A funny/sad/embarassing story for you


I was checking all my car'* fluids yesterday before i washed the motor. I just checked my Tranny fluid, and it was down one hole. So I am digging around in the garage, and I can't find any. AT that moment, my dad pulls into the driveway, so I ask him if he has any. Nope, but he wants to see my tranny oil (because it really shouldn't be going down like that). Then he says start the car. START THE CAR?? I didn't know it had to be running to check tranny oil So i pull out the stick, and it'* just BARELY showing on the very end of it, and smells liek it'* burning, it so low. I hadn't really noticed it shifting hard except for one time when the tires spun, and other than that, the fluid went down gradually so it was a gradual decrese in shifting, so ididn't really notice it. But I was so sad that I abused my car like that ...You'd think they'd have some kind of sensor for the tranny fluid, there'* one for everything else!! But it looks like we caught it jsut in time before it does some real damage to the tranny...close one....tooooooo close.

I don't know where it is leaking yet (I'm assuming it is, for it to go down like that) Probably from the tranny pan. But I am going to change my oil filter tonight and i am going to the gasket and filter for the tranny too.

Well, maybe you all knew to have the motor running when you check the tranny, and maybe you didn.t....but if you didn't learn anything else from this...you got a laugh at me

Yea.. already knew that to have the engine running while checking tranny fluid.. and engine off when checking engine oil Hopefully the burnt smell from your tranny is just from the fact that you're running low on tranny fluid, and not a sign that something is going/gone. If you can afford it.. why not add a tranny cooler onto it while you're down there... get James to do all the dirty work for ya... .. was it the original tranny filter/fluid in your car before this ???

James has a hard enough time putting armoral on my dash. No, when it comes to cars, i am the brains in that relationship
No, it'* not the original filter...I did it in the summer of last year.
How much is a tranny cooler?? I don't know if i really need one...it'* not like I do a lot of racing or anything.

What could be going/gone for it to smell like it'* burning fluid? The car shifts fine, even though it'* so low. It'* just hard on it :-? You can just BARELY see the fluid on the end of the stick ....*gulp* needless to say it is sitting in my driveway until it clears up and I can go do it.

About 50 bucks for a tranny cooler at Crappy Tire... the burning smell can be a lot of things since there'* way too many pieces in there and the fact that you're fluid was so low that all metal to metal surface caused a lot of friction and heat. If you've changed the tranny fluid last summer.. then you do have a leak.. and my first guess would be then the pan gasket. Always put a seam of tranny fluid on the gasket ( as you would on your oil filter ) to ensure a tight seal and even though it takes a few extra minutes.. use a torque wrench on all nuts/bolts to ensure that they are all fastened. Try to also bolt on any screws with a criss cross pattern so to create even pressure all around. A tranny cooler however you really don't need ( especially in winter ).. but much like the 180 T-stat is more for reliability and piece of mind than anything.. kinda like airbags.. just cause I have them doesn't mean I"m going to use it.. just a piece of mind that some bag would slap me in the face to say "DUMB A$$ !!!"

I didn't change it last year because I had ot....I did it for fun Like my oil and everything

Oil for fun ??? ... must be that special oil huh.. hee hee...

If it smells burnt then I'd change it, and the filter too. I do mine every 15-20k. It'* pretty simple and cheap to do yourself, I wrote a write-up on how to do it.

Thanks, but i already know how....i've done it a few times now

I think in addition to having the engine running when you check the tranny, it needs to be at normal operating temp, not started from cold and then checked. That would make it read low also, and then you might accidently overfill it which would be bad too.
The owner'* manual should tell the correct procedure, but since mine is 40 feet away and I'd have to get up and walk to it, I'm just going from memory.

A few years back I was at my trusted oil change place and a tech noticed that the tranny fluid was starting to burn. I went out to the garage and he showed me. So I ok'ed new fluid and a filter. Within three months my tranny started slipping bad and the new fluid was already burnt too.

The guy that runs a transmission shop told me that changing your tranny fluid if its burnt is the worst thing you can do. Draining out the old and replacing it with new is what will cause problems. The new ATF you put in has so many detergents in it that it will eat up the clutch packs. He told me this before he rebuilt the tranny in my last car.