Auto tranny, fluid was 1 gallon low!

[Clement]

Question here.
I aquired an '87 Pontiac Bonneville, 3.8L with a 4 speed auto. The car has 117K mikes on it. Well, we've had it on the road for 2 days before I was able to check all the fluids. It took 4.5 quarts of transmission fluid to bring it up to the full mark. I have no idea how long the fluid has been like this. It shifts much smoother now than it did when aquired (it was a gift from a cousin who got a new car). This was a NYC car (severe service), and was driven about 150 miles like this when the car was dropped off to me.
What can happen to the transmission for having been this low on fluid?
Is this transmission easy to service, drop the pan/ filter and gasket?

 

[patel]

quote:

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Originally posted by Clement:
Question here.
I aquired an '87 Pontiac Bonneville, 3.8L with a 4 speed auto. The car has 117K mikes on it. Well, we've had it on the road for 2 days before I was able to check all the fluids. It took 4.5 quarts of transmission fluid to bring it up to the full mark. I have no idea how long the fluid has been like this. It shifts much smoother now than it did when aquired (it was a gift from a cousin who got a new car). This was a NYC car (severe service), and was driven about 150 miles like this when the car was dropped off to me.
What can happen to the transmission for having been this low on fluid?
Is this transmission easy to service, drop the pan/ filter and gasket?

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It's so easy you can do it within hour everything.
Go to GMPARTSDIRECT.com and order OEM parts.

Please check your manual for how to check transmission fluid. I do not think it whould 4 quart to fill full mark on dipstick.

 

[Farticus]

I don't know how to do thr filter, I would assume you'd just drop the pan, pull the filter then put things back in place. Check out www.autozone.com ,check out the left side of the page, click on Repair Info, click on vehicle repair guides, then select your year, make and model. The guides there aren't terribly detailed, but they should have enough information to guide you through your transmission servicing.

 

[Clement]

The servicing looks easy enough, messy though.

How about the potential future transmission problems arising from it being run while missing about one third of it's fluid.

 

[TallPaul]

Perhaps the transmission has a shortened life from a little extra wear due to the lower fluid. So maybe you would do well to run Redline ATF to help lengthen the remaining life of the transmission. Was the abused fluid bad looking? Or maybe you don't know as new fluid was added. How does it look with the new mixed in?

 

[T-Keith]

Let me know how it works out. I have an 88 Lesabre with 210,000 miles. When I got it took about 1.5 quarts to get it up to the full mark. The fluid is black.

-T

 

[Gary Allan]

quote:

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Please check your manual for how to check transmission fluid. I do not think it whould 4 quart to fill full mark on dipstick.

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I'm with patel here. I don't now of any passenger car trans that can function with a 4 quart low condition. I can see 1 quart ..with experienceing "runaway" or slipage when you come to a stop sign and the fluid slosh exposes the sump.

But 4 quarts ..I just can't see it. That was 2/3 the amount to swap out my son's C6 in his full size Bronco (minus converter drain). You did check this in P or N with the fluid hot, didn't you?

I wonder if you've got the wrong dip stick in there.

 

[T-Keith]

My sister had a three speed GM transmission that she ran 2-1/2 quarts low. There wasn't enough fluid in the torque converter to keep the car running.

The 440T4 is a good transmission, but I would be very careful with it. They don't last much more then 150,000 with a 3.8 when neglected. Change the filter and fluid drive 3,000 miles and do it again.

-T

 

[Clement]

Well, With the motor warm, engine running while in park. No fluid on dipstick.
After 3 quarts were added, the fluid would just show on the bottom of the dipstick, while the motor was running, in park. After each quart was added, the transmission was shifted through all gears and back to park.
After a total of 4.5 quarts were added, the hot fluid level, with the motor running and the transmission in park, the dipstick read full.

Bottom line, I had to add 4.5 quarts of DEX III to get the fluid level to where it should be. It did work and was run with the low fluid level. It works better now than it did!

To answer TallPaul, the fluid is slightly red. It looks worn. T-Keith, good suggestion, I'll do the filter now, and again in the spring. There is no way I'm going to do a transmission service in the snow. I also have some LC coming, so I'll add some of that before and after the service.

 

[Gary Allan]

quote:

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Bottom line, I had to add 4.5 quarts of DEX III to get the fluid level to where it should be. It did work and was run with the low fluid level. It works better now than it did!

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Amazing

 

[Clement]

Well, it does have a leak. I'm going to try to get under it today and see if it is something that I can tighten, then add some stop leak.

 

[T-Keith]

Don't add stop leak. Most leaks are caused by loose bolts on the pan.

-T

 

[TheTanSedan]

"Most leaks" can vary from type to type. MOPAR 727's are known for leaking from the front pump seal after enough time has gone by; etc.

Also, ATF dipsticks (like oil dipsticks) can be "off" significantly, even with "correct" part number item. I've had two cars where, after refill showed a little overfilled (maybe 1/4-1/3 quart if going by same distance as between ADD and FULL). In each case, nearly -- or more than-- a quart was removed to set correct fluid level.

One may surmise that the pan is filled, and now we have fluid backing into the area of the valve body, etc. Either way, it needs to be checked regularly to make it right. Automatics are not happy being overfilled.

And it makes a good second use for my sample gun (keeping older, bigger "extractor" [can't think of name] for differential now).

 

[Ugly3]

I dropped the AT pan from my van and changed the filter. Took 4 quarts to refill. Hard to believe you could be 4.5 quarts low and the thing would still move.