Engine & DrivetrainEngines and Drivetrains can be a major problem for a lot of vehicles. If you are having engine or drivetrain problems, you can post your questions/concerns about the issue. Furthermore, if you are in the process of doing an engine rebuild, post your progress with pictures.
The only thing I have ever done is drop the pan and change the filter and replace what fluid came out, About 5 quarts. I have heard of people doing that flush and then getting anifreeze in the trans. fluid later on. Not sure how that works but I'v heard of it.
Jay T.
There is a transmission cooler inside the radiator. What happens sometimes is that the transmission cooler itself, completely sealed in the radiator, will become corroded and brittle. When someone tries to take a trans cooler line loose to do the flush, they break the cooler inside the radiator. That, of course, allows antifreeze to enter the transmission, and ATF to get in the coolant.
The point here is that on any high mileage or older vehicle, you need to very closely watch both the antifreeze and the ATF for any signs of mixing. Immediately after a flush, keep checking it very frequently for a while, maybe every 50 miles or so, just to be sure.
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2005 Excursion XLT 4x4 with 5.4 3V & 4R100
1989 F250 XLT Lariat SuperCab 4x2 with 460 & C6
1987 Crown Vic Two Door with 5.0 & AOD
1986 Yamaha V-Twin Virago 1100
For my sanity, please try to use punctuation and capitalization. I try to help the people who post, but it's impossible to do when the post is indecipherable.
There's one more thing I want to add. Some transmissions have a drain plug on the torque converter itself. It used to be more common; a lot of late model vehicles don't have them from what I've been told. However, if you have a rear wheel drive vehicle, there will be an inspection plate you can remove and see the torque converter. Rotate the engine (manually preferrably) and, if there's a drain plug on the converter, you'll see it.
Draining the converter and dropping the pan will allow you to replace 90% of the fluid. As I understand it, the most likely cause of problems after a flush on a high mileage transmission is the difference of pressure and flow of the flush machine as compared to the transmission's usual pressure and flow. Flush machines are designed to get the junk out of the transmission. If you have "good junk" in there (supposing there is such a thing), the flush machine will remove it.
On the other hand, replacing the fluid by dropping the pan and draining the converter is unlikely to do that because you're using no pressure. Just like oil, new transmission fluid has some important properties that will break down and go away over time. New fluid is a good idea as far as I'm concerned. Flush machines may or may not be in an old, neglected transmission.
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2005 Excursion XLT 4x4 with 5.4 3V & 4R100
1989 F250 XLT Lariat SuperCab 4x2 with 460 & C6
1987 Crown Vic Two Door with 5.0 & AOD
1986 Yamaha V-Twin Virago 1100
For my sanity, please try to use punctuation and capitalization. I try to help the people who post, but it's impossible to do when the post is indecipherable.
__________________
2005 Excursion XLT 4x4 with 5.4 3V & 4R100
1989 F250 XLT Lariat SuperCab 4x2 with 460 & C6
1987 Crown Vic Two Door with 5.0 & AOD
1986 Yamaha V-Twin Virago 1100
For my sanity, please try to use punctuation and capitalization. I try to help the people who post, but it's impossible to do when the post is indecipherable.
My '97 explorer with a 5R55E tranny was showing a flashing od light. I had the fluid changed and got about 100 miles when it wouldn't go anymore. I vacuumed the fluid out yesterday, I got an even gallon, and it is black and smells burnt. If I get a gallon of new fluid will the beast move?
Nope, the clutches are now burnt, it probably wont move till you get it rebuilt.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Garagehunter
My '97 explorer with a 5R55E tranny was showing a flashing od light. I had the fluid changed and got about 100 miles when it wouldn't go anymore. I vacuumed the fluid out yesterday, I got an even gallon, and it is black and smells burnt. If I get a gallon of new fluid will the beast move?
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Mark V
Look for me on the PS3 network, I am usually playing Uncharted 2 demo right now. My PS3 name is delorean6683
Sorry for exhuming this older thread, but an idea came to me which might be worth considering.
"I don't understand why old fluid is better in some cases than others."
Perhaps, if the transmission fluid is left unchanged long enough, the "friction materials" which were previously on the clutches have now become worn off and are suspended in the fluid. These micro-particles, although not attached to the clutches, still help keep them from slipping to some lessened extent than when they were still on the clutches. Changing trans fluid which is so old that the micro-friction-particles have become suspended in the fluid would remove them from the trans and thus lessen the ability of the clutches to grab each other, causing slippage, and accelerating wear.
Transmissions which have had their fluid changed before any significant amount of friction-particles have worn off of the clutches "stay ahead of the curve" so to speak by delaying the wear of the clutches with fresh fluid, therefore the trans actually benefits from fresh fluid.
Transmissions which have been neglected for so long that the fluid has begun to break down will necessarily have more wear on the clutches (which normally equates to more slippage) but actually benefit from retaining the old fluid for no other reason that the micro-friction-particles suspended within it.
Where is this crossing point from "beneficial fluid changes" to "detrimental fluid changes?" That seems impossible to determine, yet is easily avoided by regular fluid changes.
This is just my theory I just pulled out of my rear-end, so you can decide how dumb it is for yourself. It woud seem to explain why in some cases retaining the old fluid is better than using fresh fluid (a concept I had not previously heard of, but apparently some people have experienced.) It is not that the old fluid itself is better, because it is certainly less able to reduce wear, just that because of the particular situation wear could be accelerated by changing it.
This is by no means an endorsement to avoid changing your trans fluid, because it seems to me that once an owner has gotten himself into such a situation that he has "tied his hands" because he is not able to do any regular fluid changes for the remainder of the transmission's life (which will now be shortened due to the lack of fluid changes compared to one which has had regular fluid changes.)
The moral of the story it would seem is to do regular trans fluid changes (every 30,000 miles is a number I frequently hear) and you will avoid painting yourself into a corner where you must keep the old, worn-out fluid or else replace the clutches with a trans rebuild.
Does this theory make sense to anyone? If not, I'll just quietly crawl back into my cave.
__________________ Working on cars can either be one of the most frustrating things you ever do in your life, or it can be the most frustrating thing you ever do in your life.
The big thing about changing really old fluid is that on the old fluid some things get stuck in the transmission after a while, when you change the fluid and add new fluid the stuck things can move and then damage the Transmission. This happens even more when you flush the transmission.
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Mark V
Look for me on the PS3 network, I am usually playing Uncharted 2 demo right now. My PS3 name is delorean6683
__________________ Working on cars can either be one of the most frustrating things you ever do in your life, or it can be the most frustrating thing you ever do in your life.
I worked in a tranny shop back in the '70's and we did transmission "tune-ups" all the time with relatively good results. Of course it didn't work miracles and save the ones that were too far gone but I believe in changing the trans fluid around 60,000 miles.
I also bought a high mileage '96 Explorer and it came with some issues I didn't know about when I bought it. It occasionally would not drop into low at stops causing it to start out in 2nd. I put in a bottle of Lucas Trans Fix and it worked for a couple months. I then dropped the pan to see how it looked. It was relatively clean. I replaced the screen and put in 2 bottles of Trans Fix and filled the pan. It has been working fine ever since. I don't expect it to last forever, but it is still working. I was never a fan of additives but With over 200k on it, I felt I didn't have anything to lose. A rebuilt trans would run about $1500-$2000 (I think). I don't have that to stick into an older vehicle.
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