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how you know ur tranny is dying?

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Old 01-19-2001, 12:54 AM
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i got 120ks on my auto tranny..
and i wanna know some warning signs of its death...
anyone wanna help me out?...

hard shifts?when?what rpms?

someone wanna explain "slipping"

[Edited by buss95max on 01-19-2001 at 03:08 AM]
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Old 01-19-2001, 05:12 AM
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Originally posted by buss95max
i got 120ks on my auto tranny..
and i wanna know some warning signs of its death...
anyone wanna help me out?...

hard shifts?when?what rpms?

someone wanna explain "slipping"

[Edited by buss95max on 01-19-2001 at 03:08 AM]
some early signs:
later-shifts-than-normal: say for example you're crusing along.. the tranny should shift around 2500-3000 rpm for part throttle. if it shifts later, than there's not enough pressure being built up in the solenoids (possibly bad seal or bad solenoid). TPS is also a possibility

harder-shifts-than-normal: too much pressure in the lines. TPS or solenoid is usually the problem.

slippage: you hit the gas, the engine revs up, the car barely moves. the clutch plates are not engaging properly.

grinding/noise: this is self-explanatory

loss of gear(s): if a certain planetary gear is shot, the car will skip a gear until you reach XXX mph and it can shift into the next gear.
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Old 01-19-2001, 06:33 AM
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To add to what Phuong said->

When the tranny slips, the shifts will be harder. It will bang into the 2nd gear and chirp 2nd gear. I can't stress how important ATF is to the auto tranny. If you pull the dip stick, anytime the fluid is browish color and smell burnt. You should get a flush right away.
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Old 01-19-2001, 07:59 PM
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Funny...

I didn't start to have problems until I had the tranny flushed. Now I get a shudder when downshifting from 3-2.
I've heard 2 schools of thought on changing the fluid.

1) Change tranny fluid at regular intervals.

2) if it ain't broke (no burnt smell, funny colors, slipping) don't mess with it.


I'm starting to believe in #2 more now. I'm having a hard time believing my problem was pure coincidence.
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Old 01-20-2001, 10:38 AM
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Re: Funny...

Lets put it this way.

1. If a car has 20K miles on it and gets the tranny flushed with Redline D4 ATF @ 20K. I will keep on flushing it at 20K-30K intervals. The tranny will last forever.

2. If a car has over 100K and the tranny fluid has never been flushed. I wouldn't flush it if the color looks good. This tranny have been pampered, so leave it along. The fluid looks good because it has never been overheated. It will probably never will because the drive pampers the car.

3. Doesn't matter how many miles have on a car if the fluid is brownish or smell burnt. Flush it because damange has already been done and if it's left along it will get worst.



Originally posted by The_quorum
I didn't start to have problems until I had the tranny flushed. Now I get a shudder when downshifting from 3-2.
I've heard 2 schools of thought on changing the fluid.

1) Change tranny fluid at regular intervals.

2) if it ain't broke (no burnt smell, funny colors, slipping) don't mess with it.


I'm starting to believe in #2 more now. I'm having a hard time believing my problem was pure coincidence.
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Old 01-20-2001, 12:04 PM
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thxs 4 all the input..

just one more question

when i check the atf with the dipstick. i have a hard time seeing where the fluid line is, on the stick. since the stick is a dark metal color, and the fluid is pink.when i take out the stick, im like wtf i cant tell? not like when checking the oil, cuz the stick is a silver, and the oil is brown.
i *think* i remember reading a post about getting a temp gauge, to check the atf. is that possible?
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Old 01-20-2001, 01:57 PM
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Look For The Wet Spot

yes it takes a keen eye. Clean the dipstick off, insert it and pull it out making sure you keep the bottom end down, hold it up to eye level in good light and look for where the wet spot ends. It will be fairly obvious.

A tranny gauge is not bad, but a wiser investment would be a tranny cooler first. Then get the gauge if you still want.

P.S. No subliminal message here.
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Old 01-20-2001, 05:51 PM
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scroll up

read what got rice and 1max wrote..thxs guys
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Old 01-20-2001, 05:57 PM
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Re: scroll up

when you buy an auto 5th gen max
your tranny dies at 12k miles
funny huh
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Old 01-20-2001, 07:39 PM
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We're talking Slushboxes, Automatic Trannys and Wet Spots

Oh yeah.
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Old 01-21-2001, 12:09 AM
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How much dos it cost to rebuild a Max auto tranny?
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Old 01-21-2001, 04:42 PM
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Originally posted by NmexMAX
How much dos it cost to rebuild a Max auto tranny?
I wouldn't recommend having a shop rebuild it. I would purchase a factory remanufactured transmission. It does cost slightly more, but you're sure to run into <I>less</I> problems than with a local rebuild.
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