stuzbot
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2021
- Messages
- 478
Sigh! --I thought things were going bit too well, having got a full week's worth of use out of the wagon, since my adventures with the LSV.
Today, I thought I'd treat the old girl to a first flush of the tranny, seeing as the oil is pretty murky looking. So out with my basin and off I went. As I undid the tranny sump plug, it would be so loose one minute, I could turn it with my fingers and then tight the next, so I had to get a socket on it. Classic signs that whoever put it back in last had cross-threaded it.
Anyway, I got it out and drained the tranny...
Chocolatey goodness! --Oh well, I s'pose it's better than milkshake!
...and had a look at the sump plug. The threads actually looked OK. So [isn't hindsight a wonderful thing!] eejit that I am, I put a new washer on it and tightened it back in. Well, you can guess the rest: it tightened a certain amount and then suddenly let go and was spinning freely. Took it back out and the unthreaded section at the top had snapped off. Luckily it didn't wedge in the drain hole, but is presumably loose in the bottom of the tranny sump. So, a couple of questions for anyone who's "been there, done that"
1: Is the tranny sump plug the same size as the engine oil one? Roughtrax only have one, listed as being for the engine. But it's the same socket size as the tranny one. So are they interchageable?
2: Given the unthreaded end of the sump plug is [presumably] now loose inside the sump, should I get the sump off and get it out, or could I get away with leaving it til I'm ready to change the tranny filter? [was planning to do this after I've done a few fluid flushes]. As I understand it, the filter should stop any chance of that we bit of the end of the sump plug getting into the tranny itself, shouldn't it?
3: How the hell do you guys get an accurate reading on the tranny dipstick? I've wiped it and re-read it a zillion times and, every time, the fluid is all over the show. Way above the MAX level in the hot section. I can't believe the tranny can be that over-filled and it seems to drive fine [bearing in mind this is the 1st auto I've had, so nothing to compare it to].
Photo's out of focus as my phone kept focussing on the cloth. But blue line is an example of the kind of the level I keep getting, with tranny cold. And the two red arrows are the HOT zone on the dipstick
For what it's worth, when I drained the tranny [cold] I got 4 1/4 litres out. Does that sound about right, or does that sound stupidly over-filled?
Today, I thought I'd treat the old girl to a first flush of the tranny, seeing as the oil is pretty murky looking. So out with my basin and off I went. As I undid the tranny sump plug, it would be so loose one minute, I could turn it with my fingers and then tight the next, so I had to get a socket on it. Classic signs that whoever put it back in last had cross-threaded it.
Anyway, I got it out and drained the tranny...
Chocolatey goodness! --Oh well, I s'pose it's better than milkshake!
...and had a look at the sump plug. The threads actually looked OK. So [isn't hindsight a wonderful thing!] eejit that I am, I put a new washer on it and tightened it back in. Well, you can guess the rest: it tightened a certain amount and then suddenly let go and was spinning freely. Took it back out and the unthreaded section at the top had snapped off. Luckily it didn't wedge in the drain hole, but is presumably loose in the bottom of the tranny sump. So, a couple of questions for anyone who's "been there, done that"
1: Is the tranny sump plug the same size as the engine oil one? Roughtrax only have one, listed as being for the engine. But it's the same socket size as the tranny one. So are they interchageable?
2: Given the unthreaded end of the sump plug is [presumably] now loose inside the sump, should I get the sump off and get it out, or could I get away with leaving it til I'm ready to change the tranny filter? [was planning to do this after I've done a few fluid flushes]. As I understand it, the filter should stop any chance of that we bit of the end of the sump plug getting into the tranny itself, shouldn't it?
3: How the hell do you guys get an accurate reading on the tranny dipstick? I've wiped it and re-read it a zillion times and, every time, the fluid is all over the show. Way above the MAX level in the hot section. I can't believe the tranny can be that over-filled and it seems to drive fine [bearing in mind this is the 1st auto I've had, so nothing to compare it to].
Photo's out of focus as my phone kept focussing on the cloth. But blue line is an example of the kind of the level I keep getting, with tranny cold. And the two red arrows are the HOT zone on the dipstick
For what it's worth, when I drained the tranny [cold] I got 4 1/4 litres out. Does that sound about right, or does that sound stupidly over-filled?