Help! Transmission Problem!

Nelsonmd

Nelsonmd

New member
So I finally got around to doing a quick transmission drain and fill. I have read that just draining the pan should yield 2.1 quarts, I ended up with about 4 quarts in my bucket (I do have an external tranny cooler if that makes a difference). I put about as much in as I took out, checked the dipstick (had add a little more), and when I went to test drive it, it was slow to engage in reverse, and I heard a loud pop from the bottom of the vehicle. I added more fluid, dipstick still said it was ok, tried driving it again, same thing.

I kept adding fluid until the dipstick showed at the very top of the hot section, so I tried taking more fluid out, and refilling. Same thing is still happening.

Any ideas? I really don't want to screw up my transmission.

FYI, I am filling with Royal Purple.
 
Register to hide this ad
So I just drove it around the neighborhood a bit, and it seems to be shifting well. A couple times it seemed to not engage or disengage quite right, but other than that it was smooth.

I checked the dipstick again when I got home and it is a bit above the hot region. Scangauge tells me the ATF is 43°. Is that right, or do I need to take some out?
 
bootown said:
You're supposed to check the level after driving for a while and the fluid is warm. Did you maybe mean 143 degrees? 43 degrees is like you hadn't been driving it at all.

Around four quarts is what you should get from a drain & fill. Did you keep track of how much more you added after the four quarts you put in?

btw...how do you make the degree symbol?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I meant 143°. You make the degree symbol by pressing Alt-0176 (you have to use the keypad, not the number keys above the letters).

Yeah, so it wasn't fully heated up when I measured it, but I've got to have enough to drive it to warm it up and measure. How am I supposed to get enough in there to drive it? I kept track of how much I added back vs took out. I didn't keep track after that so much, but it was definitely less than a quart.

Why does the literature say I should get 2.1 out of a drain and fill?
 
Nelsonmd said:
Yeah, I meant 143°. You make the degree symbol by pressing Alt-0176 (you have to use the keypad, not the number keys above the letters).

Yeah, so it wasn't fully heated up when I measured it, but I've got to have enough to drive it to warm it up and measure. How am I supposed to get enough in there to drive it? I kept track of how much I added back vs took out. I didn't keep track after that so much, but it was definitely less than a quart.

Why does the literature say I should get 2.1 out of a drain and fill?
Click to expand...

What you get will always be off because a variable amount will drain out of the TC, which holds a lot itself.
 
You also have to remember that the tranny cooler, depending on size, can hold anywhere from a half to an entire quart...
 
LINY4Runner said:
You also have to remember that the tranny cooler, depending on size, can hold anywhere from a half to an entire quart...
Click to expand...

Does that fluid in the tranny cooler flow back down and change the dipstick reading? If so, then I probably have the right amount in there.
 
Nelsonmd said:
Does that fluid in the tranny cooler flow back down and change the dipstick reading? If so, then I probably have the right amount in there.
Click to expand...

Well with the engine running and at operating temp, the dipstick reading will still show correct regardless if you have a trans cooler or not.
 
LINY4Runner said:
Well with the engine running and at operating temp, the dipstick reading will still show correct regardless if you have a trans cooler or not.
Click to expand...

Not to say you aren't right, it is just hard for me to believe that I had the right amount when it was right according to the dipstick but it was shifting funny and making popping noises. So now I should take some out, because I am over the hot region with it running, but I am afraid to take any out.
 
Nelsonmd said:
Not to say you aren't right, it is just hard for me to believe that I had the right amount when it was right according to the dipstick but it was shifting funny and making popping noises. So now I should take some out, because I am over the hot region with it running, but I am afraid to take any out.
Click to expand...

Maybe the fluid level isn't the cause of the problem...?

You mentioned using Royal Purple, was this the first synthetic change?
 
Okay then it's definitely been changed at least once...105k miles will usually toast original fluid pretty good.

I'd get that synthetic fluid out of there and go back to regular.
 
So a little update. It seems to be driving normally again. I think that when I get the chance, perhaps tomorrow evening, I am going to drive it around to heat of the fluid, check it again, and maybe drain some out until the dipstick is right, just to see if it still works right then.

Unless someone else has another reason that I should use conventional tranny fluid instead of the synthetic, then I don't think the fluid is a problem.

Anyway, I will update again tomorrow. Any other opinions are appreciated in the meantime.
 
Well you hear the horror stories all the time- synthetics clean alot better, so an engine or tranny that uses conventional will not be as clean as it can be, but after time some of the gunk and dirt helps the seals-- well, seal...so when you switch to synthetic after using conventional for so long, it actually cleans out stuff that was helping.

This may be myth, I myself have never confirmed nor busted it.

I've got my own theory about automatic trans fluid changes and that is that all of the torque is through clutches and friction, so if a clutch breaks in with conventional, I would try my hardest to use the same type every time after..."it's all the same" yeah, but it's engineered differently, hence the insane amount of companies making fluids- they can't all just re-bottle the other guy's stuff...so break it down, it's not all the same. And clutches, well they don't like change much.

I feel like I'm rambling...I'm on 2 hours of sleep and 24+ hours of awake :lmao:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 374 (members: 3, guests: 371)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,304
Messages
3,554,040
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top