Tranny trouble.

[korrupt66]

I have a 97 leg wag 2.2 auto. I notice on my way to work this morning that my tranny seemed to be slipping. I was on the the highway doing about 70 and went to pass and it tacked up then kicked in. I drove home after work and looked for leaks and went to check the fluid and the damn dipstick is stuck. Anybody ever had this problem?

[korrupt66]

Ok got the dipstick out with some silicon spray and force. Now heres the fun part. The tranny fliud is full even overfull brown and smells like crayons. Ok so heres the big question. Do I change the filter and fluid? Or drain some and put this junk (Rislone Transmission Stabilizer with Stop Slip) I bought if I needed fluid?

[birukun]

If you suspect that your tranny cooked REAL bad, you may want to hold off on doing anything more than the 4 quart drain/fill. Completely replacing all the fluid at once during a 'hot' flush may put the final nail in the coffin for your tranny.

I did my filter at 110K miles even though it said in the manual that it does not need to be changed.

So,
- drain the tranny. Should spit out about 4 quarts.
- change the filter
- add new fluid. Start with 4 quarts and then add later if necessary.

Measure the dipstick with the car in Park (running and wamred up) after cycling through all the gears for about 10 seconds apiece. You may actually have the right amount.

Other
- check tire pressure (no mismatched tires either!)
- check axles to see if they are loose, as in a CV joint being bad

Maybe others have some recommendations?

[A1Fiddler]

LubeGuard ATF Protectant is good stuff. Stick a bottle of that in with new fluid.

[Huffer]

LubeGuard ATF Protectant is good stuff. Stick a bottle of that in with new fluid.

I have saved 3 4EATs from torque bind with that stuff - one had been suffering it for over a year and with 10,000 miles.

[decke48]

i would recommend a total flush if the fluid is burnt. it cost $130 avg to have a shop do it. it replaces all 16 quarts of fluid. instead of just 4 quarts. i would do a filter change, flush and add some lubeguard ATF protectant to the stuff. if it were me.

[birukun]

I always heard that a total flush gets rid of all the friction material that is keeping the tranny from total failure. This only happens when you are 'beyond the point of not return'. Slippage to me means you are close to or at that point.

I forgot to ad the 'repeat' part to my post...... :-) So you will eventually change all the fluid but over the course of months.

Anyonehave experiencewith slippage that can weigh in? I had burnt looking fluid but no slippage.

I am really concerned as an A/T owner after looking at tranny prices..... ouch!