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Arrgggghh!!! My transmission!!! :(

5K views 31 replies 8 participants last post by  AngryPunk 
#1 ·
Mother of god. I pulled the transmission pan off and there's a goddam ball bearing stuck to the magnet. I think I would have been less freaked out if it were a human finger I found in there.

So...any theories? How the hell is it still running? I was changing the fluid and filter in the hope that it will help smooth the changes. But a bearing missing a BB is far more serious than I anticipated. What should I do?
 

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#7 ·
No idea how it got loose. I bought the vehicle (03 RWD) with 185k Kms on it and it's now at 202k. I am not sure if it's ever been serviced. The gasket is seized on horribly and I'm doing my best to get it off cleanly. A trip to a tranny shop may be needed. But I don't have $ for a repair so I may end up trying to fix this problem too.
 
#8 ·
Like other guys are saying you may not be in as serious of trouble as the initial sight of a loose part would make you think. If the trans is working OK and all you were doing is an oil/filter change then maybe just keep the ball and put everything back and call it good for now.

But if you DO decide to investigate your valve body but you don't have funds for a rebuild kit maybe you can search to see if the rebuild kit instructions are available online and just use them as disassembly/reassembly instructions.
 
#10 ·
Definitely a check ball from the valve body. I don't see how it could have gotten loose, unless the valve body was serviced before you bought it and someone lost a check ball that ended up in the pan. Might not actually be missing from the valve body, if that's the case (they can get loose while you're handling the valve body).

For the baked-on gasket, all you can do is be VERY careful with a stiff scraper - and have lots of patience. It will go slowly. If you go too fast, you can gouge the sealing surface - so don't.

If it's shifting normally and going into all gears and lockup properly, it might not be a problem. It might just be that the magnet did its job.
 
#11 ·
Good call. Let's hope it's that. If it were a prank then cudos to the pranker for their patience. Like my buddy who hid my alarm clock and it went off at 3am. I waited 10 years to tell him his prank worked :)

Cleaned the pan with a Brillo, a plastic scraper, and a tonne of brake cleaner. Took 2 hours. Going to try putting it back together.
 

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#14 ·
The seal seems ok. I tried to pry it out with no luck. YouTube guy hammered a pick in to get it out . I wasn't confident with that. I compared it to the new one and it feels the same. If I scratched it with the screwdriver it was minor I think.
I was going to tighten the valve body bolts (96 inch pounds) but my torque wrench seems too crude. I've had enough heart attacks for one day so I'm going to try putting it together.
New filter fits in snugly but sits out a little from the valve body. Is that normal ?
 

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#17 ·
The plot thickens. I filled the reservoir with what I thought was a reasonable amount less than what I took out if it. But I may have misjudged that and it's possible I put too much in. I can't tell yet because the entire dipstick comes out red, so it hasn't all run down into the pan yet.
But also, there was a puddle of fluid under where the bell housing meets the engine. No leak from the pan at all.
What happens when it's overfilled? Will it come out somehow? Do I need to take the pan off again?
How long does it normally take for the fluid to settle so you can judge how full it is?
 
#18 ·
About 20 minutes should be enough time for the dipstick to clear. If still too much fluid is showing just loosen a few bolts around the pan, let some fluid drain. I'd drain alot out. Tighten back up and check again. If you have to then add some back just about a pint to a quart at a time and check levels as you go.
 
#20 ·
AngryPunk said:
I waited to see the new level but it wasn't clear still. I'll let it sit tonight and check in the morning..
I assume you know to check it warm and running?
No need to "let it sit"

Usually the only time you might need to wait, is immediately after you've poured fluid down the dipstick tube, making it hard to get a clean reading. Usually a few minutes of wait after filling, is adequate.
 
#21 ·
Thanks for clarifying. I was trying to get a stable reading at cold before taking it for a run, just in case there wasn't enough in it.
I'm still not sure what's going on. The cold reading is perfect (below the crosshatch) but when warm and idling I cannot get a reading at all. So I added a little fluid but now it's slightly too high when cold. It's not making a lot of sense to me.
It does seem to be shifting a little more smoothly, but I have put any stress on it yet. There's a new sound when I take off, like a little clink. I'm hoping that I didn't cause that.
 

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#23 ·
Ok so cold it looked perfect. But at running temperature it looks like there's no transmission fluid in there at all. So I added a little more and now cold it shows a little too much. I've tried this multiple times now in multiple locations just in case the ground wasn't flat enough. I just can't understand it. Why would the level be lower when it is warmed up and idling than when it is cold?
 

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#25 ·
Sorry Musicman. I apologise for the lack of clarity. I read your message and I reread it just now to make sure I didn't miss anything. What you're saying I think is that it must be both warm and idling when checking the correct level. That is exactly what I'm doing. The videos I followed said fill it to the "cold" section of the dipstick then start it and run through the gears. I did all of that. I have been checking both while hot and idling as well as when cold. So to clarify, when I said the level was perfect cold, I meant the level was in the right range for cold (where it is marked cold on the dipstick). I think I must be missing something still because I feel like I've followed everything you suggested. Again, my apologies . I didn't mean to cause you frustration. I am very grateful for your help and patience.
 
#26 ·
Might I suggest dropping by... anywhere and have someone else a tad more experienced and CONFIDENT take a look.
Running, warm and in park ( of course, in Park - weird instructions, I always thought... who would check it in drive or reverse ? )

Imagine getting in front while the 95 lb gf holds the brake ... :eek:
 
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