So I go off to buy some genuine fluid to flush our 380's transmission. "Sorry, we use Valvoline, conpatible with the sp3". I can get 10l only on order. Apparently otherwise only come in 60l drums.

Sounds bollocks to me. They clearly use non-genuine fluid in their service center.

Auto trans places also refuse to bother getting genuine fluid.

Steve

And you can't just go off to the next dealer in the country as it can be 100km away.....

Want a country change Mal?

Is pretty bad when the dealer uses non genuine and you can bet your bottom dollar if you have a brand new lancer and you get the local service centre to do a trans flush and then the box dies they will decline the claim because the fluid used was not genuine

To be honest, as long as the maker is specifying that the fluid is SPIII then is fine to use. I did used to use Penrite SPIII but because I do so many cars still under warranty I chose to use the Genuine added to this in the 60l is about the same price.

It is hard to get good luck with car servicing around here. I had my timing belt done a few weeks back. Drove off to hear a clunking sound from the front end. Took it back and they couldn't see what was wrong. I went home and had a look. Driver's side engine mount bolt had not been done up. Was just sitting there loose.

We are all human and we all make the odd mistake BUT if that was my shop I would go over every single bolt I had touched on the job until I found the one in question and then I would go one step further to try and work out why this was missed, CCTV I have here is great for that sort of stuff :)

The workshop in question I have used for years. Good mechanic but he had just had his partner quit the day he did the job and was pretty stressed. I will go back as he is normally very good - gets jobs that pther workshops can't work out. As Mal said, we are all human and make mistakes.

Thats really weird how they think they cant get the fluid in smaller quantities....we stock 5L and 1L bottles? And have the 60L drum in the workshop...

The genuine stuff comes in 5 litre bottles.

Source: I have some sitting in my garage.

where is this?

They basically said they couldn't get it. They are in bed with Valvoline so not interested in genuine fluids. Frustrating when you can't get it in a town of 45000 people.

They basically said they couldn't get it. They are in bed with Valvoline so not interested in genuine fluids. Frustrating when you can't get it in a town of 45000 people.

This isn't mitsubishi mossvale or campbelltown by any chance? Those guys suck...

Tamworth NSW

They basically said they couldn't get it. They are in bed with Valvoline so not interested in genuine fluids. Frustrating when you can't get it in a town of 45000 people.

Thats a bit stupid...If i had an auto id only ever put genuine fluid in...no matter what kind of car it was.

Looking to change the trans fluid in my 380. Have previously taken it into a trans specalist. They charge under $200 for a oil change (which seems reasonable) but don't flush transmissions anymore as they claim to have had issues with the flush moving contaminants into soleniods etc creating problems. I don't have a problem with them and believe that they may very well have had issues in the past. However 20km ago I got them to change my fluid, they mentioned that the fluid was very dirty. My 380 has recently passed 100k and I would like to get rid of as much of the fluid that is now in it as possible so intend to dump what is in the sump and refil, then drive for a tank or so and repeat the dump and fill.

I will also look to install a cooler, the specalist quoted $500 to do so (and would be simply cable tying to an existing cooler), it does not look too hard and I would rather make a bracket and know it is mounted correctly.

I have been searching the forum and read everything I can find.

Am I correct in my understanding that I need to refill it through the dipstick tube?? This seems like it would take a painfully long time to get 5-6 litres into the transmission.

If I do have the wrong end of the stick can someone please set me straight.

Cheers

I got a quote for a flush some time back from a transmission specialist and they advised similar. Claimed that unlike the Magna auto's they found contaminants could cause problems on the 380 transmission when doing a power flush, so they now recommended flushing using a hand pump. They still flush until new fluid is exiting, but not via a powered machine. Not sure if this is related to the fact the 380 doesn't have a filter on the auto transmission but the magnas did...

Well I have given up trying to get genuine fluid so have bought 12l of Penrite full synthetic transmission fluid. The car is out of warranty anyway. This claims sp3 compatibility. Just drained 2 litres at a time from the cooler lines and refilled (running the engine each time to run the pump). Drained close to 12l. The old fluid was quite dark despite having the fluid "changed"at 45000km, although I think the dealer just changed the contents of the transmission sump. Didn't quite get the fluid looking perfect as had run out of fluid. It is pretty close though. Box was starting to flare a bit between 2nd and 3rd and now this is fine.

Just wondering, is the fluid coming through the transmission cooler via the torque converter? I was worried the fluid I was putting in was being pumped straight out rather than diluting the old fluid.