guess i was overdue for an atf change . . .
 

. . . cause the fluid that came out was all burnt and sh*t. Smells horrible. And I only was able to get about 3 quarts out of it. Going to drop the pan on Thursday (the day I get paid) and look around. Also going to buy a tranny cooler if my finances permit. This transmission has less than 20k miles on it, and I've been relatively nice to the car in general since then (i.e. no hot-rodding). What did I do wrong, besides long stretches of highway driving? And does the tranny pan require a new gasket before reinstallation?

TorG0d Francisco Domingo Carlos Andres Sebastian D'Anconia

Unfortuneatly, no matter how nice you are to the tranny, there is always a chance of particles clogging things up in the tight internal passageways...it's the early design flaw. So even if your tranny fluid is as fresh as a daisy, and exeternal cooler is good insurance to keep it that way. Good luck with the drain, and hope fluid is the only thing you find in the pan when you drop it:eek: ;)

Are you having any tranny issues?

yah, automatic trannys are prone to that, you cant beat em like stick.

Not having any transmission issues at the moment, just changing the fluid cause it hadn't been done since I got the new tranny installed.

On a happy note, I'll be getting xenon headlights from work at cost this week. That way, if the tranny does go out at night, I'll have some light for a bit when I have to walk to the next exit.

yes, you need a gasket - it will probably come with the replacement internal filter.

FYI, if you jack up the passenger side of the car (then use a jackstand), reach under and remove the drain plug, a lot more ATF will come out, reducing the amount that will fall out and make a mess when the pan comes loose.

careful tightening the pans bolts, over-torquing tranny and oil pan bolts so the edge of the pan gets warped is a common cause for future leaks. make sure you check & clean the magnet in the bottom of the pan. If there's much of any residue, you should definitely back-flush the OEM cooler (should do this anyway, but many don't).

Re: guess i was overdue for an atf change . . .
 

mmm there's something fishy going on here, the tranny should not make this problem after the rebuilt! over here people rarely change the ATF fluid in automatics, some even never change it ! and over here all the roads are mountain like, stress over trannys is many times more than open roads, and we do not have such problems !!! so .... ?!²"@°-(ù%µ£¨¨........... you check with your tranny rebuilder!!!!!!!!!!!

If your fluid looks like crap, I'd budget to drain the trans again in another 3-4 months. Keep replacing the ATF often to get all of the old burnt ATF out...

-Chike

If you drain out only SIX quarts, then half of the burnt trans oil is still in there. Whats left behind will contaminate what you put in.

After you drain and refill it drive it for a day or so to thoroughly mix the new oil with the cruddy oil.

If you drain and refill twice, you now have, roughly nine clean quarts and three dirty quarts.

If you do the drain and refill three times, its now starting to get clean.

Two cases of genaric trans fluid is about $25.00. A new trans filter and gasket are about $25.00.

A new transmission is alot more.

Ps; use Dexron 3.

I'm using Dexron 3/Mercon fluid. It's a new tranny direct from Subaru in Japan. I just do primarily long stretches of highway driving with no cooler. Installing it as I type this.

BTW I work at a speed shop so I get all sorts of auto parts/fluids/accessories at cost; i.e. my case of tranny fluid was like $7.00. Not to brag or anything . . .

If you get stuff at cost, then definitely do what Tom (svxfiles) recommended. New trans or not, ATF should never look like that...

-Chike

let him do this method using dextron II in the first 2 times for 2000 miles, and then use dextron III to wrap it up...

This was the 2nd tranny fluid change in 3 days. Should be good enough until I can get the cooler installed, then I'll do it again, and again, and again, until I have no more fluid lying around. I only got about 3.5qts out of it the first time, I'd wager that I got almost 5 or 6 this time since I dropped the pan and did the filter.

Will keep y'all informed as to my car's status.

I dont even think dexron II is available anymore.

heheheeeeeeeeee, do you want me to send you Dexron I ??? how many quarts ???

Well maybe for you its available. But for us here in the States I have only seen dexron III. I'm thinkin its the same thing but probably better.