Automatic transmission fluid diagnosis - Help plz

[Dulluthkid_19]

So I remembered to check the fluid level on my car yesterday and I couldn't get an accurate reading because every time I put the dipstick in and took it out to check the level, the fluid level ALWAYS indicated way higher than the the regular marks at the bottom of the dip stick. But that was just a slight annoyance and confusion as to what to do...the real scary part is this...

I noticed specs of dirt-like stuff on my dipstick and it's coming from my tranny! What the hell do I do about this? I was thinking of getting a transmission flush (the more intensive one where they drop the tranny pan and flush new fluid through the pump and allow the old fluid to drain directly into a catch pan) but according to this site ("When not to flush:") it says that I am simply screwed and to NOT flush my tranny but to just buy a new/rebuilt/used one.

Now I just need some overall advice as to what I should do with this situation I'm in. When I bought the car, a service recipt says the tranny fluid has been flushed (which now was about 18 months ago). The transmission doesn't make any weird noises nor does it slip noticablly (maybe in the upper rpms ever-so-slightly, but I think that's more the engine getting out of breath than the transmission) so I just don't know what to do...

Should I just get rid of the car before it sucks up more and more money? I only paid ~$800 for it and just bought $400 in parts for it...so I feel torn. But I would like a 4x4 as well.

OK, sorry for the rambling, but any advice is greatly appreciated!

- Jesse

[atobe]

well it's totally up to you if you don't want to spend anymore $ you can just run it till it dies.... you can't always believe those sites... i did a flush with 7qts of tranny oil on my car @ 120k and it's fine. and even the mech showed me i had some metal flakes in the pan stuck to the manget... but like you said it was flushed recently so you should be ok.

[marc780]

I'll go with what atobe says, some dirt on the dipstick is not necesarily cause for alarm. All transmissions make some dirt inside from operation, its probably just a little bit of band material or something and normal wear. It works fine, thats what counts after all...but did the fluid smell burnt? Is the trans leaking? Does it hesitate for a long time between shifts or make noise? If not, i think i might try a fluid change and not a flush, since it was flushed not too long ago. And i'd just drive it until something expensive broke or the car started nibbling me to death with repairs. Its a toyota so this car could go on for another 100,000 miles, who knows? But like i said, probably no reason to panic and dump the car right now.

[Kep]

If you take a transmission dip stick reading when the engine is off it will show fluid much higher than the marks on the stick. The most accurate way is to get the transmission up to operating temperature, come to a stop on a level area, shift through all of the gears while it is stationary, put it in park and read the dip stick.

If the car was flushed less than 30,000 miles ago I understand that it is accepted that you can flush it again. I let my 1990 go too long and decided to drain the pan by removing the plug and refill it (about 2 quarts) every week for two months. The 1990 held about 12 quarts but only dropped two through the plug so I figured that by doing this I would get an almost complete exchange of fluid in two months. Thereafter, I drained the pan at every other oil change. I got 350,000 miles on the original transmission before a lady T boned me.

Kep