HAS ANYONE HEARD OF ADDING A HALF CUP OF BRAKE FLUID TO THE TRANNY? I HAD A MECHANIC TELL ME DO THIS BECAUSE THE BRAKE FLUID WILL SOFTEN THE HARD SEALS SO IT WONT SLIP. I'VE NEVER HEARD THIS AND IT SOUNDS DANGEROUS. ANYBODY???

 

Well....you are going to get a myriad of answers, so I say....
Call 10 Transmissions shops....make it 20 if it makes you feel better....see how many yes's you get, and how many no's....then...go with the most.

However scientific this ISN'T....I wouldn't try it...but it's something.

 

Power steering fluid and tranny fluid are interchangable - you can use tranny fluid in a power steering pump. But I have never heard of anyone using anything other than tranny fluid in a tranny, and I don't recomend it. I also called my father (An ASE Certified Master Technician) for his opinion: He would not recommend it either. The best way to stop a tranny from slipping is to do it the right way and tighten the bands. If that doesn't do the trick, go to Advance Auto Parts or Autozone or any other parts store you would like and pick up a Chrysler 727/904 Transmission Rebuild Kit for about $150. It only takes about 4-6 hours to do the whole job, and anyone can do it. Everything is placed around a central shaft, and comes out in a certain way... Lay everything out the way it comes out, replace the old parts with the new ones, and then put everything back in the reverse way you pulled it out.... That's it... It is actually very simple, but most people are scared of it... The complicated part is in the valve body, but there is no need for you to go into that at this point...

 

Also, the seals have nothing to do with the transmission slipping. The slipping is caused by the clutch disks. Seals just keep the fluid from leaking out.

Personally, I would tell the mechanic that he doesn't know what he's talking about. The brake fluid may, in fact, soften the seals, but regardless of that, you will still have a slip in the tranny...

 

If you want a quick temporary fix I would go with the Lucas Trasmission Fix. Notice I said "temporary".

 

Yes - All of the Lucas porducts work really well, I recommend adding them periodically just as a "treat" of sorts, kind of like you give your dog for doing something right. Haha. They can "fix" some problems for a short time, but just realize that eventually you will have to really fix it. Say you get a headache because you have your hat on too tight (Corny, I know, but stick with me here...), so you take some Advil or some type of painkiller. Well, the headache goes away for a while. But as long as you have your hat on too tight, it will keep coming back, no matter how much medicine you keep taking. Same with a slipping tranny - especially with a slipping tranny - the longer you allow the problem to exist, the more it returns, and it gets worse each time, because slipping is what causes a transmission to slip even more...

 

Well we just replaced the tranny in my 95 318 5 speed and the transmission shop told us to use 5w-20 motor oil instead of tranny fluid. We added the motor oil and haven't had any problems out of it. But it worked for me.

 

Manual transmissions are a different story. Most modern manual transmissions use Automatic transmission fluid in them. I recommend using the Mobil 1 automatic transmission fluid in any manual transmission that calls for auto trans fluid. Did anyone follow that or am I just confusing everyone?

 

No, it made sense. But remember, in a manual transmission, the fluid is only a lubricant. In an automatic, however, it is also what controls the shifting. I would not put anything other than ATF in an automatic tranny. We just use the cheap stuff - Dexron III/Mercon that you can get just about anywhere. It works jsut fine for me, and I have never had any trouble with it. I'm sure the Mobil 1 is much better though, and I may switch to that at my next change, as I am extremely happy with how their Synthetic 15,000 mile oil is working...

 

thanks for the reply guys. i already changed the filter and gasket and added lucas to the new fluid. i run nothing but lucas in the oil, powersteering and tranny. the first tranny shop i went to told me the reason the tranny only slips when i first run the truck in the morning is because when the seals are cold they get hard and allow pressure and fluid to escape, when it warms up the seals expand and no slippage. he also said the band adjustment wouldnt matter. i dont know if this is right or not. also i just scanned the truck b/c the check engine light was on the only thing that came up is lockup converter for the tranny.