DarkTransmission Fluid at 85K Miles

[Explorerdude]

I have a 94 Explorer XLT that has 92,000 miles on it. I am a 2nd owner of the truck. I bought the truck with 35,000 miles on it. I had my transmission fluid changed at 85,000 miles because I noticed a very noticable discoloration in fluids. It was a little bit darker than motor oil. I had my mechanic change the fluid and filter then. When I had the fluid changed I drove the truck often but put only probably around 150-200 miles on it per week. I also didn't do any wheeling with it at all then.

Today I just changed my trans fluid because it appeared to be getting that dark color to it again. When I drained my pan I noticed a change in color from a slight brownish tint to a darker brownish tint. When it was in my drain pan it looked like used motor oil. I didn't notice any metal shavings in the pan at all. The pan had a film that almost had heat markings on it. It looked like the fluid may have been reaching high temperatures and discoloring the pan more than normal. In the duration of that fluids "life cycle" I drove the truck daily at speeds of 70+MPH and did a good bit of stop and go driving, with some mild wheeling here and there.(All of this was done pre-lift and tires) I have 3.73 rear gears and a transmission cooler on the truck.

I am going to purchase a transmission fluid temperature gauge for it to see if I my cooler isn't working properly.

What do you guys think the problem may be??

Has anyone else experienced the same problem??

What could I do to resolve this??

I haven't gotten bigger gears yet, is there anything I can do to keep from frying my transmission or from changing the fluid so frequently?? I probably won't be able to get gears until early next fall.

Any help would be greatly appreaciated.

Thank you!

Happy Wheelin,

Joe Dead Link Removed

94 Explorer XLT
4" Superlift Suspension
Superlift Steering Stabilizer
33X10.50 BFG AT KO's
Blazer Fog Lights
Warn Manual Hubs
Highlift Jack

 

[Ira]

This is kinda a shot in the dark but it simply sounds to me like your fluid is overheating. I would check the cooler. Sounds like maybe it may be partially clogged or something is reducing the amount of air flowing thru it. Is it shifting properly or trying to hesitate and stay in a lower gear when it trys to shift? Another thing to look at is if you do a lot of towing.

According to my SM, it says the tranny fluid and filter should be changed every 30 months or 30,000 miles. I have heard some people on here posting that they change theirs once a year no matter what.

Probably not much help but I tried.

------------------
Ira

91 XLT 4x4

 

[Syder-1]

When you had the T-fluid changed the first time, was the pan dropped. Or did you get the whole tranny flushed. When you drop the pan you only get about 4 liters out, leaving about 6 more dirty liters still in the tranny. The 4 fresh liters of T-fluid would only dilute the dirty stuff. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Syder-1

 

[CHH777]

You could do a complete tranny fluid flush and then check the new fluid often for "coking". Dropping the pan only changes out ~25% of the fluid. That means that you still have ~75% of the old discolored fluid left.

Be aware that with high mileage a full fluid flush could cause your speed governor to stick. This causes hesitation between 1st & 2nd gear shifts when the engine is cold. I just replaced the speed governor in my tranny to resolve this and dropping the t-case was no picnic…