UPDATE: Gave myself a strawberry milkshake, how long until failure?

jaredawoodruff

New member
2 months later and still no issues. Water in the tranny isn't as bad as people say it is apparently.

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So, very long story. But here's the short version:

I found a deep hole with water in it. It was invisible and it came out of no where so I ended up in it very unexpectedly.

After I cleared the water from the cylinders and got going again, I had to drive home, an hour away, where I discovered that I had, in fact, gotten water in the tranny fluid. Checking in the field revealed no water.

So I did a flush and now the fluid is clear, but my question is, how long until I should expect it to just slip and slip? I read the frictions go pretty quick in water.

I'm planning to replace it with a used one (about $250 around here), I just wanted to know if I can reasonably expect to drive around town for a couple weeks in the meantime.

Thanks,
Jared
 
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The frictions go when antifreeze dissolves the glue. Water I don't you have to worry. And my trans shop buddy says that if the antifreeze gets in there and you change it before it starts slipping your good.


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As 19963.4lsr5 said, I too have a mechanic buddy that sees this (both antifreeze and water) all the time (in many types of vehicles with the same setup) and he says its no big deal, just flush it well and go on. Luck. :cowboy:
 
I'm also thinking it's just water. Antifreeze also has lubrication for your water pump which can contaminate the friction materials. You might actually be ok after a flush.
 
No need to consider a new tranny yet. I would just flush it a few more times over the next couple weeks.

Keep a close eye on the condition of the fluid, if it shows any sign that there is still moisture in there, flush it again.

Your tranny will probably fine assuming it wasn't already about to shit the bed.
 
Oh cool, I didn't know that the anti freeze is what actually did the frictions in. Again, this is just water from a hole in the Oregon coast. Fresh water.

I flushed over 5 gallons through, that should do it.

Great advice, thanks!
 
If you happen to be running an auxiliary trans cooler, cover it up, part of the reason for higher trans temps is to burn off small amounts of moisture from condensation, etc.
 
Oh cool, I didn't know that the anti freeze is what actually did the frictions in. Again, this is just water from a hole in the Oregon coast. Fresh water.

I flushed over 5 gallons through, that should do it.

Great advice, thanks!

I would still keep an eye on the fluid for the next couple months. If you see any signs of moisture, flush it some more. Not worth the risk.
 
I'd be a little more concerned that you caused some damage to the motor with a hydrolock, draining water out of the cylinders is not a good sign. But if it's still running and not making funny noises you probably got lucky.
 
I'd be a little more concerned that you caused some damage to the motor with a hydrolock, draining water out of the cylinders is not a good sign. But if it's still running and not making funny noises you probably got lucky.

Yeah I read about that. The engine was idling when it went in and I shut it off as fast as I could. The starter was shorting out and engaging on its own so it could have sucked up water that way. Either way, it ran flawlessly over the mountains back home, no noises or weird behavior.

Thanks for the advice, guys. I'll keep an eye on the fluids and definitely flush again if there is water left.

Thanks,
Jared
 
my yota might have had pink milkshake. After buying it (2 years and 35k ago), I went to the dealer and got a print out of all the work done to it by the previous two owners. One of the reports, about 20k before I got it showed that the car had gone in for drivability issues. the dealer flushed the tranny AND replaced the radiator. to me that's a sign of pink milkshake. As soon an I read that I pulled the pan to inspect, flushed the system. Last October I did a flush again and switched to synthetic. I have also added a remote cooler and filter

so now it has been over 55k miles since that "drivability" issue and I have had NO issues and I drive lots of mountain roads.

so I think, if you catch it early, flush and flush, you might be golden.

warning, the pan drain plug strips easy, don't over torque at all
 

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