I did a bad thing

[armith]

First off I will be the first to admit I'm a major for this. I'd like advice first then you can flame me all you want..

car has 200,000 miles.. found that the car got a full service when the original owner put it up for sale. (7 years and 168k miles ago). I'd like to think that I've followed the maintenance schedule pretty rigorously. Oil changes, fluids, plugs, wires, pcv the works.. Everything except the tranny fluid. I could give a dozen reasons for neglecting it, but they'd all be lame bull**it. My bad and I know I'm going to pay for it.

1.Some have told me 100k+ on the same tranny fluid and the damage is done. changing it out may just speed up the inevitable. Gunk is the only thing holding it together theory. bummer.

2.others say if you don't drive it hard you can easily get 150k miles with no problems.. oops, 2 GAP meets and 2 seasons of brackets at the track and nearly 20k of just stop and go pizza delivery and now 120 mile/day commuter.. bummer

Well recently I've found that hammer down WOT is just not possible anymore.. part of it is misfire problem I've had for a while but the more noticable problem is 2nd and 3rd gear just starting to slip.. I'm essentially stock setup so my guess is the fluid is low, burnt beyond hope, or both and the tranny "damage is done"

So what should I do.. Do I get a full pan drop, filter, and flush done and cross my fingers? Do I pan drop and filter it myself getting at least some of the old fluid out and top off with new fluid and keep my fingers crossed? Or do I just stick a fork in it and run into the ground and worry about a rebuild when the time comes?

On the bright side this does give me an excuse for either a performance rebuild or a T65 swap project.

[Lab Rat]

New tranny fluid and filter can't hurt. The pressure of the flush and the chit it unlodges is the prob. I would do the change and hope for the best. Worst that can happen is it will fail, as it surely would anyway, or it may help.

My tranny did not make it 100000 and the other 3 trannies I have are on my list to do. Let us know how it goes. Others will chime in I am sure.

[Vegeta]

GM sells an additive if you decide to change the fluid. Its the viscocity change that you want to avoid.

I would get a new transmission with everything you mentioned. I would consider it luck to have made it this far.

[grandam3400]

Do you know what the viscocity additive is called?

[andrewe77]

I have 130k on my 2000 and I've never changed the tranny fluid. It slips during heavy acceleration, especially in the summer after it has warmed up. The good thing is that it has done this for the past 70k miles and hasn't gotten worse.

I have put Lubegard in it as that is the only additive any transmission shop has recommended. It helps recondition the old fluid.

I plan to drive it until it fails and then replace the tranny or the car.

[AaronGAGT]

Originally Posted by andrewe77

I have 130k on my 2000 and I've never changed the tranny fluid.

Same numbers for me too. Never had a slip or anything wrong with the trans *knocks on wood* *crosses fingers for no Armith problems*

[stillriza]

Originally Posted by AaronGAGT

Same numbers for me too. Never had a slip or anything wrong with the trans *knocks on wood* *crosses fingers for no Armith problems*

Add me to the club...98K and still no flush or pan drop...tranny still like the day i bought the car.

[AaronGTR]

Yeah, I wouldn't do the flush. It's the stirring it up that can hurt it. Draining the old fluid out and changing the filter and adding new fluid won't hurt anything though. The new dexron VI fluid is better as well so that might help it some. If you think it might be low, you definitely need to check the level and fill it up if needed. Low fluid level will certainly cause problems and damage. Even if it's already damaged or worn out from high mileage or neglect, changing the fluid and filter should hopefully keep it running until you can fix or replace the tranny. It won't hurt it.

[armith]

Just an update.. I haven't been driving the car much as I've been piling on the miles on my bike.. I recently met up with schweppe23 and he ran a scan to read and clear DTCs.. The tranny is definately slipping under hard acceleration.. I start out around 35mph and whether I punch it or steadily ease the pedal down in 2nd gear around 4k rpm it gallops a bit and throws an Input speed speed error. Same thing happens at highway speeds and kicking down to pass. So I think when the next oil change is due I may change the trans filter and fluid too. It'll be interesting to see what kind of coffee grounds and molassis come out when I drop the pan.

[notsoaveragej0e]

Might have to adjust your sig accordingly shortly...

[cardude007617]

i think thats incredible your trans has lasted that long... but ya fluid and a filter.

[surreal_awakeni]

246k miles on the stock tranny. I think (it's been a long time) that my first pan drop was around 100k, and every 50k since then. It slips a bit. I've also had a leaking axle seal since around 50k (another guess), so I'm changing fluid fairly regularly. Never done a flush though, and don't intend to at this point.

[Exodus]

A congrats on your g-am achievement... Im quite envious

Did you ever experience any dreaded LIM issues?

[K WeRd]

i think i have you all beat for the miles and year. no rebuild or anything either. trans doesnt seem to slip at all either... 170k for a 2002.

[lone_wolf025]

The theory behind not doing the trans work because the gunk is holding it together is BS. Think of it this way: If your tranny is so bad that the only thing holding it together is dirt and varnish burned together, you're already screwed. But yea 200k miles on a stock tranny? Not surprised its going bad...

[SSRacer]

Had mine changed at 50K (bought it new). Guys at the tranny shop said they actually recommend every 30K.

I have 89K on it now and have noticed a slip once or twice at WOT between 2nd and 3rd. Nothing more than that. Don't really get on it much anymore due to gas prices, but I put it through it's paces back when I used to autocross it. Thinking of getting it changed again this winter.

[AaronGTR]

IF your trans is slipping that bad that you're getting a DTC for the input speed sensor, I'd say you are probably going to find a lot of burnt clutch material when you drop the pan... and just changing the fluid and filter is not going to fix the problem. There's probably no material left on the clutches, and if they can't make friction they won't hold any power. You need a trans rebuild or you need to find a lower miles used trans from a junkyard and swap that in.

[armith]

Originally Posted by AaronGTR

IF your trans is slipping that bad that you're getting a DTC for the input speed sensor, I'd say you are probably going to find a lot of burnt clutch material when you drop the pan... and just changing the fluid and filter is not going to fix the problem. There's probably no material left on the clutches, and if they can't make friction they won't hold any power. You need a trans rebuild or you need to find a lower miles used trans from a junkyard and swap that in.

Seems to be the popular answer (and most logical) too.. My car may be essentially stock but a few on here can vouch that for about 4 years it doubled as a weekend bracket car and daily driver.. I've got over 60 track slips plus GAP 02 arm drop passes.. So stock or not that tranny doesn't owe me anything.

So this brings me back to the original question.. fluid/filter change and hope for the best or just save up for a new/rebuild and run this one till it just quits? I'd hate to spend the money on a filter and fluid change when the tranny may be on borrowed time anyway. If I don't tromp on it, I don't have any real problems with it shifting or anything.

[armith]

Originally Posted by Exodus

A congrats on your g-am achievement... Im quite envious

Did you ever experience any dreaded LIM issues?

noticed the LIM leaking around 70k, changed the gaskets around 90k.. Noticed a wet spot under the TB but not sure if its coming from the LIM or a coolant leak from the hose that routes thru the TB. Thats actually been my most recent fight.. My coolant hoses are showing age and I've got a couple leaks.

I've been toying around with hitting a junk yard and picking up a motor and tranny and building those up and then just do a swap and tune when the projects are done. With 200k miles on the original engine I'm afraid that a "mild build" would inevitably turn into a ground up build. I just don't know how much more it would cost to do bare block rebuild vs just working over a lower mileage junk yard motor.

[grandayumgt]

mine was doing that with 83k miles on the original fluid so i decided to drain it n put a new filter in it, it only helped a little bit and 2 days later i had a nice sized hole in the side of it