M35A3 - Trans Fluid Flush Question & other Filter Maintenance

[Commander5993]

Hi... Its me again.

Ok, I am planning on doing a full service tune up and maintenance work to the A3, once I get it here. I am purchasing two of all the filters, one to put on the truck and one to keep as a spare.

Since I have always been one to use the best filters for any vehicle I have had. I want all the CAT Brand Filters, and yes I can hear a bunch of you saying "You don't have to buy CAT, just buy fram or etc." Well I used to work in automotive, and back some years ago, I would have agreed with you on fram. However, for the past few years, I won't put a fram filter on my lawn mower (not kidding either). I have seen two many general quality problems, and total failure in the fram product line. Let alone if the filter itself is really helping much anymore, with the newer cheaper materials.

One time I actually had a fram oil filter come apart when I went to pull it out of the box for a customer. Another time, my brother was driving on the interstate, and his oil light/gauge indicated low oil pressure. Well by the time he was get across several lanes of traffic and over into the emergency lane (road side), his engine locked up. When he got out and opened his hood to see what had happened, he found that the fram filter had collapsed and blocked the oil flow....
Before this gets any longer, I'm turning the rant switch off


Anyway... I have already purchased two of the CAT Oil Filter 1R1807 (CAT's Advanced High Filtration Model) & two the CAT Fuel Filter 7E9763 as was suggested by BadMaster in another thread (Thanks BadMaster ).

The Air Filter that I have found in a couple of posts has Part # P520925. However from what I have found so far, this seems to be a Donaldson part #. Is Donaldson the original Air Filter Brand? Is there a better Air Filter?

BadMaster, and others, show CAT's Transmission Spin-on/External Filter Number is 1R0713. Now my brother has a transmission flush machine, which I was going to borrow. And I have read a couple other posts on here which talk about changing the Alice Transmission fluid from the 15w-40 Motor Oil, To ATF Dextron III or TransSynd, which gives the Transmission a smoother shift and overall action. I believe I will find and use TransSync, as I read it is a higher grade fluid that will last for longer mileage and such. (Please Correct me if these fluid types are incorrect or etc).

Now here are some questions:
First, will the original CAT Trans-filter 1R0713 still be correct filter to use with the new fluid type?

Second: How much ATF Fluid (or number of flushes) will I need to do to correctly and completely flush the Transmission of the old Motor Oil? Can I use the Dextron III for flushing purposes, before filling with TransSync in the final flush?

Third: If I am going to perform the Trans Flush, when should I change the internal filter? After the 1st Flush? Obviously before the final fluid type is pumped in.

Any tips on the trans fluid type flush and change over.

Thanks Everyone!

Edit: P.S. Something else I am going to do, is to make sure that All the drain plugs on the truck are Magnetic Plugs. If they are not, I am replacing them with Magnetic Plugs. I have seen this work on vehicles we had in the past. It really Makes a Difference in the life of the Fluid, Filter, and ultimately the life of the transmission itself, by pulling all the fine metal particles out of circulation and keeps them from continuing to pass through the vital components.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Update: Since I have yet to find one place here on SS which has ALL the filter numbers for the M35A3,
(as the Deuce Wiki in the A3 section is missing the internal trans and air filter #'s. Plus it apparently also has a miss type on the fuel filter - wiki has "73-9763" instead of "7E-9763")

I thought I would post what #'s I have found in my research over the past several days. I got these number from different SS Threads, and others by searching on google. The filters that I have listed below are not the only filter brands that will work, but are the best and/or original O.E.M. filters that I have found so far. Hope this helps!


M35A3 Filter Numbers:

CAT Brand - High Grade Advanced Filtration Oil Filter # 1R-1807

CAT Brand - Fuel Filter # 7E-9763

CAT Brand - External/Spin-on Transmission Filter # 1R-0713
If you need a filter to use while "flushing" your Transmission, while purging the old motor oil that was being used by the military out of your transmission. You can use save some $'s by using the lower cost Napa External/Spin-on Transmission Filter # FIL 1268 and then change to the CAT Filter listed above after final drain, and before final re-fill of either Dextron III or Transynd Transmission Fluid.

Allison Brand - Internal/In-Pan Transmission Filter & Gasket Kit #29506392
***Have not found anyplace to actually order the Allison Brand Internal Transmission Filter. However Eriks Military has the same #, but I'm not 100% sure if it is a real Allison or other brand #29506392. If nothing else can be found, **Napa Brand is below:
**Napa Brand - Internal/In Pan Transmission Filter & Gasket Kit # ATP 14959

O.E.M. Engine Intake Air Filter - (also available at Eriks Military) #5743562

Haldex - "Pure Air Plus" Air Dryer Filter & Small Parts Kit (this keeps your compressed air system dry and clean, which is important since it is used to power your Brakes, Assisted Steering, and more. Also available at Eriks Military) Kit # DQ6026


Does anyone know of any other filters on the A3? Have I missed/forgotten any filters?

 

[glcaines]

The transmission holds about 21 quarts. I would recommend using the Dexron III and not TranSynd because of the price. TranSynd is very expensive. it is better, but only as far as extending the fluid change intervals. If you want to use TranSynd, I have a new 5 gallon pail for cheap so PM me. i used NAPA brand Dexron III equivalent, which is made by Valvoline (Ashland Oil). The transmissiion external filter is NAPA 1268. I believe the internal is NAPA ATP14959. I used the drain and fill method, driving in between changes to change out to Dexron III. Great improvement in transmission function after the change. i changed the external filter twice. The internal filter was changed just after the last drain.

Have a good strap wrench ready to remove the fuel filter. Clean out the petcock on the bottom of the filter housing. I needed to rod mine out to get the fuel to flow. You also will need to remove the check valve from the fuel line at the tank and clean it. They are always crapped up. Be careful removing the fitting as it is easy to snap off the fitting on the tank if you don't hold both sides securely. They are usually very tight. Clean the check valve thoroughly with mineral spirits or gasoline. Unless it was recently cleaned, it will take some time to get it clean. If you have any problems, let us know. There is a lot of experience on SS to help you, but make sure you read the TMs before you start.

 

[steve6x6x6]

I did my A3 a couple of weeks ago, dropped the pan put it back on and flush the trans with a machine. Went with BG transynd $7.50 a quart. The trans shift times were cut in half. I like it.

 

[Rustygears]

The system holds 21 qts. A complete pan drain only empties 9 qts. The first refill leaves you with 58% ATF. A second refill leaves you with 82% ATF. The third refill leaves you with 92% ATF. A fourth refill gives you 97% ATF. A fifth refill only takes it to 98.3%, So 4 refills is what's needed. I'm not sure how a flush machine improves this since there is no way to drain the torque converter without tearing the transmission down.

 

[Commander5993]

The transmission holds about 21 quarts. I would recommend using the Dexron III and not TranSynd because of the price. TranSynd is very expensive. it is better, but only as far as extending the fluid change intervals. If you want to use TranSynd, I have a new 5 gallon pail for cheap so PM me. i used NAPA brand Dexron III equivalent, which is made by Valvoline (Ashland Oil). The transmissiion external filter is NAPA 1268. I believe the internal is NAPA ATP14959. I used the drain and fill method, driving in between changes to change out to Dexron III. Great improvement in transmission function after the change. i changed the external filter twice. The internal filter was changed just after the last drain.

Have a good strap wrench ready to remove the fuel filter. Clean out the petcock on the bottom of the filter housing. I needed to rod mine out to get the fuel to flow. You also will need to remove the check valve from the fuel line at the tank and clean it. They are always crapped up. Be careful removing the fitting as it is easy to snap off the fitting on the tank if you don't hold both sides securely. They are usually very tight. Clean the check valve thoroughly with mineral spirits or gasoline. Unless it was recently cleaned, it will take some time to get it clean. If you have any problems, let us know. There is a lot of experience on SS to help you, but make sure you read the TMs before you start.

Thanks for the info, that gives me a better idea of on the transmission. And I'll remember the tips on the fuel filter too. Have to get a good strap wrench, as I don't think I have one at the moment, or at least one that works. I'll also take a look and clean the check valve, didn't know about that one. I'm going to take my time on all the maintenance stuff. As if you get in a hurry, you miss or forget something. Might end up costing you more down the road. Plus when I do put it on the road, I want it ready to go.
Thanks for tips glcaines!

 

[Commander5993]

I did my A3 a couple of weeks ago, dropped the pan put it back on and flush the trans with a machine. Went with BG transynd $7.50 a quart. The trans shift times were cut in half. I like it.

That is what I have read many people saying as to the reason why they are changing the fluid to over. Every post and comment I've seen has all been stating good improvements, so thats why I decided to do the same.
Thanks for the personal experience review Steve!

 

[Commander5993]

The system holds 21 qts. A complete pan drain only empties 9 qts. The first refill leaves you with 58% ATF. A second refill leaves you with 82% ATF. The third refill leaves you with 92% ATF. A fourth refill gives you 97% ATF. A fifth refill only takes it to 98.3%, So 4 refills is what's needed. I'm not sure how a flush machine improves this since there is no way to drain the torque converter without tearing the transmission down.

Hi Rusty! Instead of just draining the fluid, which basically only takes about half of your trans fluid at a time. One type of the Transmission Flushing Machines, requires that you take apart a connection on one of your cooling lines, and you connect two hoses to that line, one for in and one for out. Then the engine is started. Once the engine is running, this engages your transmission pump. The pump begins to circulate the fluid, which pulls in the new fluid from the input side of the cooling line-flush machine connection, and pushes out the old fluid through the out-side cooling line which goes to the flush machine old fluid collection tank.
Since it is using the transmission pump to circulate the fluid, this will also get the fluid that is usually trapped in the torque converter and the cooling lines. Now, this type of flush won't get 100% of the old fluid. As some will get pushed back into the trans pan, and may not get picked back up. For most vehicles just needing fresh fluid, this is more than fine. But since we need to change the fluid from oil to ATF, a little more is required. I am planning on changing the internal filter after the first flush, which will drain the fluid that was trapped in the pan, and then do a second flush. Doing two flushes in this manner should get nearly 100% of the fluid everywhere in the transmission system. If after this, I inspect the fluid and think it needs another flush, I'll do it, as I want it to be as good and clean as I can get it.

If I end up not being able to use the flush machine though, I will end up having to change it just as you described.

And of course, I'll have to change the spin on filter a couple times as well, no matter which method I end up using.
Thanks for the post!

 

[Hoefler]

I flushed my A3 transmission 4 times. I removed the drain plug and out came about 7.5 to 8 quarts each time. Drove the truck about 5 miles at 45 MPH then several forward reverse runs in driveway to make certain fluid was well circulated. Did this 4 times and changed spin on filter. You will need a special funnel to refill (otherwise you will spill ATF on floor like I did). Picked up the filter and funnel at NAPA. The funnel they sell (Wallmart too) is black with long accordian bellows thype spigot. The top of funnel is round with a square drip catcher. It worked perfect for refill-funnel was a couple of dollars. Am going for a ride today to test out the full flush job.
Pete
Pete

 

[glcaines]

Driving the truck between flushes is required, not only to heat up the fluid, but also because there are actuators in the transmission that will have motor oil trapped in them. Although the engine is running, turning the torque converter and the transmission pump is running, the trapped motor oil won't get exchanged completely unless the transmission goes through several gear changes.

 

[DAS]

Just a tip.....you could drop the filters and let them drain and reuse them until the final fill....save the new filters til last and save some money at the same time.......DAS

 

[Hoefler]

I took m,y A3 out today for a long drive after the final fluid flush. Drove about 75 miles in 15 degree weather (Minnesota). Shifts are smooth and predictable. The shifts where more abrupt when it has the engine oil in transmission. Perfect-no hesitation going into reverse. Shifts are very smooth-not jerky. This is a fun truck to drive-got rid of the Michelins and went to Goodyears. Not using the CTIS-its a way better truck now. Tracks straight down the road and loves 45 to 50 MPH. This is my first A3-I am very happy with it.

 

[Rustygears]

I switched from MO to Napa HD Transmission & Hydraulic fluid. It carries all the Allison & CAT (and every other heavy equipment mfg) ratings and comes in a 5 gal pail. A push-pull hand pump ($15) will very efficiently move fluid from the pail sitting on the passenger side running board up into the cab and down into the fill tube in the floor board with no spills and no waste.

Good stuff and very cost effective since you have to consume around 40 qts to perform the 4 refills necessary to purge the MO out.

 

[rossbart]

I'm barely ahead of you on the learning curve as I also recently got my first A3. As to transmission, I also switched to ATF and used the Valvolene equivalent. Bought 5 gallons at NAPA. My situation was a bit different as I discovered oil in my radiator and determined it to be a failed internal transmission cooler. So, since the A3 has an external cooler as well (and I was changing from MO to ATF - which is supposed to make it run cooler) I had the fluid lines at the radiator open and ultimately bypassed the internal to fix the problem. But, here's how I flushed and it seemed to work pretty smooth:

1. Removed external filter and set a catch bucket under filter housing. Started truck and let the transmission pump the fluid into the bucket - carefully killing it the moment fluid slowed down. Then I blew the fluid lines out and drained the pan. This let me get closer to 10 quarts instead of the 7-8 that a drain alone will get.
2. Put external filter back on and bypassed the internal cooler (permanently in my case with a simple 8-an to 8-an male/male coupling) then drove the truck a few miles making sure to get all gears including reverse.
3. Repeated step #1 but this time after the fluid was drained I replaced the external filter, dropped the pan and replaced the internal filter, cleaned the pan real well, replaced and refilled. I got just a bit over 10 quarts this time.

It took every drop of the 5 gallons I bought to get the tranny to run-cold. Of course, I wasn't refilling the internal cooler. But, the fluid looks pure and the truck shifts incredibly smooth now - like a whole different transmission. This only amounted to two flushes. I'm no expert but that's how I did it. I don't know what percentage of ATV versus MO I ended up with but I'd guess it to be up over 90%. (I did read a tech paper by Allison stating that MO and Dex III are not incompatible, but you do want to get as much of the MO out as reasonably possible but sounded like more for function than any danger of it CAUSING a problem)

Just another idea. Good luck with however you do it. BTW, my transmission vent was fine but from reading other posts in preparation, if the fluid wants to fill slow and/or burp at you then you probably have a stopped up vent line. Sounds like that's relatively common - and a potentially damaging detail to check off your PM list...

Ross

 

[mooresM35A2]

Im a heavy equipment technician for a cat dealer and cat filters are some of the best but the only thing is you will have to pay good money for them

 

[Commander5993]

I flushed my A3 transmission 4 times. I removed the drain plug and out came about 7.5 to 8 quarts each time. Drove the truck about 5 miles at 45 MPH then several forward reverse runs in driveway to make certain fluid was well circulated. Did this 4 times and changed spin on filter. You will need a special funnel to refill (otherwise you will spill ATF on floor like I did). Picked up the filter and funnel at NAPA. The funnel they sell (Wallmart too) is black with long accordian bellows thype spigot. The top of funnel is round with a square drip catcher. It worked perfect for refill-funnel was a couple of dollars. Am going for a ride today to test out the full flush job.
Pete
Pete

Yes You Are 100% correct! The truck does have to be driven some between flushes to make sure that all the oil is being circulated into the system and not trapped somewhere in the transmission.
Thanks for the tip reminder on the funnel, have to write that down on my "stuff to pickup" list. If I don't write everything down, I'll end up forgetting something and have to make another trip to napa.

 

[Commander5993]

I switched from MO to Napa HD Transmission & Hydraulic fluid. It carries all the Allison & CAT (and every other heavy equipment mfg) ratings and comes in a 5 gal pail. A push-pull hand pump ($15) will very efficiently move fluid from the pail sitting on the passenger side running board up into the cab and down into the fill tube in the floor board with no spills and no waste.

Good stuff and very cost effective since you have to consume around 40 qts to perform the 4 refills necessary to purge the MO out.

A Push Pull pump would be a handy thing to have to move the fluid from the bucket to the funnel. Thanks for the Tip! Adding that to my "stuff to get" list

 

[Commander5993]

1. Removed external filter and set a catch bucket under filter housing. Started truck and let the transmission pump the fluid into the bucket - carefully killing it the moment fluid slowed down. Then I blew the fluid lines out and drained the pan. This let me get closer to 10 quarts instead of the 7-8 that a drain alone will get.
2. Put external filter back on and bypassed the internal cooler (permanently in my case with a simple 8-an to 8-an male/male coupling) then drove the truck a few miles making sure to get all gears including reverse.

Hope you refilled your transmission before you drove it j/k!

(I did read a tech paper by Allison stating that MO and Dex III are not incompatible, but you do want to get as much of the MO out as reasonably possible but sounded like more for function than any danger of it CAUSING a problem)

Just another idea. Good luck with however you do it. BTW, my transmission vent was fine but from reading other posts in preparation, if the fluid wants to fill slow and/or burp at you then you probably have a stopped up vent line. Sounds like that's relatively common - and a potentially damaging detail to check off your PM list...

Ross

Hummm... Have to look into the "transmission vent" info, as I haven't read anything about that yet. Have to find the info and be sure to check that while I'm at it. Thanks for the Tip

And I'm glad that you were able to fix your problem with the trans cooler pretty easily. Have you had any heat problems with it since you bypassed it? If you do start having heat problems, or if you just want to prevent any possible problems, you might look into adding a separate aftermarket transmission cooler. I'm sure Napa or other parts stores should carry a few, and they're usually not that expensive.
Thanks for the Post!

 

[Commander5993]

Im a heavy equipment technician for a cat dealer and cat filters are some of the best but the only thing is you will have to pay good money for them

Hey MooresM35A2, I agree with you! I would rather pay a few more $ for a good filter, than to just get by with a cheap one. I'm buying all Cats filters. Do you happen to know if CAT makes Air filters? Or do they use another company?

I've looked all through the pdf TM's (i really need paper back... but they are to many $$$ right now) plus searched here on SS and Google as well. But I haven't been able to find any CAT air-filter numbers. And the only air filter number I have found is for Donaldson brand #P520925. But I don't think it is really the correct filter, even if it might fit.

Does anyone know what is the best (or original) Air Filter for the M35A3??

Thanks Again!

 

[Commander5993]

Just posted an update to my OP (Original Post), with all the best/original filter numbers that I have found so far. Not sure what the best or original Internal Transmission number is though, only found a Napa number.

I posted this because there does not seem to be a full filter list anywhere on SS for A3, even in the Deuce Wiki. Hope this helps someone!

Still looking for a confirmed air filter # though...
Using the search function to find A3 specific info doesn't work well... at least not for me. Even when I include one of the search terms as either "M35A3" or "A3" it brings up mostly A2 info. I can see why people either just can't find the info they are looking for, or they give up trying to find the right "word" to input into the search box. Anyway, I'll find it eventually.

 

[autigers35a3]

internal trans filter part number is what for the A3 trans? NAPA?