Metal Shavings on Dipstick?

[jkconnections]

I've been having a few transmission issues making me question whether the tranny is about to go, so today, I just decided to check my tranny fluid after having it changed a year ago, and to my surprise I didn't just get transmission fluid when I pulled out the dipstick.

Instructions say you should pull the dipstick and wipe off before reinserting to check levels. Well, on my first pull as I was wiping off the dipstick I noticed very tiny particles on the white paper towel I was using. I moved to another location on the towel and got a more concentrated amount of them.

After wiping it off, I put the dipstick back in but didn't get any particles. I just had my oil changed a week ago and I would assume the oil change people would have checked the tranny fluid then. So these particles would have accumulated since.

The particles are very small. Like ultra-fine bits of sand. Most of them are kind of rust colored but about 20-25% of them are black.

Are these metal shavings? If not, what? I've checked tranny fluid before on various vehicles and I've never seen particles come out on either a first or second pull of the dipstick.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

Jonathan

[bigbird]

some of that may just be burnt fluid on the dipstick but if some is commin up silvery then that defiantly is flake. waht sort of problems have you been having with the tranny?

[jkconnections]

Basically I've been having 2 issues with the tranny.

The first issue is that when I shift it into gear (sometimes from drive into reverse if I was pulling into a parking spot quickly and backing out to change direction) the car will hesitate before shifting gears and then lurches into the gear. One one occasion I remember starting the car up, shifting quickly into drive (pulling forward out of a parking spot), giving it gas, the engine revved for 1/4 - 1/2 second and then the transmission engaged and lurched into drive and I took off.

The other issue is that I'm one of the few people with an automatic transmission that likes to downshift to cut my stopping distance. I first hit the Over Drive button to shift into 3rd, and then knock it down to 2nd gear. When I do this, especially when I've put it into second, I've noticed that I get thrown forward pretty hard once the transmission decides to downshift. My mom has a 98 camry (mine's 97 - 155k) and from what I remember when I last drove hers was that doing this maneuver didn't lurch me forward in the car as hard as my car does. It was a lot more smooth downshifting (presuming I had the same conditions when I did the maneuver and am recalling things correctly - she lives 800 miles from me so I can't verify).

I called my mechanic and he said it likely was a problem but offered to look at it. He said it typically runs $2000 to do a good job rebuilding the tranny but is going to call back with a better estimate. If that's the case, considering the car private party is only worth 3500, I'd be better off just trading the car in and buying something else.

Any further thoughts?

[rty]

The first issue is not uncommon for old transmissions. My old car did that and I drove it for a few years without any transmission problems. Although my fluid was very clean.

If you want to play it safe you can trade the car in. To me it just seems like your transmission is a bit worn, but it doesn't have any major issues.

I would take it easy on the car and not use the transmission for braking, let drive engage before stepping on the gas, and when reversing put it in drive once the car has completely stopped.

When you drain the transmission fluid, a lot of it still stays in the transmission. So another change wouldn't hurt. I would also replace the transmission filter.

[Mike Gerber]

"I would take it easy on the car and not use the transmission for braking"

I absolutely agree. The brakes are designed to stop the car. Brakes are cheap and easy to replace when compared to a transmission rebuild. Stop using the transmission to stop/slow down the car.

The particles you are seeing on the dipstick may just be clutch material. Yes, an automatic transmission has clutches inside of it. At this stage you might want to try a complete transmission fluid flush. I know a lot of people don't agree with that, but I would try it before spending money on rebuilding your transmission. Try to find a shop that has a machine that uses just the transmission's own fluid pump to pump the old fluid out and the new fluid in. Ask at a few shops. I know our local Pep Boys has such a machine.

Good luck.

Mike

[jkconnections]

Thanks everyone. I ended up taking it in to a local transmission shop and the owner told me that he thought the tranny was ok but recommended dropping the pan and changing the transmission filter. He said that he doesn't recommend places that simply change transmission fluid using those machines that cycle new fluid through the tranny and pump out the old b/c it never cleans the transmission filters. He told me that he once had a rep from one of those companies try to sell him on the machine and after giving it a test run, he actually opened up the tranny and showed the rep that all the metal particles that had been trapped by the filter but couldn't be cleaned by the machine.

I've heard bad things from other mechanics about those machines too, so I'm going to go ahead and get the tranny filters changed. Just thought I'd post that bit of information in case anyone in the future searches and finds this thread.

[ROBS]

Originally Posted by jkconnections

Thanks everyone. I ended up taking it in to a local transmission shop and the owner told me that he thought the tranny was ok but recommended dropping the pan and changing the transmission filter. He said that he doesn't recommend places that simply change transmission fluid using those machines that cycle new fluid through the tranny and pump out the old b/c it never cleans the transmission filters. He told me that he once had a rep from one of those companies try to sell him on the machine and after giving it a test run, he actually opened up the tranny and showed the rep that all the metal particles that had been trapped by the filter but couldn't be cleaned by the machine.

I've heard bad things from other mechanics about those machines too, so I'm going to go ahead and get the tranny filters changed. Just thought I'd post that bit of information in case anyone in the future searches and finds this thread.

Well, the point of the tranny flush is not to clean the filter, its to get all the old fluid out. You should still change the filter regardless.

When you only drain the fluid and not flush it, there is a lot of old fluid still left in there. It takes a few drain/fills to get most of it out.

Oh, and a word of advice...you said earlier in the thread that you assumed the shop checked the tranny fluid when changing the oil. I wouldn't assume the shop did anything unless they told you they did it.And even then I wouldn't even believe it unless I saw them do it with my own eyes...thats why I dont go to mechanics...lol...but thats a whole other discussion.