Does "burnt" auto trans fluid = rebuild?

In reply to Spinout007:

Tranny dipstick is low (1/2 way down?) on the front right side of the motor.

wouldn't a transmission cooler be a useful addition, if the coolant is coming out burnt?

In reply to lnlogauge:

Yes, very much so. Heat kills automatics.

In reply to pres589: I recently done that smell nothing I'm starting to think maybe the sensor has gone bad or something like that

Transmission fluid Brown but no Burnt smell to it what should I do??

In reply to Gasoline:

Thanks I'll check it out later today.

gmiller11 wrote: Transmission fluid Brown but no Burnt smell to it what should I do??

Burnt smell or not, if it has turned brown, the fluid's additive package has LONG since been used up and you are incurring accelerated wear. Best thing for your tranny when the fluid has gone brown is to find a shop that performs tramsmission power flushes. This proccess will get you nearly 100% new fluid in there. Only caveat is make sure the shop you choose uses exactly the specified fluid for your car. I always ask to see the actual container label of the fluid they intend to use, because trust me, even an otherwise good shop might not use exectly the right fluid for your car. Do some research on bobistheoilguy.com if you are not certain which brands' fluids are correct for your application.

In reply to curtis73:

What do you recommend for Honda CVT's? ('09 Hybrid). I need to replace mine every other oil change, and at $17+tax per L it gets expensive (2-3 changes/year). If I change it less frequently, the trans starts to feel really rubber-bandy and jerks a lot.

In reply to gmiller11:

Buy an inexpensive OBD-II code reader like this one, so when your Check Engine light (CEL) comes on, you can see for yourself the reason why before subjecting yourself to a possible ripoff: http://www.amazon.com/Autel-MaxiScan-MS309-OBD-II-Reader/dp/B007JSGR9Y/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1449760343&sr

I'd bet a steak dinner your CEL has nothing to do with your transmission. But if you're concerned, you have a 4T65E trans that is easy to drain the fluid, wipe the pan, replace the filter (Wix #58837 - $12 from RockAuto), and refill. My wife's Buick has the same trans and I was amazed at how easy it was. The most tedious part is torqueing twenty 10mm pan bolts to spec while lying on your back balancing a pair of reading glasses upside down (I am getting to be a blind old bastard).

In reply to WildScotsRacing:

Your the only person who doesn't work at a oil change place (or do you?) that EVER recommended a power flush. In all my years I've always seen how bad they are for a trans.

chiodos wrote: In reply to WildScotsRacing: Your the only person who doesn't work at a oil change place (or do you?) that EVER recommended a power flush. In all my years I've always seen how bad they are for a trans.

Never worked for one. They are only "bad" for a tranny if said tranny has been negelcted to point of impending failure anyway. On the autoboxes that I have owned, I always have done a pan drop and screen change every year regardless of miles and had a power flush done every 30,000. I have also installed external fluid coolers on all of them. One of those is currently pushing 310,000 miles and still maintains the same pump pressure and shift speed it did at only 30,000. Keep the ATF cool and very fresh, and an automatic can last a very long time. Power flushes from the beginning go a long way toward the "fresh" part.

bigev007 wrote: In reply to curtis73: What do you recommend for Honda CVT's? ('09 Hybrid). I need to replace mine every other oil change, and at $17+tax per L it gets expensive (2-3 changes/year). If I change it less frequently, the trans starts to feel really rubber-bandy and jerks a lot.

Unfortunately there aren't really any options that I know of. Dealer only. Regular automatics have been so homogenized over the years that most of them can get by on generic fluid, but CVTs are still new enough that each one has its own formulation.

So, unless something has come out in the last couple years, get it from the parts counter.

chiodos wrote: In reply to WildScotsRacing: Your the only person who doesn't work at a oil change place (or do you?) that EVER recommended a power flush. In all my years I've always seen how bad they are for a trans.

Here is the skinny as I understand it from my years running transmission shops (during which time I never built a transmission, but learned a ton)

If your transmission is healthy, a running flush won't hurt a thing. First, a little sidebar: People think that ATF must have a lot of detergents because of how sparkly things are inside a transmission. The truth is, it doesn't have much detergent. ATF is not responsible for dissolving the byproducts of combustion like engine oil does so it doesn't need as much detergent. However, it is a solvent and does hold spent clutch material and other things in solution.

Here is what happens when you do a filter/fluid change. You are replacing up to half of the fluid. Any of the old additive package that had been consumed/burned during operation is partially replaced. When you do a running flush, you replace it all. If you have a healthy transmission, the filter/fluid change is a good half-measure to make sure there is good stuff in there, and the full flush is a way to completely replace it all.

Now... Imagine you have worn clutches that are starting to cause problems. The clutches are a mixture of fresh friction material and some caked/burnt material in the pores. If you have a transmission that is giving you trouble, a full flush means you are replacing fluid with brand new, highly-solvent fluid that will dissolve things faster; including the junk in the pores of the worn clutches.

The reason people associate a full flush with transmission damage is likely because their transmission was nearly worn out and the flush accelerated the dissolution of the clutches. Either way, it isn't the flush to blame for the failure, it is the fact that it was bound to happen soon anyway.

I used to use this analogy with my customers. Imagine you have a coffee mug with something printed on it. Over the years the printing has started to wear off with regular washing and handling (equivalent to a filter/fluid change, friction from driving, etc). After several years the printing has become really bad and you want to save the mug, so you decide to wash it in acetone (equivalent to a running flush) and the printing comes off entirely. You would have been better off just continuing to wash it with dish soap.

The running flush doesn't kill transmissions, it is simply a very good litmus test for identifying when a transmission was almost dead anyway.

In short: If you are having transmission trouble, a fluid/filter change is a $60 hail mary. A full flush is an $80 way to likely kill it. BUT... a healthy transmission with plenty of friction material is not going to be damaged by either.