How Often Change Jeep JK Transmission Fluid?

Like engine oil change, transmission fluid change is also necessary to keep up your Jeep’s gearbox and transmission going. But do you know how often change Jeep JK transmission fluid? 

Well, a Jeep vehicle stays okay for 60,000 miles without changing the automatic transmission fluid. But you should know that changing trans fluid after 30,000 miles is the safest option. 

Apart, you might also need sudden fluid change or fluid flush for emergency treatment. So, here are the details telling you when and why you need to change trans lube during servicing your jeep.  

What kind of transmission fluid does a Jeep JK take?

Any Jeep JK model would take ATF +4 transmission fluid to make the gearbox and other relevant components go smoothly. 

According to the Center for Quality Assurance, ATF +4 fluids are usable in any old and new car requiring auto trans fluid. But the fluid type is specially dedicated to high-performance automatic transmissions like Jeep and Dodge. 

ATF +4 is a complete synthetic technology that comes from pure mineral oil and some artificial material technology. You can also use the ATF +4 integrated lubricants to replace the ATF, ATF +2, and ATF +3 from your classic fancy cars. 

How Often Change Jeep JK Transmission Fluid?

As said earlier, you can’t have your car run with the old transmission fluid after driving nearly 60,000 miles. 

It is because debris, corroded particles from the gearbox and other essentials, and other elements get mixed up with the liquid. In that situation, the fluid becomes unable to keep the components smooth and cool. 

The best option for any Jeep user is to change the transmission fluid every 30,000 miles of driving or before a couple of years. 

The key reason why we think you should change ATF so early is that many drivers take their Jeep Wranglers on off-road trips quite frequently. 

During the off-road trip, the engine and gearbox get more stress than usual. In this case, the gear and transmission system gets more dependent on the lubricant to keep components cool and corrosion-free. 

Long stuff short, the right time to change the Jeep JK transmission fluid is after driving 30,000 to 60,000 miles depending on how much pressure you’ve given to your four-wheeler. However, if you delay longer, you might have to perform fluid flush rather than replacement, which would surely cost you extra. 

What Symptoms Tell You To Change Transmission Fluid?

Suppose, you’ve forgotten you last changed the transmission fluid in your JK. If so, then you better know these symptoms below to compare with your car’s current situation. By that, you’d easily know whether your car needs a trans lube change or not. 

Hard Gear Shift

When the fluid becomes less lubricative or old, it fails to reduce friction among components. You’d find the gear shifter has become stubborn and not shifting gears smoothly. 

Loud Acceleration

When the engine’s on for a while and you decide to speed up, the car would start to roar as if you’re forcefully pushing to go faster. It’s because there’s a lack of fluid or the fluid has been polluted by debris and metal particles. 

Changed Fluid Color

Every transmission fluid has its own color. After driving more than a thousand miles, you might see the color fading or turning into something else. 

If you see the color has completely turned into something dark and the mixture of dirt and other particles is clearly visible, you should definitely consider the old fluid of no use. 

Colorful Puddles Underneath

After parking your car in the garage or roadside, you might see a small colorful puddle right below the engine or transmission system. 

If the color of the puddle doesn’t match the fuel, the only result is your car has leaked the trans fluid and it needs a refill. 

Burning Smell

When the fluid becomes unable to keep the friction under control, the collision between metal components can create sparkles and you’d smell something burning inside your car. 

What Is The Best ATF For Jeep Wrangler and JK?

Products like Valvoline Full Synthetic ATF +4 or Castrol TransMax ATF +4 are the right type of lubes to keep gear components and clutch corrosion-free and user-friendly. 

Besides, you can use any other lubricants found in the market that are in the ATF +4 class for your Jeep Wrangler JK. 

Apart from them, there are some other less renowned brands offering ATF lubes for modern car transmissions. Here are some benefits that should be offered by the transmission fluid you’re buying: 

• Decrease torque, valve, and clutch friction
• Maintain brake band friction
• Cool down the transmission system due to the gear shift

Another thing you need to keep in mind is to check the Jeep website or verified forums to know the reviews and recommendations of ATF oils. Or, you can contact the nearby authorized Jeep dealer for a better result. 

Transmission Fluid Change VS Flush – What You Need to Do?

Transmission fluid issues can be fixed by two methods; by changing or flushing the old fluid. 

Fluid change refers to the process where you drain the old fluid from the pan and insert new fluid inside the pipes. In this method, you’d still find old fluid remaining in the whole system. 

But in flushing, you need to use some tools to flush out the whole fluid and insert the new fluid into the system. Sometimes, changing the filter also becomes mandatory while doing a flush. 

Transmission fluid flash is pretty costly as it requires some tools and changes of relevant components like filters. You only need a fluid flash when you see the existence of old fluid, even in a small amount, which can harm the whole system. However, time-to-time fluid change, which is less costly, can help you use your car without a need for trans fluid flush. 

FAQs

Apart from knowing the right time to change the transmission fluid in your Jeep JK, you must know some other relevant facts to do transmission maintenance properly. Here are the common questions regarding trans fluid change. 

How much transmission fluid does a Jeep JK take?

A Jeep JK model has the capacity to hold more than 7 liters of transmission fuel. But you’d see the system isn’t receiving more than 5 liters of liquid as there would be old fluid still existing during the change. 

What color is dirty transmission fluid?

The color of the dirty transmission fluid is dark brown. Sometimes, you can see the fluid has almost become black due to excessive corrosion. 

What burns transmission fluid?

Transmission fluid won’t burn so easily. But too much stress, consistently high temperature, lack of cooling, etc. can burn the trans fluid. 

Final Thoughts

Surprisingly, there are some people at this time who are unaware of the fluid change in their vehicle. Keep using old, burnt, and polluted transmission liquid won’t give a single benefit to your car. 

Instead, it’d downgrade the performance, and sometimes, cause fatal blows to your car. 

So, our last piece of advice for you is to keep the transmission fluid checked in the maintenance list. Whenever you see the old fluid is not okay, change it ASAP.