So let me explain, I have a 96 s-10 with a bad 4l60e. I bought a budget tranny off a good friend that allegedly runs and 300k out of a 98. When I opened the pan i found a lot of gray/black sludge. Now, the fluid didn't smell burnt, but was plenty dirty. Im at a cross roads here (and on a budget). I can turn a wrench but im not 100% on this kind of stuff.

Should I clean it up and put some tranny conditioner in with the fluid and cross my fingers?

THANK YOU ALL!!

PS- nothing metallic in it, just sludge. ran a magnet over the gunk and got nothing.

 

That grey sludge is usually just clutch material. Some material is normal with a lot of miles but that is quite a bit of material.
If your friend says it was working and you already have it. It might be worth a shot to just try it
On a different note, im not sure if a 98 transmission will work in a 96. If I remember correctly 96 and 97 are odd years and don't interchange with other years for some reason.

 

thank you for the reply. I know clutch material is normal. But this LOOKS bad lol.
But i figured maybe given the transmission's circumstances it might be worth a shot!
From what I gather though, oddball years are 93-94, 95. but 96-07 is good, at least the bolt pattern is the same on mine, i did notice the 98's pan is much deeper.

 

Sometimes a tranny thats been neglected and not had the fluid change can be be trouble when you add new fluid. The old fluid has lost its detergent cleaning power. the clutch plates are stuck together with help from the crud. as soon as you ad new fluid, it cleans the crud out and your trans starts slipping resulting in a rebuild. This happened to me on my last truck. I thought i was doing the right thing when the oil was dark. A few hundred miles later I lost 3-4 gears when it started slipping. good luck i hope all is good for you