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Brown Transmission Fluid?

2K views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  SH-60B 
#1 ·
What would cause an automatic 4l60e tranny to have brown colored transmission fluid at 62,000 original miles? truck is a 1995 and the fliud has been replaced once before in year 2000 by the dealer....
 
#2 ·
By only having it replaced once in 62,000 miles.

It's best to change the fluid and filter every 15,000 for optimal performance and longevity.
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#4 ·
WOW that really sucks!
Generally when the fluid looks like this the tranny needs to be rebuilt that is friction material etc. mixed into the fluid. Excessive heat and or abuse will cause this....

Personally i would buy a gallon of inexpensive tranny fluid flush the tranny and converter as best as possible then instal new filter, gasket then use quality fluid........


Large transcoolers help...
 
#5 ·
How would you recommend that i flush the tranny out? should i disconnect the tranny line at the radiator and start the truck and while it pumps out pour in new fluid down the dipstick tube? or should i just drop the pan and change it?
 
#6 ·
Drop the pan and change it. Never run the motor while doing that. You wont be able to keep up with it.
 
#7 ·
Drop the pan twice to get ~90-95% of all the old fluid out. Drive it around some in between pan drops, and change the filter on the first drop.
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#9 ·
what if i drop the pan to remove the old fluid and to look inside the pan, but leave the old filter on, and then remove and clean the dipstick tube from the dirt and rust thats inside of it and then put the tube and pan back on. then fill it with fresh fluid and then disconnect the tranny line and start the flush? would this work better since my dipstick tube is rusty a bit? im scared to pour new fluid while its still rusty inside...what you think? and is it hard to remove the dipstick tube?
 
#10 ·
Probably cleaning up the dipstick tube should be the 1st thing after dropping the pan. With the pan off you can see the bottom of the dipstick tube. You can use an "engine cleaning" brush on it without even removing the tube, you can get one long enough to reach the entire length of the tube, then all the crud will fall thru to the ground (into a drain pan) with the pan off. You could then flush it with a little laquer thinner and chase that with some clean tranny fluid if you're worried.

I would just change the filter after you've cleaned everything up before putting the pan back on. Then drive it for a day and change it all again. The filter & gasket kits aren't that much $

The fluid is brown because it's been overheated as others have already mentioned. Once it's overheated it loses alot of its' lubricating properties and the tranny is now prematurely wearing. Put in a cooler if you want, but also consider synthetic fluid.
 
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