Transmission problems

man under neath car wondering why does my transmission fluid look milky

Why Does My Transmission Fluid Look Milky? Here’s Why

The reason why your transmission fluid looks milky is, that you have a leak in the vehicles cooling system or someone accidentally or purposely is sabotaging your vehicle.

Let’s think more positive and look at the most common cause of why your transmission fluid looks milky. That usual suspect is the radiator. Yes, I said it, your radiator just took a crap.

I am guessing your transmission is probably slipping too with all of that coolant inside of the transmission. I wrote a recent and more in depth blog post about how to diagnose transmission problems and repairing it on a shoestring budget if you need more help.

Why radiators are used as transmission coolers

Radiators are used as a transmission cooler source to cool the car’s transmission fluid because it makes for proper cooling by being right up front as the engine cools from this source also.

The manufacturer of the vehicle also uses the vehicle’s radiator because it is also a heck of a lot cheaper to just ad fittings to the radiator as opposed to giving every single vehicle that they produce a separate transmission cooler.

Imagine the amount of money the vehicle manufacturer saves by doing this, it’s in the millions of dollars. It works well for their pockets, but not for the better health of the vehicle. I HATE THAT THEY DO IT THAT WAY!

What happens when transmission and coolant mix?

The transmission was not built to function on the coolant and water. What happens next is the clutch material and seals begin to swell and causes the transmission to drive erratically. Rust also begins to form inside of the transmission which causes solenoids and switches to stick.

How to fix the problem

Giving if you caught the leak as soon as it happened and more than likely if you are reading this blog post today it’s probably too late.

The way to fix this is to rebuild the transmission with new parts. REMEMBER the seals and switches inside of the transmission is contaminated. Be very aware that transmission flush will not bring your transmission back to life.

If a repair shop recommends a transmission flush, they’re just taking your money and you’ll still have an erratic driving transmission.

You will need to get a new radiator but if your pockets are a little shallow, you can bypass the radiator and add an external transmission cooler.

How to prevent this from happening in the future

Some vehicles get lucky and this the radiator transmission cooler never leaks into the transmission. I do not know if you would want to go through the trouble of just bypassing the radiator transmission cooler on all of your future vehicles.

Seeing what it’s going to cost you to repair your transmission, I guess it’s worth the extra effort.

How to bypass radiator transmission cooler

Steps in the video are the same for all transmissions.

ransmission open and customer ask Is a transmission rebuild worth It? how long will a rebuilt transmission last?

Is a Transmission Rebuild Worth It? How Long Will a Rebuilt Transmission Last?

So your transmission is acting up or it has failed you completely. You are wanting to know stay with me, I’ll go into details and give you insight on some pros and cons that you probably hadn’t thought about so you can make an educated decision on if a transmission rebuild is worth it and how long a rebuilt transmission will last.

First and foremost, do you really know if your transmission has failed you? if not, go check out this helpful guide on how to diagnose transmission problems before you shell out a few thousands of dollars.

Yes, a transmission rebuild is worth it if its done properly. Some transmission repair shops do crappy work by not replacing most parts that need to be replaced.

Example: they my reuse some rubber washer, burnt metal gears, or re using the torque converter that was questionable in the first place. When they buy the transmission rebuild kit to work on your vehicle, they use the most obvious parts that were damaged in its initial stage.

How long will a rebuilt transmission last

If done properly, a rebuilt transmission can last 50,000-100,000 miles.

Are you making car payments?

We all know that a financed car is to be paid every month. For some, this is sometimes a painful process. Making payments on a car that needs a transmission rebuild already was a bad deal to start.

If you’re still making payments you are pretty much stuck in the situation and have to repair the transmission to make the best of the situation.

If you wanted to, you could walk away from the deal that is pretty obvious but I do not recommend that. your credit score will take a turn for the worse and get another ride based on your failing credit score is not a smart idea, so rebuild the transmission and move on with your life.

For a car owner, that has a vehicle that is paid off, this is a better situation for you. If you were disciplined enough to save that money that you would have spent on a financed car you should have no problem laying out the cash to rebuild your transmission.

I want to get rid of my car and buy another used car

So you’re fed up with your ride and just can’t stand to spend another dime on it and want to go and buy another used car right?

Well, I have some eye-opening news for you, and I hope you think about this really hard before you buy someone else’s junk that you may end up spending a ton of money to repair also.

If the transmission is the only thing that is giving you a hard time at that moment, rebuild the transmission.

Often I get asked to buy my customers if they should get rid of their car. Just to remind you I’ve fixed pretty much every part of that vehicle.

To make a long story short you know what was repaired on your car. Why would you walk away from it and allow someone else to reap the benefits of your hard work while you get frustrated with another used car which you have no information about its repair history?

Think about how much more life you can get out of your car if you rebuild the transmission. You could drive it for another 100,000 miles if the transmission is not abused.

I was bored with my car should I get something else anyhow?

Sure, be bored with your car we’re human beings and we are visual creatures. We like new than just being human, and being visual doesn’t warrant buying another used car. The only thing that matters is, SHOW ME THE MONEY!

If you can afford it feel free to change your car as much as your little heart desires.

I hope this insight was helpful to ya, and good luck whatever you choose to do.

transmission gear broken after shady mechanic tricks

2 Shady Mechanic Tricks Transmission repair shops do

Transmission repair scams happen often. I am only going to talk about one of the many shady mechanic tricks that are already out there. This one that we will discuss today really take car repair scams to another level of evilness.

Whenever you decide to allow a transmission shop to rebuild your transmission you need to pay attention to details upon delivery of your vehicle back to you.

You may not know the auto repair vocabulary, but if you see that your transmission is not the same color that it was before it went into the transmission shop, it’s a good indication that you have just been scammed.

After your transmission is rebuilt it should look clean with its original aluminum finish as seen in the image below.

How do I know if my transmission was rebuilt?

Allow me to elaborate more. what I mean by making sure your transmission is the same color that it came in with simply means be sure your transmission was not spray painted completely.

I trust you enough to be able to identify if your transmission was spray painted it’s very noticeable.

Why did they do this to my transmission?

What happens is this, you go to the transmission shop because your transmission is acting up. They tell you we have to remove the transmission and take it apart to see what it needs to fix the issue.

You give them the go-ahead to remove it. They remove the transmission take it apart and find your transmission hard parts and electrical components are in awesome condition.

They keep this news to themselves and keep you out of the loop of what’s going on.

Since the problem is not inside of the transmission, the transmission shop begins to see if the problem is external. Meaning maybe the car’s wire harness, ECU or TCM which is the brain for the car engine and Transmission becomes defective.

So for example reasons let just say they found out that the car’s TCM was defective. Instead of letting the customer know that the problem was actually the TCM and allowing the customer to only pay for a TCM repair they say the transmission was worn charging you thousands of dollar in rebuild cost.

Before you pick up your vehicle do this

After receiving the call that your vehicle is ready for pickup you must prepare yourself to be in semi inspector mode.

Even though you have no idea what the heck you may be looking at peek at the transmission to see if it looks like its been spray painted.

What you can look out for is overspray on the sensors on the transmission and other areas of the transmission, this is usually a sign of a poor cover up.

When transmissions are taken apart and put back together again, transmission builders use a special adhesive called silicone which is used as the gasket to keep the transmission fluid from pouring out. Look for this fresh silicone adhesive at the transmission case separation points.

Transmission builders also use a grease called assembly goo.  You can find this grease in areas of the transmission tail where the drive shaft is located and other areas of the transmission.

What you can do if this happens to you

As a customer, you are allowed to ask questions. when you suspect with evidence that your transmission was spray painted possibly not rebuilt just politely ask why your transmission was spray painted and is that a general practice to spray paint customers transmission.

For more confirmation, to know if your transmission was rebuilt get a second opinion from another repair shop 10 miles or so from the one that you got the repair done at.

Where to report bad businesses?

Bad business does not deserve to be in business taking hard working customers money.  With evidence in hand report them to these companies and get the word out.

  1. Ripoff report 
  2. Federal trade commission 
  3. Better business bureau

 

car gauge reving high after transmission fluid leak when parked

6 Reasons Why You Have a Transmission Fluid Leak When Parked

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There it is staring you in the face after you just go out of the grocery store. You pray its not your car as you get closer to look.  Here comes car trouble. Here are 6 possible reasons why you are seeing red fluid leaking on the floor. First off, transmission fluid is not the only fluid that is red that goes in the cars and trucks.

Possible reasons why red fluid is on the floor

The other fluid that is red that belongs in cars and trucks is also the power steering fluid. Be sure that you check to see where the red fluid is actually leaking from by checking the transmission fluid level, and power steering fluid level.

Transmission fluids are also clear in color and are usually found in Japanese, and European cars.

How to check transmission fluid level

We want to locate the leak so we have to do some basic checks to eliminate the transmission fluid leak. Most cars or truck’s transmission fluid is checked with the engine running.

First, open the hood of the vehicle and locate the transmission dipstick as listed n the picture below.

Possible places transmission fluid could leak from

Some of the newer generation cars and trucks in the past 10 years do not have a dipstick. The way that the transmission fluid is checked is from a hole usually located on the transmission oil pan.

If your vehicle has no dipstick then it will be a good idea to have a professional technician or repair shop to check it for you.

How to check power steering fluid level

First, start the vehicle and locate the power steering reservoir under the hood of the car as seen in the image below.

Places power steering fluid could leak from

  • Power steering reservoir leak
  • Rack and pinion leak
  • Power steering hose leak
  • Power steering pump leak

Pretty easy and straight forward to check the fluid. On the power steering dipstick, you will see minimum and maximum lines.

Where you want to have the power steering level is at the full mark obviously. Do not overfill the transmission fluid or else it will begin to foam the fluid and spill over.

How serious is a transmission leak?

Oh, it’s really bad. If you continue to drive your vehicle with the transmission fluid leak, you risk the chance of running the transmission dry and damaging the transmission. You won’t damage it on the first day that it’s leaking so head to a qualified mechanic or repair shop fast.

dirty and clean transmission fluid showwing why is a transmission flush necessary

Is a Transmission Flush Necessary? After Reading This You’ll Have Your Answer

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So you’re a car owner and your confused wanting to know is a transmission flush necessary? well after reading this article you’ll be more than educated on this matter.

The answer to this question is a yes and no answer and really depends on a few things.

What if my transmission is already bad should I flush it?

Many car owners do not follow their car maintenance schedule but wait until their car’s transmission is acting up to try and throw any possible fix at including doing a transmission flush.

News flash, if your transmission is coming apart and worn on the inside a transmission fluid service will not save you from your misery.

Well, you may be wondering how you can find out if your car’s transmission is on the verge of dying. Simple thing to do is remove the transmission pan and have it inspected.

You may not be a gearhead and wanting to attack this task on your own so seek professional help from a local transmission shop or your general mechanic shop if necessary.

Should I do a transmission flush as part of my regular vehicle maintenance schedule?

Most transmissions do not need a transmission fluid flush everytime the service maintenance schedule is due. I do recommend a transmission flush if, for example, your coolant mixes with your transmission fluid because your radiator broke internally.

Because this is a normal occurrence that happens with cars it would be a necessary action to take to try and save your transmission from failing.

In some cases, I have heard transmission flushes that were performed on high mileage transmissions began to fail just a short time after doing the transmission fluid flush.

What’s the difference between a transmission flush and drain and refill?

A transmission fluid drain and refill usually include transmission filter replacement and obviously the fluid replacement.

Not all transmission is able to change its filter as it is located on the internals of the transmission. The only way to change this filter is to rebuild the transmission.

A drain and refill may not replace all the fluid inside of the transmission and in the torque converter and upon checking the transmission fluid after the drain and refill, the fluid will still look as if you did not do a transmission fluid service.

A transmission fluid flush is a much more detailed process. The process includes a technician removing your car’s transmission fluid lines and connecting fittings to the transmission lines.

A machine with clean transmission fluid is then turned on while the car’s engine is running for an extended amount of time. The technician pays close attention to the fluid color to see if it completely changes to a clean looking fluid.

A transmission fluid exchange usually does not require a filter replacement. As seen in the image below is what your transmission fluid should look like before you get it done and after it has been flushed completely.