Unusual Tranny Failure !!!

[off-road97Xplor]

heres how my 1997 XLT went..... we were at a stoplight and when we went to go and hit the gas all that happend was the engine reved up like it was in netural. but it was in drive. then we put it in 2nd and it worked so we went to the next stoplight . This time it went into its neutural like state and NONE of the gears worked. When we hit the gas it started to roll forward then engine lights blinked and it stalled thankfully we rolled to the side of the road... we couldnt restart it though and called for a tow truck. When the mechinac opened it up the tranny fluid was all black and smelled burned. We got a new one put in and it was fine ever since.
Ever hear of a tranny going like this?

 

[ExplorerDMB]

So whats the question? Ever heard of a transmission getting burnt up? It's lack of maitnance and neglect. People could save tons of money if they'd just change a filter and fluid every 30-60 thousand miles.

-Drew

 

[Brain]

I think that if people would install a drain plug ($5) on the pan the first time they change the fluid/filter, they would be better about changing the fluid because taking a tranny fluid shower isn't all that much fun.

 

[Hartman]

I wouldn't call this unusual, pretty common actually.

 

[ExplorerDMB]

just a drain plug on the pan itself won't do much. Thats only 5-6 quarts. The torque converter holds most of the fluid. What I recommend is a trans flush (a machine is hooked up to your lines and new fluid is pushed in while the old is pushed out). It's very good to have done.

-Drew

 

[Glacier991]

There is a point of disagreement on flushing. I'm not in a position to comment on either side, but one side says even late is better than not at all.... for a flush. (Everyone agrees that all things being equal it's THE way to change fluid). The other side says that such a complete change causes debris in the trannie to come back into suspension or otherwise become loose and circulate, plugging up other things in the trannie. They suggest successive pan changes over time with filter replacement until you have clean fluid.

I'd probably come somewhere in between depending on how old the trannie was and how recently there had been a fluid change. For instance I would probably follow the latter procedure on a trannie with 125K on it and no fluid changes <g>.

 

[Brain]

A trans flush doesn't change the filter....I was suggesting that people would change the fluid and filter more often if it wasn't so messy to do. Draining the fluid in the pan and the filter change is just the first step of a good flush. I like the method of disconnecting the return line right after the aux cooler to let fluid out and putting new fluid in through the dipstick tube. This means that new fluid through a new filter is going through the TC (diluting this second resivoir), through the in-radiator-tank cooler, through the aux cooler, and then out. Fluid is always traveling in the right direction and doesn't need any external machines to be utilized.

But, although it wasn't mentioned here, I would suggest a "backflush" procedure about as often as I would suggest trying to eat with your anus -> never. The fluid shouldn't be pushed through the wrong way....ever. If the valve body and seperator plate have accumulated debris, the best way to get rid of it is careful removal and cleaning of those parts, but this takes time and effort so shops want to sell backflushing services.