Checked my atf fluid level and it was at the bottom of the level. Should I fill between the 2 lines and what oil should I use in the UK?
stcos85,
Yes, you should have it at least near the upper line. How does the fluid look? Should be a bright cherry red and no faint smell of charred toast. Any modern Dexron ATF will be OK, so long as it supercedes Dexron II or M2C33-F. If the oil is suspect in any way, flush the lot.
Volkenstein
hi,
thanks for the info. It looks a yellow colour, the colour of normal fresh oil. how do i flush the old oil out and then how do i make sure there are no air locks in it?(if that is a valid question)
Stcos85,
Yellowish :shock: I have yet to see ANY brand of ATF that colour!
So, grab 5 litres or even 10 litres, what the hell it's your money! :lol:
Grab a bucket and maybe a length of garden hose. Drain the ATF tank by undoing the banjo bolt underneath the tank. Keep the washers in the order they came off. Once drained (overnight preferably) put the bolt/hose and stuff back together. Up at the tank neck, undo the return line fitting there, slip the garden hose length over it and point it into the bucket.
Put about 2 litres of ATF in the tank and start the car. Let it idle. Keep adding ATF as more yellow goop comes out of the hose. Keep adding until only cherry red comes out. Stop the motor. Check the level and top up. Put the return line back on. I would run the car for a while, revving as you go, then drain and fill once again. After all this, check for signs of leakage at your hose/line connection points and make sure you haven't got dribbles (or a flood) coming out of the bellhousing.
The total system capacity is 3.5 Litres.
Last check. Make sure your engine oil or the ATF show no signs of discolouration. If either of them do, no more engine running until you replace the two oil/ATF pump seals.
Anyone? Have I missed any other practical advice?
Ctefeh
Hi Sean,
Some good info there...
a few things I wouldn't have thought of...
but I wonder what was in the ATF tank ??
Do You know if the system would work at all with engine oil???
Maybe really thin engine or gearbox oil...??
that is a weird one...
ATF has the smell You never forget...
like hypoid gearbox oil...
I hope the oil?? or whatever is in the ATF tank,
torque converter and ATF pump all comes out..
cheers
Lee - 68AutoBug - Australia
http://community.webshots.com/user/vw68autobug
Hiya Guys,
Yeah Sean, nice procedure for changing out the ATF!
About the color of the ATF...............Although I have not seen "yellowish" ATF in an AutoStick, I have seen it elsewhere. When I was in the automotive service business it was not that unusual to see yellowish-brownish ATF in power steering units. The stuff had never been changed out and was VERY old. Not particularly smelly either. Probably worn out in terms of lubricating ability after having picked up so many contaminants. Once in a while we'd see ATF in the same condition coming out of a neglected automatic tranny.
My guess would be that stcos might be looking at the original ATF.
Hi Mike,
Original ATF....
Wow, thats scarey...
or maybe someone has filled it recently with a new ATF of that color...
I do know that many manufacturers state to use their brand of ATF Only..
So, I presume it could be one of those...
so do We presume its NOT Dexron ATF....??
cheers
Lee
Hiya Lee,
How are you doing?
About the ATF, I really dunno. Do other manufacturers make different colors of ATF? If so, I've not heard of or experienced that.
My comment was taken from experience back in the late sixties and early seventies (Yes, I AM that old!). ATF back then (I was most familiar with Shell Donax-T6 which in turn was compatible with Dexron) was red. When burnt it would turn brown to blackish and smell terrible. My boss told me that the yellowish-brownish ATF we sometimes found was simply worn out. Whenever we found that during a service we'd replace with fresh ATF.
Hi Mike,
Colors of ATF....??
No, I'm only guessing that some manufacturers may have changed the color, so people would only use their brand of ATF...
Only ever seen Red Dexron....
cheers
Lee - Australia -
http://community.webshots.com/user/vw68autobug
thanks for the advice. Haven't looked around but is the correct ATF easy to get hold of the UK?
Looks like I have started something here. When I drain it at the weekend I will post up a pic. What I can say is that the car was driven over from Germany last year and then laid up. No work has been done on it in this country
It has only had 2 owners and the previous only bought it last year and drove it straight from Germany so it could be original. Just went out and had a smell and it certainly smells like gearbox oil and is yellow brown in colour
stcos85,
DEXRON III is what just about all GM (General Motors, Opel in Europe?) cars use as ATF these days. All you really need to do is drop into a generic car parts store or even a petrol station and look for Automatic Trans Fluid. On the back they all give the specs/grade.
Regards
Volkenstein
Got hold of the ATF today and followed the steps outlined above, thanks for the info.
When it started flowing it turned out to be a brown colour. I ran through about 5 litres but part way through the oil stopped flowing.
Any ideas why that would be?
I left it for half an hour and then it started flowing again.
Bit concerned there may be something wrong
Stcos85,
It could just be the torque converter emptying itself faster than you can fill. The return line to the ATF tank is a larger diameter than the feed line.
Check if the steel pipes to/from the oil pump have any signs of bad crushing just in case.
Also, keep an eye on the oil level in the ATF tank. Start it up, run for 5 minutes, check oil, do again, check oil. If you haven't got a puddle on the floor or leaks and the oil level in the ATF tank stays consistent I wouldn't be losing sleep.
Regards
Volkenstein