auto gearbox with foreign object inside

[SlowPoke]

Clumsy old me broke the tip of the plastic funnel when trying to refill the ATF through the ATF dipstick hole. I think I saw a broken piece of the funnel drop into the hole and attempts to fish the broken piece out have failed and instead pushed it further inside to the extend that I can fully insert the dipstick without feeling any obstructions. I guess I have to drop the ATF oil pan to get the broken piece of plastic out.

Will there be any other damage caused by the little piece of foreign object? I will not drive the vehicle in the meantime until I can get the broken piece out.

 

[dkcase]

I don't think it will cause you any trouble...
It will be kept out of circulation by the filter.
It possibly could float around in there and jam itself into some of the shift linkage.
If it sinks and does not float, I doubt it could cause any trouble.
Ford used to (maybe still do) use a shipping plug from the transmission plants. Little sphere with an o-ring around the equator and a twisted wire handle. Stuck in the hole in the transmission case where the dipstick tube will go. At the assembly plant, as the dipstick tube was inserted in the vehicle the plug dropped into the pan never to be seen again until the first pan drop. It of course sank to the bottom and couldn't float itself into trouble.
I was disappointed not to find one on my daughter's new Ranger pickup she just got with 53,000 miles -- but not disappointed too because it had apparently been serviced before.

 

[MAJA]

quote:

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Originally posted by dkcase:
I don't think it will cause you any trouble.............It possibly could float around in there and jam itself into some of the shift linkage............

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I think you have both ends of the spectrum covered here...........

 

[rgl]

I fished out the Ford fishing bob from my tranny, it is about the size of a thumb to the first joint and is (or in 2001 was) made fully out of plastic with an o-ring in a groove. I would be more worried the smaller the piece is, my guess would be it is more likely to be carried up and stick in unwelcome places even if it does not float. I do not know what kind of surging action is created in the pan when the pump is running. On the other hand, if it is pretty small, it has a good chance of getting sucked into the filter pick up, which I think would be good as it would likely make little to no difference as to flow.

 

[SlowPoke]

How did you manage to fish it out? Judging from most of the opinions, I guess the only way out is to drop the pan ASAP

will applying vacuum on the dipstick tube help? I think not since the dipstick can be fully inserted means the broken plastic has fallen all the way through.

[ March 24, 2005, 02:38 PM: Message edited by: SlowPoke ]

 

[rgl]

quote:

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How did you manage to fish it out?

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Sorry, I just meant scooped it up with my fingers when I changed the fluid. I don't think there's any other way to get at it. I don't think vacuum would do anything for you but don't know.

 

[SlowPoke]

I unbolted the tube where the ATF dipstick supposed to go and found the little piece of the broken funnel lodged right at the very end.... saved me the trouble of dropping the oil pan. Phew