OVERFILLED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

[jorge345]

Hello

I did my owners manual steps to check the ATF level (warm engine,trans in Neutral,Engine idling).
I noticed that my transmission was way overfilled. Then i took the car to a local repair shop to be sure about the ATF level. The mechanic told me that my car was overfilled by 2 quarts and a half. I drove the car overfilled for more than 3 years!!
I'm worried about it, do you guys think it will fail sooner than normal?

when cold: the shift from 1st to 2nd is weird,it dosen't slips but it shifts hard.
when warm: all gears shifts nice and smooth.

the car is a 2000 mitsubishi eclipse v6 with 90,000 miles on it.

thanks.

 

[demarpaint]

Welcome to Bitog!

Check the fluid level after a drive and look for bubbles on the dipstick. That would indicate the fluid is becoming aerated which can cause problems. Either way drain the excess fluid and get it to the proper level, nothing you can do now to reverse any damage that might have occurred. The excess fluid can be removed via the dipstick tube with a fluid extractor or a pump.

 

[Voltmaster]

The best thing you can do now is to empty excess.

You can empty it by opening drain plug , same as engine oil. Buy some certified ( perfferbley sold by a mitsubishi dealer) just in case you drain too much.

 

[GearheadTool]

Two and a half quarts is very overfull. Many transes can tolerate approximately one quart over, but that is not true for everything.

Find a drain plug or fluid extractor. The car may feel good, but it is better that you are aware of its level to get it back to normal!

 

[KrisZ]

Why not just drain the whole sump and put in some fresh fluid? After 3 years I'm sure the fluid could use freshening up for essentially the same amount of work as it would take to just drain the excess fluid.

 

[windeye]

You need to check your ATF level when the car is running and ATF has reached 60-deg-C in temperature. With the engine off, it always shows overfilled because ATF is not circulating.

 

[ABerns]

As others have said, just get the fluid to the right level and don't worry about it. I doubt you did damage.

 

[Bgallagher]

Originally Posted By: KrisZ
Why not just drain the whole sump and put in some fresh fluid? After 3 years I'm sure the fluid could use freshening up for essentially the same amount of work as it would take to just drain the excess fluid.


+1 when is the last time the fluid was changed? Easier to just doing a drain and fill with fresh fluid at the proper level. That way you arent spilling fluid all over the place when you are trying to only drain 2 quarts

 

[jorge345]

thanks for the replies

I just spend 3 hours reading this forum and i think it is very nice and helpfull. Lots of good information here.
I was reading a thread where a member with the same car as me,said that castrol import multi vehicle was good for his transmission. I also read about the drain & fill method and i'm thinking about doing it 3 times with castrol import multi vehicle.
What do you guy think about this?

My current ATF is older than 4 years,that's for sure.

The mechanic already drained the excess fluid,now the ATF is at the right level.

thanks