Here's my situation...
I've got an '87 GN with approx. 23k orig. miles on it. When I purchased the car three years ago it was almost completly stock and original. I've been fixing a few minor problems and installing a few upgrades for the past three years. In August of last year I had the radiator re-cored. (the summers in Dallas, Texas will really bring out cooling system deficiencies!) I drove the car to work a couple of times with the "new" radiator (about 16 miles round trip each time) and didn't notice any problems, but I never hit WOT either.
The car sat in the garage for most of the next few weeks until I decided it was time to service the transmission. The transmission fluid was bright red when I bought the car and the transmission has always shifted perfectly, but I didn't know the service record for the car so I decided to go ahead and change the fluid and filter. I installed a "premium" NAPA filter, and filled the transmission with Red Line brand Dexron type fluid. I took the car out for a test drive and for the first 20 minutes everything seemed fine, but I was just cruising around (not hammering on it). Then I had a little encounter with a Roush Mustang and things got a little more interesting. I made three runs with the Mustang and about halfway through the third run I suspected something was wrong with the transmission. As I was heading home I noticed the transmission had developed a severe 1-2 flare and a pretty bad 2-3 flare, even with very little throttle.
Over the next couple of days I put about 10 more miles on it trying to diagnose the problem. I discovered I had overfilled the transmission by about two or three quarts. I drained the excess fluid out as soon as I realized this, but that didn't help. I tried adjusting the TV cable but it didn't help. I finally dropped the pan and found the three day old fluid was already turning brownish-red and there was very fine glitter and black powder in the pan (friction material, right?). At this point I really don't know what went wrong.
Do you think I could have a clog in the transmission cooling circuit (possibly a blockage in the transmission cooler from the radiator shop??) Or do you think overfilling the transmission caused the damage? Or is it something else?
My GN has been sitting in the garage since September. I'm planning on pulling the transmission this weekend, although I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it. Like many of us, I don't have much of a budget to work with.
Any and all input is appreciated.
Chris at CKPerformance...
I still want one of your manuals even if I end up taking my transmission to someone instead of attempting the rebuild myself.
Thanks,
Rob Pinkston
Dallas, Tx
I've got an '87 GN with approx. 23k orig. miles on it. When I purchased the car three years ago it was almost completly stock and original. I've been fixing a few minor problems and installing a few upgrades for the past three years. In August of last year I had the radiator re-cored. (the summers in Dallas, Texas will really bring out cooling system deficiencies!) I drove the car to work a couple of times with the "new" radiator (about 16 miles round trip each time) and didn't notice any problems, but I never hit WOT either.
The car sat in the garage for most of the next few weeks until I decided it was time to service the transmission. The transmission fluid was bright red when I bought the car and the transmission has always shifted perfectly, but I didn't know the service record for the car so I decided to go ahead and change the fluid and filter. I installed a "premium" NAPA filter, and filled the transmission with Red Line brand Dexron type fluid. I took the car out for a test drive and for the first 20 minutes everything seemed fine, but I was just cruising around (not hammering on it). Then I had a little encounter with a Roush Mustang and things got a little more interesting. I made three runs with the Mustang and about halfway through the third run I suspected something was wrong with the transmission. As I was heading home I noticed the transmission had developed a severe 1-2 flare and a pretty bad 2-3 flare, even with very little throttle.
Over the next couple of days I put about 10 more miles on it trying to diagnose the problem. I discovered I had overfilled the transmission by about two or three quarts. I drained the excess fluid out as soon as I realized this, but that didn't help. I tried adjusting the TV cable but it didn't help. I finally dropped the pan and found the three day old fluid was already turning brownish-red and there was very fine glitter and black powder in the pan (friction material, right?). At this point I really don't know what went wrong.
Do you think I could have a clog in the transmission cooling circuit (possibly a blockage in the transmission cooler from the radiator shop??) Or do you think overfilling the transmission caused the damage? Or is it something else?
My GN has been sitting in the garage since September. I'm planning on pulling the transmission this weekend, although I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it. Like many of us, I don't have much of a budget to work with.
Any and all input is appreciated.
Chris at CKPerformance...
I still want one of your manuals even if I end up taking my transmission to someone instead of attempting the rebuild myself.
Thanks,
Rob Pinkston
Dallas, Tx
). this deformed the pickup tube and was allowing the pump to draw air instead of trans. fluid. (or probably just a lot of foamy fluid!) of course this caused a loss of hydraulic pressure and allowed the band and clutches to slip. as it turns out, the damage was not that bad since I backed off as soon as I realized thre was a problem. I was told I could probably get away with just fixing the filter and putting it back together, but since I already had it out of the car and partially dissasembled, I'm going to have him do a mild performance rebuild. 
