Hi everyone. I just got back from my second weekend working in the Catskill Mountains and I am going back on Friday for the summer. I am off on weekends and one day during the week, so that will mean driving through the mountains two or four times a week. But my transmission is acting weird. I just had the transmission fluid changed in December around 99k with Maxlife fluid and 1/2 a qt of Lucas. It has a deep pan (installed during the fluid change) and cooler (after the last fluid change at 86k). I checked the dipstick after climbing the mountains on steep roads (I am at 105k now). I noticed that my fluid went from pink with sometimes a small amount of dipstick residue to almost no residue, but the fluid became red. I also noticed small, fine pieces of dust on the paper towel. The trans still seems to be shifting smoothly and I don't think it could have overheated. I actually touched my transmission cooler on a regular basis and normally it is just warm and I would have to keep my hand there for a minute to begin to burn. In the mountains, I could keep it there for a few seconds before a burn. It was hotter, but not boiling hot. The trans still seems to be shifting normally and there are no codes, but what else is weird is that when I let go of the throttle, it takes a couple seconds for it to shift and the RPMs to drop. The TPS is new and was replaced in December. Could I have a problem? I have noticed the dust on the paper towel before, but not the fluid darkening from a light pink to a light reddish color that I could notice. Wouldn't the filter take care of dust? I also had the magnet from the OEM pan moved to the deep pan and I also had a magnetic drain plug installed on the pan.

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Could I be doing something wrong that I could correct to prevent damage to the trans? I do downshift into 3 going uphill so it doesn't go into overdrive and I only downshift into 3 if I am going down a steep hill that the brakes cannot slow it down. 2 if I am going under 20mph with the brakes. 1 if at a crawl or if I am in 4LO (I learned that the trans shifting at 5mph in 4LO is bad and annoying) since it helps me stay at a slow speed. Once I arrive where I work, I have to stay below 5mph for safety while on the property.

 

Why would you put it in 4Lo? Are you on dry pavement? 4LO amplifies the engine torque to give more power I believe, it isn't meant to help slow a vehicle or hold it at a certain speed. If you use 4Lo on dry pavement it puts a lot of stress on the tires, 4x4 system, and suspension. Mountain driving is hard on vehicles but if you put it in a lower gear at the top and go down, the transmission shouldn't even have to shift. When do you make it gear down?

 

I never use 4LO on dry pavement. The only time I ever use 4WD at all on pavement is in 4HI in a parking lot before a long trip where I know I will need it to make sure it is working 100%. I make sure it is binding like it is supposed to and it locks in properly. As soon as it does start to bind up, I STOP the truck so there is no additional strain on the drivetrain to cause damage. Other than that brief test to make sure it is working, I never use 4WD on road unless it is snow.

This is on dirt and rock trails and hills. It helps me stay at a crawl and get over any rocks because of the increased torque. Along with the slower speed, that is why I use 4LO. The steering also doesn't bind up as much as 4HI.


EDIT: I just pulled the dipstick and took a photo of the fluid stain on the white paper towel and compared it to the latest photo I have of it (only one I didn't delete from my cell phone was 4/27/11 and I don't know how that didn't get deleted. I check that fluid once every few days and sometimes I take photos of the color of the fluid on the paper towel to document the condition of the fluid so I can see if there is a problem with my trans so that subtle changes in color over time won't go unnoticed.) and I didn't notice a difference except that there were a couple bits of black dust on the paper towel in the fluid. It actually seemed to lighten back up to what it was before the mountain driving because it looked a little more pink than red compared to yesterday when it had some more red in it. Does this mean that my trans is in good shape? What does it mean when the fluid is brown and there isn't that many miles on the fluid? Bad trans or bad driving conditions/change fluid now? After all this mountain driving, I will pull the plug on the pan and do a fluid change before I go back to school in August. I normally do it just before the winters anyway because of the additional strain that 4WD places on the drivetrain driving in snow in the winter and driving on trails in the summer.

I gear down to 3 just before I have to climb a hill so it doesn't go in and out of overdrive. Normally, I use my brakes only going down hills unless the hill is too steep for my brakes to keep it under control. Then I downshift with caution as the speed, curves and slope dictates to keep it under control.