Auto Trans Question

[DuffyT]

Hello all!

So i was thinking today that i have had my truck for about 25k miles or so now and i have never changed the transmission fluid, and i have no idea when it was done before i bought it. So i check the dip stick and my fluid is back and night, haha. I have never had any issues with shifting or such, however i can't imagine having that dirty stuff in there is very good at all.

When i mentioned it to a friend he took a look and wiped the dip stick across his arm and it was apparent that there was some amount of mettle shavings in there :-( :-( :-(

my question to you all is this: Do I change it or let it be.

The truck hasn't been driven hard as far as i know, and has 94k miles on it. I have heard horror stories of people changing older auto trans and having them lock up on them afterwards.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

-Tim Duffy

 

[IZwack]

Drop the trans and inspect what you find inside.

Ive moved this thread to Transmission and Transfer Cases.
Also, Rochester rocks !!(am an RIT alumni)

 

[DuffyT]

Drop the trans and inspect what you find inside.

Ive moved this thread to Transmission and Transfer Cases.
Also, Rochester rocks !!(am an RIT alumni)

err.. sorry, was in the right thread but looks like the mass of FireFox tabs have alluded me again! haha

Really? drop the trans? is that practical?

haha, and I do love Rochester, a really great city if your employed!, lol What year did you graduate?

-Tim Duffy

 

[IZwack]

Wait!!! My fault, I meant the trans PAN -- I forgot the "pan" part, sorry!

I graduated in 2003.

 

[DuffyT]

Wait!!! My fault, I meant the trans PAN -- I forgot the "pan" part, sorry!

i was gonna say... lets not haze the new guy too much here... haha...

what am i looking for once i drop the pan? gears falling out, or something smaller? haha

I would think that dropping the pan is something i can do in a parking lot with some shop towels and a good sized drip bucket right?

-Tim

 

[IZwack]

Yup Yup, get a big catch pan or whatever and unbolt away.

What you're looking for is any more of the metal shavings in the transmission pan (and also in the catch pan). There is a magnet at the bottom of the pan and a gray goo/sludge on this magnet is normal but any shaving is not normal. But if you find bigger pieces, that is definitely not good but if the shape is recognizable, then at least that will give you a hint as to what went wrong.

Oh and you'll need a new gasket and maybe 5 quarts of ATF, so stop by the parts store before you drop the pan (assuming you have no other mode of transportation).

 

[DuffyT]

once i find a boat load of shavings within my trans, where do i go from there? rebuild, and by rebuild i mean go buy a rebuilt one, haha. or can i just get away with a flush of sorts?

-Tim

 

[IZwack]

once i find a boat load of shavings within my trans, where do i go from there? rebuild, and by rebuild i mean go buy a rebuilt one, haha. or can i just get away with a flush of sorts?

The actions you take depends on what is wrong with it and right now we have too many "unknown unknowns" -- so you'll just have to wait and see what you find.

I know one thing you CAN do in the meantime, and thats listen to some 80s music -- mmmm, 80s music .

 

[DuffyT]

well then it looks like a pan dropin i will do this fathers day, but till then it will have to wait, haha.

Thanks for the advice!!

err.. and i'll check out the 80's music thing when i get a chance... hahaha

-Tim Duffy