Don't ignore checking your transmission fluid

[Pippi]

I didn’t check my transmission fluid for a long time and many miles, mostly out of laziness and not wanting to find anything wrong. Well my running engine started to smell hot and I finally checked the trans fluid to find out it was direly low. In fact, it was almost dry—yikes!

I had to call the “Historical Chevy Society” to get the type of trans fluid I need since I don’t have an original manual. I was wondering if I was actually calling a museum of some type and the girl from the main Chevy line was maybe a little clueless or having her fun sending me there. But alas they were extremely helpful and seemed to be set up just to help out folks like me.

I learned in the process that the trans fluid type is also etched into the end of the dip stick (how convenient!). I also learned that the type of fluids will come in almost every brand and that some versions are expired but replaced by newer versions which you can google easy enough.

It took a few tries to fill it up again since I didn’t know how much to actually put in. I would dump in a liter or so and then start the engine for a while to check the running temps calculation on the dipstick. It took a few tries. Ultimately about three liters replenished the trans fluid tank.

The engine/transmission now runs a lot cooler now with no smells. I still don’t know if or how much damage I could have caused that may manifest later down the road in the transmission. I guess that’s what roadside assistance is good for!

So remember to check your trans fluid. A lot of things can be prevented by simple prevention maintenance. Happy trails!

[Bob Jones]

Pippi it’s good to check you’re all your fluids, its also important to change the transmission fluid and filter, you should ccheck the service records and see if this has been done. Motorhomes put a lot of stress on automatic transmissions they get very hot. So its very important to change the fluid and filter and pan gaskit. Also an aftermarket transmission cooler is a big bonus, you have transmission cooling lines going into you radiator its good to check these for leakage. Which brings up another important issue that is your cooling system which keeps your transmission cool, you can get coolent testers can be gotten at just about any auto parts store. They are inexpensive and check your violent gravity and also for rust.

[Pippi]

Awesome feedback, Bob. I’ve got tentative plans to sometime in the next couple weeks (maybe days) to change my fluid and filter. Stay tuned for a video 🙂

As for the coolant testers and after market coolers, I’ll definitely have to peer into that a bit more.

Thanks so much for the great input 😀

Pippi

[YarrVee]

I think that was supposed to be specific gravity. 😀

[Jaygermeister]

Transmissions are a complex piece of machinery and require maintenance and service like anything else. I wonder if your existing transmission fluid got burnt or scorched you can usually tell by smelling the dipstick and seeing if it has the burnt smell if it does the viscosity of the fluid is probably down to the point that it’s not doing his job properly And can cause premature wear of the internal parts. When I upgraded to a larger travel trailer I added a larger transmission cooler to my truck and a temperature gage to keep an eye on it. I guess the moral of the story is do not neglect your transmission there are more moving parts in it then probably the whole rig combined.

Happy trails Jay

[Pippi]

Thanks Jay, you are right. I’m going to nurse my machinery a bit better from now on 🙂

[scootertrash]

Mag Hy Tek makes aftermarket oil pans and Diff covers for all Chevrolet applications. Their pans are aluminum and have cooling fins. They also hold additional fluid which extends the life of your transmission. If your tranny was not slipping and screaming you did no damage. I assume you have a 454 Chevy in your Bounder. Early models like yours should have came with a turbohydramatic 4 bolt and they are tough. My 76 Chevy C 10 Vanmobile had over 300K miles on the original untouched transmission and it never had a problem.
AGREE 100 percent on additional coolers!!!!! Gas engines force the Auto trans to work overtime and you can always install aftermarket coolers. Remember this cooler also adds another quart of fluid and thats a good thing.

[Pippi]

Ya, it’s a 454. Good to hear about presuming no damage since there was no sounds.

[RBuzz]

I was at war with my tranny a while back and you may have read about it in my blog. It would keep going into safe mode(second gear) for no particular reason. What I’ve come to find out is that it may be what’s called a Performance Control Module. Pippi and I share the same basic chassis, a GM P30, and the PCM is located at the steering column near the floor. This animal is all electronic and, I believe, it gets an attitude every now and then, at least mine does. When it does it puts the tranny into safe mode. When that happens I pull over, turn off the motor and count to ten. The PCM has a chance to reset itself and everything goes on as usual, until it gets an attitude again, maybe weeks from now.
This PCM is notorious for having a poor conformal coating on the printed circuit board, to protect it from moisture, and may be in need of replacement.

I’ve had the tranny in the shop several times and they keep telling me they need(want) to pull the pan and see what’s going on with the seals. Sounds like a fishing expedition to me and then they start taking $3000 for a tranny rebuild. I can get a rebuilt from O’Reilly Auto for $1700 so what’s up with the $3000? I was even told to pull the tranny and take it to a local shop and they’ll rebuild it with guarantee for about $1700 also so again what’s up with this $3000? I talked to the counter tech at O’Reilly and he said he’d pull it and put it back in for $200.
Another counter tech told me that mechanical things don’t fix themselves but electronic ones will. I’ve worked in electronics and can vouch for that and have worked the wrenches before so I can attest to mechanical things not fixing themselves.
A rebuilt PCM(They’re very, very hard and expensive to find new)(from A1Cardone) from O’Reilly is about $130. The manufacturer takes old PCMs stripps the coating, makes sure all the boys are doing what they’re supposed to, then re-coats the board with an updated conformal coating.

So the point of all this is that any problems had may be mechanical or electrical. If it seems to fix itself sometimes then it’s probably an electrical issue that a tranny rebuild usually won’t solve and a rebuild isn’t needed. A rebuild will be needed for things like fluid boiling up through the dipstick port, transmission slipping, smell of burnt tranny fluid on the dipstick etc…. I’ve never smelled burnt tranny fluid so I don’t know what it would smell like
Just because it may need a rebuild doesn’t mean that you have to cough up $3K on it.
It may be a PCM issue.
Just as you would with a surgery on yourself, get a second, and if necessary, a third opinion before you allow them to start cranking wrenches on your RV. If they want to pull the pan and check the seals, I can assure you they will find something that they are sure needs replacing.

[Pippi]

Great advice, RBuzz, thank you! I’ve experienced something electrical fixing itself before but never put the ideas together that issues that sometimes fix themselves are electrical whereas mechanical issues don’t. Really good point and rule of thumb.

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