I was just thinking about something I saw when I was 17 and working at a trans shop. A toyota motorhome came in and immediately there was a smell to it. The ATF had turned clear. Upon disassembly, the transmission stunk up the whole shop and customer area. My clothes smelled so bad I had to put them in the back yard for the night. Just wondering is it the heat that would cause a fluid to go clear and stink this bad?
ATF so hot it turned clear?
- Thread starter BuickGN
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Must have reached flash point...............Never seen fluid cooked that bad. Just regular burnt........trans fluid.
Originally Posted By: BuickGN
I was just thinking about something I saw when I was 17 and working at a trans shop. A toyota motorhome came in and immediately there was a smell to it. The ATF had turned clear. Upon disassembly, the transmission stunk up the whole shop and customer area. My clothes smelled so bad I had to put them in the back yard for the night. Just wondering is it the heat that would cause a fluid to go clear and stink this bad?
Do you KNOW it was ATF? Maybe some less-than-observant person used gear oil. Cooking to "clear" instead of brown or black is highly suspicious and, IMO, unlikely. You never know, I guess.
I was just thinking about something I saw when I was 17 and working at a trans shop. A toyota motorhome came in and immediately there was a smell to it. The ATF had turned clear. Upon disassembly, the transmission stunk up the whole shop and customer area. My clothes smelled so bad I had to put them in the back yard for the night. Just wondering is it the heat that would cause a fluid to go clear and stink this bad?
Do you KNOW it was ATF? Maybe some less-than-observant person used gear oil. Cooking to "clear" instead of brown or black is highly suspicious and, IMO, unlikely. You never know, I guess.
All the seriously burned up transmissions I've seen are nasty black.
And they do smell AWFUL. I'm not aware of any oil that goes clear when oxidized.
And they do smell AWFUL. I'm not aware of any oil that goes clear when oxidized.
I am aware that Toyota has used a clear ATF in the PS systems. Perhaps they used it in their transmission in this case? What did it smell like?
The guy said it was red when he put it in. I remember the owner of the shop saying something about it catching fire internally and that he had only seen it a couple times in his career. The trans was not rebuildable. Half the hard parts were welded to each other, the clutches and steels were worse than anything I've ever seen. Even the case was damaged. The smell was different than anything I've ever smelled. It wasn't the usual burned transmission fluid smell. It was more like a dead body smell.
I seen a van on rt80 back in the 80's burn to the ground because the trans caught fire while driving.We were behind the van for a while and seen flames coming out from under it,the driver pulled off the to the side of the road and the van burnt to nothing.
When I rebuilt a BADLY burnt out A413 transmission it had nearly black fluid in it. Fluid should NOT be clear. Oxidation would darken the fluid Red>Dark Red> Light Brown> Dark Brown > Black. It would never go clear.
I wonder what they put into that thing as transmission fluid. It sure wasnt any ATF. All ATFs pretty much use red to easily notify techs/ drivers that its ATF and not some other form of fluid.
Most gear oil I have smelled was a sulfur(rotten egg) type smell at least to some degree. And they tend to be honey to dark brown colored.
Very odd indeed. I wonder if maybe someone workin on it before hand tried to be a shade tree mechanic and listened to someone who said, "oh, x type oil can be dumped in to save that transmission". Didnt smell like kerosene did it? :lol
I wonder what they put into that thing as transmission fluid. It sure wasnt any ATF. All ATFs pretty much use red to easily notify techs/ drivers that its ATF and not some other form of fluid.
Most gear oil I have smelled was a sulfur(rotten egg) type smell at least to some degree. And they tend to be honey to dark brown colored.
Very odd indeed. I wonder if maybe someone workin on it before hand tried to be a shade tree mechanic and listened to someone who said, "oh, x type oil can be dumped in to save that transmission". Didnt smell like kerosene did it? :lol
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Brake fluid? Would have taken a heck of an amount though!
Someone put the wrong fluid in the transmission.
That's why it was clear, and that's why it didn't work right and had to go to the shop.
That's why it was clear, and that's why it didn't work right and had to go to the shop.
Originally Posted By: Tones
What did it smell like?
Probably smelled like my Mother-in-Law.....
What did it smell like?
Probably smelled like my Mother-in-Law.....
PSF power steering fluid is clear.
Hmm the reaction you give to the stench is identical to how people react when they smell gear oil. Do you think the owner unwittingly put some ol SP gear lube in there?
Originally Posted By: Max_Wander
Hmm the reaction you give to the stench is identical to how people react when they smell gear oil. Do you think the owner unwittingly put some ol SP gear lube in there?
It was about the consistancy of ATF or possibly thinner. The stench was worse or at least stronger than anything I've ever smelled. My clothes literally had to be kept outside of the house. It was definately a sulfur smell.
Hmm the reaction you give to the stench is identical to how people react when they smell gear oil. Do you think the owner unwittingly put some ol SP gear lube in there?
It was about the consistancy of ATF or possibly thinner. The stench was worse or at least stronger than anything I've ever smelled. My clothes literally had to be kept outside of the house. It was definately a sulfur smell.
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