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sludge and metal shavings in the tranny?

eddiebauer18

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2002 Eddie Bauer
Anyone knows how to check for sludge and metal shavings in the trans?

Story starts when I went to jiffy lube and needed an oil change for the motor, and I had a slight tranny slip, so I told them to do the trans. On the comments they left, I saw the metal shavings and sludge in trans "we are not responsible" so I immediately confront them and thought something was wrong with my truck. But they said "its just an error" but I don't feel like taking any chances, because they damn well aren't gunna pay for the repairs "I'm hoping not"...any ideas please?
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Anyone knows how to check for sludge and metal shavings in the trans?

Story starts when I went to jiffy lube and needed an oil change for the motor, and I had a slight tranny slip, so I told them to do the trans. On the comments they left, I saw the metal shavings and sludge in trans "we are not responsible" so I immediately confront them and thought something was wrong with my truck. But they said "its just an error" but I don't feel like taking any chances, because they damn well aren't gunna pay for the repairs "I'm hoping not"...any ideas please?
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First rule - never let Jiffy change oil places touch your tranny - It's all too often a death sentence for a tranny and more so in the case of hard to change/flush with specific fluid requirements tranny (read: yours).

Having a tranny slip on any of these requires that the right knowledgable person get involved (not to be found at Gyppy Oil).

So did they flush it or do a gravity drain, how many quarts did they use and what kind of fluid did they put in it. Have to start there. You might get lucky and you might have just 'bought' a tranny overhaul/replacement.

What kind of Ex, (what engine/drivetrain), how many miles, how used (towed/heavy loads/high heat?).

How is it running now? How long has it been acting up? What are the symptoms, etc.

At a minimum you might want to have the fluid replaced again with a professional flush by a professional shop that understands these trannies and will use the right fluid. Might not save yours, but might make it last longer.

Short version: You had a tranny problem and you let the wrong people touch it - not a good sign.
 






It was a flush when they looked it up to the machine, they used 15 quarts of Merricon auto trans fluid, I got a 4x4 4.0 V6, got about 71,000 and never towing, no heavy loads, and your typical summers and very cold winters here in NJ. I haven't experinced any other slips in the tranny since I got it done and it runs hood. And yes, it was a bad move, I shouldve went to another neighborhood shop that's been around for awhile..good quality...thank you my good sir!
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It was a flush when they looked it up to the machine, they used 15 quarts of Merricon auto trans fluid, I got a 4x4 4.0 V6, got about 71,000 and never towing, no heavy loads, and your typical summers and very cold winters here in NJ. I haven't experinced any other slips in the tranny since I got it done and it runs hood. And yes, it was a bad move, I shouldve went to another neighborhood shop that's been around for awhile..good quality...thank you my good sir!
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Just make sure that they used MERCON V, not MERCON or MERCON III. That amount of ATF is about correct for a flush, so that may be a good sign.

Given your specs and use, you might well be okay, but do keep the thought of replacing the tranny solenoid block sometime in your future.

You might just luck out, I hope so.:thumbsup:

Most of all, you've come to the right place for Ex help, lots of smart helpful folks here and low levels of jerks. I would not have been able to keep my Ex so long wee it not for this site.
 






Just make sure that they used MERCON V, not MERCON or MERCON III. That amount of ATF is about correct for a flush, so that may be a good sign.

Given your specs and use, you might well be okay, but do keep the thought of replacing the tranny solenoid block sometime in your future.

You might just luck out, I hope so.:thumbsup:

Most of all, you've come to the right place for Ex help, lots of smart helpful folks here and low levels of jerks. I would not have been able to keep my Ex so long wee it not for this site.
Thank you my good man, and it looks like ill be taking a ride back there, just to make sure its Mercon V..to be on the safe side!
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Thank you my good man, and it looks like ill be taking a ride back there, just to make sure its Mercon V..to be on the safe side!
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Good Luck. What you want to watch out for is some joints will pump in a regular MERCON (usually cheap generic) and toss in some friction modifier, vice installing MERCON V, a bad idea for these trannies. The reason is that MERCON V is much more expensive than MERCON, as it is a synthetic. I think I paid like $6-7/quart (in Hawaii) for it recently, vice $2/quart for regular MERCON. At 16 quarts it adds up.

If they did not use MERCON V, it's not time to panic, but get it flushed and replaced with MERCON V in a timely manner, at least within a few weeks or few hundred miles or so. MERCON V is compatible with MERCON, so no bad compounds will result from a mismatch, but the MERCON will over time not be good for your tranny.

These trannies are not the most robust units and are very sensitive to ATF viscosity.

Let us know how it comes out. Again, good luck.

P.S. you can probably tell what ATF they installed by looking at the price per quart that they charged you.
 






Ok, just checked everything out, Mercon V was used for the ATF..Whew!!
 






Ok, just checked everything out, Mercon V was used for the ATF..Whew!!

With 71K miles, no towing and a MERCON V flush, you can probably get some sleep.

Some evidence indicates that if you leave old fluid in too long and then flush it, you can have a bad result.
 






Correct me if i am wrong, but these trans only hold 12.7 qts? I just did a rebuild on mine and i added 13 and drained some out after warm.
 






The only way to check if there sludge and shavings is to takeoff the pan from transmission.
 






Correct me if i am wrong, but these trans only hold 12.7 qts? I just did a rebuild on mine and i added 13 and drained some out after warm.

Hmm, does it say that in the manual?
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The only way to check if there sludge and shavings is to takeoff the pan from transmission.

Ok, I'm hoping not, but if I have to, I have too..syntheticç aint cheap now
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And basically, how often do you guys change your trannys?
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