Clear ATF???
Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2014 10:26 am
by labsy
Hi,
I have just checked my Pathy's transsmission fluid and reading from dipstick, it is at proper level & looks like new!??? Indeed I bought my vehicle few months ago, but I examined service logs and there's no writeup about transmission fluid change.
Any idea? How can it be clear red, without any contamination?
Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2014 12:12 pm
by skinny2
Mine has never looked bad during drain/fills. Smells good too. The transaxle case that uses the same fluid however....woof.
Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2014 6:02 pm
by labsy
Interesting...
Will drain a bit to see what comes out, from transmission and transaxle case, just to be sure.
*** EDIT ***
Well, first of all, after reading some more manuals and instructions, I realized that Automatic Transfer box ATF fluid must be checked HOT and with ENGINE RUNNING at idle! If you check it when engine is off, your ATF level will read very high, above limits, because all the ATF from Torque Converter and pump goes back into AT bottom.
Second, what appeared "clean ATF" to me was indeed brownish-clear old ATF, which proved old only after comparison on white sheet of paper side on side with brand new ATF.
And third, although ATF level was even below the lowest cold mark on dipstick, adding 1 liter was too much. It's now almost 1 cm (0.4 inch) above hot max mark, which I do not like. I know for engine bay it is not wise to overfill oil above MAX mark, because rotating parts then smash the oil and produce a lot of foam and air bubbles in oil, which is bad...but I don't know for tranny.