VZ 5L40 Trans Service Woes

[burty]

Gday all,

Servicing the Missus VZ Adventra and whilst changing trans fluid filter this is what was revealed

Black trans fluid and **** loads of metal filings. The magnet in the sump was caked and the filter absolutely clogged.

My question is;

Is this normal? The car has done 260k and the filler plug still had the factory sticker covering it. I know it's been for all log book services so probably been ripped off at some point. It has been doing some wierd shifting lately hence why I thought I'd have a look.

Will the box be on its way out or just being starved of good fluid?

Cheers

Burty

 

[greenacc]

Is that supposed to be sealed for life on Dexron 6 or still running Dex3? Or at least until it blows up outside warranty..
It's probably normal for a box that hasn't been serviced in 260k!
If your lucky it will settle down once you put some fresh qulity fluid in it.
Are you just doing the pan service or flushing the whole thing ? If just the normal service you should really do it again in a week or 2 to get more new fluid into it and black stuff out...
My 4 speed has been serviced 3 times in similar k's to yours and is more or less squeaky clean when i drop the pan now.

 

[VK SL 3800]

The magnet looks like normal friction material wear and tear, the fluid is very dark though and i cant make out if thats metal or bubbles in it.

Metal normally means its toast. Try a flush and fresh oil and see what happens.

 

[Benboy]

Lucky that it lasted as long as it did. I have never accepted Holden's service recommendations for engine oil and filter changes (do it every 5,000 km) and Auto Trans Service every 2 years (about 20,000 km).

 

[ozNick]

Fact:
It should have been serviced at 150K as per the book

My opinion:
Service it now with a flush and a new filter using Dexron VI (it had synthetic Dexron III in it originally).
Service it again soon say 7,500 - 15,000km (or sooner if you wish).
Service it regularly at 30-45,000km from them on.
Put an auxiliary transmission cooler on the car.

Cheers, Nick
PS watch your hand when you are checking the level after servicing - that catalytic converter is hot.