Transmission, Burnt And Overfilled

[akalan220]

I do the work on my daughters V6, 06 automatic Mustang.. I have to say we had a 01 prior to and I enjoy the slightly larger layout of the 06 much better. Anyway there has always been something off with the transmission since we bought it. We did buy it used but for the price I went into knowing it could need some work. The issue is that sometimes 2nd gear will not catch. It will try to shift into it, the car will rev, and no pull. You let up on the gas, and it will drop in and be fine. It seems to only happen in second gear, and the car is not driven hard. Since this is a sealed transmission I decided to let the dealership drop the pan and replace the fluid and filter. Just a very messy process in my home garage. They looked at it, said it had been over-filled, and the fluid was burnt. They recommended we not change the fluid for fear it could cause worse damage.... I don't understand that. They did drain some fluid out although I am not sure how, and I told them to leave it alone. Of course they wanted to sell me another transmission but if necessary I will just buy a used one for a quarter the price of a rebuild and slide it in myself.
Why wouldn't changing the fluid and filter be a good idea?? Any input would be appreciated. I really respect the discussions that occur here and hope someone can get me in the know.

 

[Bojingles]

I was always told that about autos. If the tranny was acting up don't change the fluid or you'll mess it up worse, but no one ever gave me any information onto why.

 

[dgollem]

I do the work on my daughters V6, 06 automatic Mustang.. I have to say we had a 01 prior to and I enjoy the slightly larger layout of the 06 much better. Anyway there has always been something off with the transmission since we bought it. We did buy it used but for the price I went into knowing it could need some work. The issue is that sometimes 2nd gear will not catch. It will try to shift into it, the car will rev, and no pull. You let up on the gas, and it will drop in and be fine. It seems to only happen in second gear, and the car is not driven hard. Since this is a sealed transmission I decided to let the dealership drop the pan and replace the fluid and filter. Just a very messy process in my home garage. They looked at it, said it had been over-filled, and the fluid was burnt. They recommended we not change the fluid for fear it could cause worse damage.... I don't understand that. They did drain some fluid out although I am not sure how, and I told them to leave it alone. Of course they wanted to sell me another transmission but if necessary I will just buy a used one for a quarter the price of a rebuild and slide it in myself.
Why wouldn't changing the fluid and filter be a good idea?? Any input would be appreciated. I really respect the discussions that occur here and hope someone can get me in the know.

 

[dgollem]

Have you had any luck with your trans? Over filled could have been causing the shift problem but I doubt it. There are lots of urban legend surronding trans fluid these days. I wonder if your dealer did not want to change the fluid because it would have cost you a couple of hundred bucks. It is extremely rare that just changing fluid will fix a trans problem. Hence they would have charged and you would most likely still have a problem. I would recommend getting a second and third opinion at a couple trans shops and maybe another dealer (don't tell them what the first place told you until after they do their work). These days the transmission will often throw codes that can be read and involve some adjustment or sensor change. I had a problem crop up in my 2009 Hyunday Sonata ( a hard down shift) that was fixed by reflashing the memory for the trans. Covered under warranty. Had another problem with a 1999 Dodge Dakota a few years back. Seamed like the trans was done, would not shift out of second, ended up being a $90.00 sensor that showed bad with a code pull.