the oil change from HELL ( was torq sticks )

"Lawrence Glickman" > wrote in message
...
> On Sat, 05 Mar 2005 02:11:17 -0800, Winston >
> wrote:
>
> >Lawrence Glickman wrote:
> >
> >> I've changed my ATF and transmission filter and gasket before, +
> >> cleaned up the pan and the circular magnets. No big deal for me.
> >> BTDT and have the coffee mug.
> >
> >Ah. A thousand pardons, then.
> >
> >> How you ended up with a $3000 tranny bill for one of your Camreys is
> >> beyond me. I can't imagine what went wrong.
> >
> >Me neither. It sounded as if some grit got stuck in the main servo
> >and put the main clutch in permanent 'linear mode'. ie self destruct.
> >Though what I know about auto trannys wouldn't fill a thimble.....
> >
> >> Changing ATF alone is child's play. The pan drop and filter, well
> >> that is teenager stuff.
> >> I've never dared go beyond that level because I've never had to.
> >> Lucky? Maybe.
> >
> >We have both been lucky, apparently!
> >
> >(...)
> >
> >> Hey guys, can you tell me which mud sample is from MY CAR and which is
> >> from your test tube of ****?!
> >
> >I expect that their marketing example backfired here.
> >
> >We have both emptied the sumps of well-maintained transmissions.
> >The fluid is never red. It's browinish with *lots* of suspended
> >particulates. It might easily have run another 30K miles before
> >jelling and blowing up the tranny. It really isn't *bad*, yet.
>
> Yes it is "bad." I've been told there is no such thing as mud
> transmission fluid coming out of a healthy transmission. And if you
> say "lots" of suspended particles, well yes my circular magnets had
> *some* noticeable amount of powdery metallic material stuck to them,
> but nothing was noticeable in either the fluid, filter, or sump
> bottom. Evidently the particulates were small enough to make it
> through the screen which they call a filter, and stayed in circulation
> until the magnets caught them.
>
> I think that is normal, otherwise, why put the magnets in there. Or
> even the filter.
>
> OTOH, dark brown fluid in a transmission is usually a sign that
> something is wrong. As Edward just mentioned, overheating is a
> possibility. In my case, I have a transmission cooler right at the
> bottom of my radiator, so I would be very surprised if that is the
> reason for the brown fluid in my case, but anything is possible with a
> Taurus Transmission.
>
> >(...)
> >
> >> What I am going to do, is suction out the crap I can get to, add exact
> >> same amount to tranny that I took out, to the drop.
> >
> >You left out the part about leveling up the fluid when you are done,
> >but I get your point. I wish I could be assured that there isn't
> >a sharp edge at the bottom of the dip tube waiting to shave plastic
> >off the end of that suction tube on retraction... hoo boy.
>
> What I did was cut a bevel in the bottom of the tube so there is
> always an intake port there no matter what position the tube is in or
> where it is located. IOW, I just sliced the end at a 45 degree angle.
> If I don't get the entire thing back out, I know something is left in
> the engine. This is my 2 second solution to -that- problem. Just use
> a razor knife or scissors and cut the end of the tube at a 45 degree
> angle. When you get the entire tube back including the tip, you'll
> know you're OK.
>
> >> I will repeat this proceedure every 90 days ( when I change my oil )
> >> until I have reason to believe I have CLEAN fluid inside the torque
> >> converter as well as the rest of the assembly.
> >
> >Clean-ish fluid. The stuff loads up and turns brown fairly quickly.
>
> Well I dunno about that. I changed the tranny fluid on my Merc Tracer
> at 30,000 miles, and it wasn't brown, I can assure you of that.
>
> >(...)
> >
> >> Last transmission I disassembled had a clean as a whistle filter, no
> >> different than brand new. Although I put a new gasket on THAT ATF
> >> pan, you can re-use the old one. At least once anyhow. Just be
> >> careful to make sure the bolts are torqued evenly between 7 and 13
> >> inch pounds.
> >
> >Well, gaskets are cheap and resilient. I like the fact that the new
> >gasket has a certain amount of stored 'spring' to help seal both
> >surfaces. I can't imagine reusing that part.
>
> The problem with the new gasket is you have to put grease on the
> bottom side of it so it won't slide off the metal pan when you are
> re-attaching it. It will probably move anyhow, because it came in a
> box, distorted in shape. So when you go to re-mount it, you have a
> fun time trying to find the screw holes in the new gasket, and believe
> me, there are a bazillion of them.
> >
SNIP
Hi LG, next time u assemble with a new gasket, u might wanna use a spool
of "Mama's" sewing thread, break off lengths of it, tie the gasket thru its
screw-holes onto the pan, and assemble with ease--even down to the screws
finding the holes. Been using this old-timey technique for decades, and it
surely helps with those "folded-up" gaskets we use nowdays.
HTH & good luck. Sounds like u guys really enjoy d-i-y servicing. Wish
I still could; but just reading about it is still fun & interesting. s

On Sat, 5 Mar 2005 13:22:33 -0500, "sdlomi2" >
wrote:

> Hi LG, next time u assemble with a new gasket, u might wanna use a spool
>of "Mama's" sewing thread, break off lengths of it, tie the gasket thru its
>screw-holes onto the pan, and assemble with ease--even down to the screws
>finding the holes. Been using this old-timey technique for decades, and it
>surely helps with those "folded-up" gaskets we use nowdays.
> HTH & good luck. Sounds like u guys really enjoy d-i-y servicing. Wish
>I still could; but just reading about it is still fun & interesting. s
>

Hi s,

You got a brainstorm there ! One of those "why didn't I think of
that" brainstorms ! EXCELLENT. I'm saving this one in the archive.
Thanks many many times.

Yes I somewhat enjoy Saving Money ;-\ Also, having been a sort of
mechanic for all my Life, when I retired for medical reasons, I felt a
continued need to work with my hands. This *hobby* is just the
ticket. Thanks Again for an _excellent_ suggestion. Will do.

Lg

sdlomi2 wrote:

(...)

> SNIP
> Hi LG, next time u assemble with a new gasket, u might wanna use a spool
> of "Mama's" sewing thread, break off lengths of it, tie the gasket thru its
> screw-holes onto the pan, and assemble with ease--even down to the screws
> finding the holes. Been using this old-timey technique for decades, and it
> surely helps with those "folded-up" gaskets we use nowdays.
> HTH & good luck. Sounds like u guys really enjoy d-i-y servicing. Wish
> I still could; but just reading about it is still fun & interesting. s

Wow! That is a very nifty tip. Thanks!

--Winston