grease proof paper and squeezed a bead of RTV on the depressed areas (after clening it in detergent and letting it dry.) and put g.p.p on top and used a smooth roller to roll a flat new surface.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c168/yanndee/IMG_1611_zps1tungpbt.jpg

Let set for a couple of hours and peeled the paper off. Used a stanley knife blade and a hole punch to create smooth edges all around. Thorughly cleaned a filter and used some cork gasket material to replace its gasket. (I had all this pre-prepared using parts from a wrecked box except for the sump gasket which didn't work in the first attempt as the cork gasket shrunk! but worked well with the fibre gasket. Put in some extra magnets (why not?) and bolted it all up. Filled.

Then bottom cut off a bottle like this wedged between the fusebox and loose filter box makes an excellent fast fill.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c168/yanndee/IMG_1607_zpsktfjitq5.jpg


Put a sheet under the car for a bit to test for any leaks. OK.


So now there is about 2 % dirty fluid which I deem to be acceptable.

Total cost 20l Penrite ATF SPIII semi. Apart from the last change the car was never off the road for more than an hour.

The sump plug gasket worked fine throughout though I like the idea of using the gasket rings off discarded sparkplugs. Will do next time.


edit add : I forgot to mention performance

After the first couple of changes there was no real change except it was different. It seemed to me that the gearchanges were a bit funny, more noticable, after the fourth and fifth that all smoothed out and it seems clear to me, if that is to be expected I don't know, that the power throughput has improved and the car seems to be using less fuel and takes longer to heat up. (Before all this the car seemed to be dragging itself around, particularly uphill.) I'll check consumption over the next couple of fills.

What a great post and a system that works keep up the great input however you my find others will strongly disagree I for one have solved transmission issues in a series 3 GT using the soft method but unfortunately my how to post was closed and removed

The soft flush method seems to have merit but only if you understand the pro's and con's of it.
I still would like to know more about the con's, that causes some knowledgeable members here to have such strong dislike for this method.

I believe that:
The soft flush is a waste full process when applied to well maintained transmissions.
Flushing as per service manual might not be a good idea on dirty/worn transmissions.
Power flushing is known to accelerate (on occasion) the failure of dirty/worn transmissions.
The colour of the ATF, that is otherwise clear, tells you nothing about the condition of the ATF (the dye fades with use).

That leaves the transmission that is in the middle in terms of contaminated ATF and its life span.
The DIY soft flush seems to be a good idea for this scenario.
I keep hoping that those that disagree, do more than just object, but qualify their objections.

I wonder if TS370000 ever got around to do the viscosity testing.


@Andrew16
From what I am lead to believe:
Your post was deleted because you were claiming that the soft flush method was better than the procedure in the service manual.
Mitsubishi Engineers are in the ultimate position to know their product and how best to maintain it.
Question is - does the one procedure fit all scenarios best (IMHO no!).

The soft flush method seems to have merit but only if you understand the pro's and con's of it.
I still would like to know more about the con's, that causes some knowledgeable members here to have such strong dislike for this method.

I believe that:
The soft flush is a waste full process when applied to well maintained transmissions.
Flushing as per service manual might not be a good idea on dirty/worn transmissions.
Power flushing is known to accelerate (on occasion) the failure of dirty/worn transmissions.
The colour of the ATF, that is otherwise clear, tells you nothing about the condition of the ATF (the dye fades with use).

That leaves the transmission that is in the middle in terms of contaminated ATF and its life span.
The DIY soft flush seems to be a good idea for this scenario.
I keep hoping that those that disagree, do more than just object, but qualify their objections.

I wonder if TS370000 ever got around to do the viscosity testing.


@Andrew16
From what I am lead to believe:
Your post was deleted because you were claiming that the soft flush method was better than the procedure in the service manual.
Mitsubishi Engineers are in the ultimate position to know their product and how best to maintain it.
Question is - does the one procedure fit all scenarios best (IMHO no!).

Definitely not I certainly did not discount or disagree with the workshop manual the soft flush is just another method
That worked for me and fixed my issue
Thats it no more no less
I wish everyone the greatest success with whatever method you all use to service your trany
The most important thing with all of this agree or disagree is LOOK AFTER YOUR TRANY
get a pro to do it do it yourself as per the manual or soft flush its up to everyone to make their own decisions
For reasons well known I no longer wish to comment any further
I hope you all understand
Loving my 380 caring for her better than any mechanic would
Keep the Magna dream alive and our club friendly open and understanding
Kindest regards Andrew