Tranny slipping, long trip tomorrow-help!

Hey all,

I've got a weird slipping problem in my trans. When accelerating from a stop and turning left, the trans seems to shudder, then catch hard. It shifts fine from there. It's not a consistent problem, and doesn't exhibit this behavior turning right, just left. Weird, or what?

History- I had to replace my trans at abt. 67k mi. Wasn't very good about changing fluid, unfortunately... :shakehead I dropped the pan & changed the fluid and filter a couple months back at 93k, replaced with 6 qts. Mobil 1 as per instructions on here. Fluid in the pan was a pretty healthy red with maybe a little darkening, no leaks apparent. I made sure I got the filter gasket all the way out- thanks, Wiswind. Your pics have been greatly educational!

I'm thinking maybe I overfilled? It's really difficult to tell the level on the dipstick, as it always has looked like it goes over the full line. My old Saturn was the same way, so I'm not sure what that is. I read it according to instructions- get van to operating temp, put it in park on level surface, put it through all gears slowly, then leave it running in park and check the level. Anyhoo, I bought some 'Slip-Stop & Leak Fix' by Trans-X to help, but if I'm overfull, I don't want to put more fluid in it. Help, anyone? We're taking a multi-state trip tomorrow, and I don't want to blow this thing up AGAIN, this time far from home. I'm just not sure if I've got a fatal problem or what.

Thanks- this is the best forum out there!

Well if you simply want to add a litre of slip stop I'd suggest you go to pretty much any auto parts place and buy a manual transfer pump. They look like a bicycle pump basically. You can insert the hose down the tranny dipstick and suck out the amount to equal the quantity of slip stop.

As for a long drive, I'd be doing some pretty good checking before I go. Hopfully the slip stop will work but I hope you don't get 1/2 way there...

Piper

You should be able to clearly see the level on the dip stick. But there are some precautions:

If you have just added fluid, you must drive around the block to get the fluid along the length of the dipstick to find its way down into the tranny. Of course the fluid must be warm. Direct sunshine is best for seeing the level. Stick the fluid several times to make sure you are seeing the true level. The stick may need cleaning with a Scotchbrite pad.

I suspect you are still a bit low in fluid.

The fluid needs to be changed every 30K miles in "normal" service.
This is a change of all 12.25 quarts of fluid in the system.
The pan drop gets roughly 1/2 of the total fluid capacity.

The Sicky post at the top of the Windstar room with the Title "General Windstar information" mentions a TSB stating that the transmission fluid needs to be full.....at the top end of the "Full" range, otherwise, when you go around a corner.....you can end up sucking up some air....causing the slipping.

Checking the transmission fluid......engine WARM, vehicle on LEVEL ground, transmission in PARK......motor RUNNING.

I Agree...! I think you're low on tranny fluid instead of overfilled as you mentioned. Not sure what year your Windstar is but I think all models came with an over flow valve on top of the tranny for when the fluid gets too hot and expands it has a way of releasing fluid out of the tranny instead of causing internal damage. So if it was overfilled it would've come out this way.

As Wiswind says; the real level is to be checked with engine running and in park, etc, etc.

.... But just to make sure you can read the stick at all, check it without the engine running. The level indication should be way up, high on the stick in this engine-off situation.

Wow- thanks for all the great replies and advice. Just home from work, so will get out there and check it now. Will update...

Hey all,

I've got a weird slipping problem in my trans. When accelerating from a stop and turning left, the trans seems to shudder, then catch hard. It shifts fine from there. It's not a consistent problem, and doesn't exhibit this behavior turning right, just left. Weird, or what?

History- I had to replace my trans at abt. 67k mi. Wasn't very good about changing fluid, unfortunately... :shakehead I dropped the pan & changed the fluid and filter a couple months back at 93k, replaced with 6 qts. Mobil 1 as per instructions on here. Fluid in the pan was a pretty healthy red with maybe a little darkening, no leaks apparent. I made sure I got the filter gasket all the way out- thanks, Wiswind. Your pics have been greatly educational!

I'm thinking maybe I overfilled? It's really difficult to tell the level on the dipstick, as it always has looked like it goes over the full line. My old Saturn was the same way, so I'm not sure what that is. I read it according to instructions- get van to operating temp, put it in park on level surface, put it through all gears slowly, then leave it running in park and check the level. Anyhoo, I bought some 'Slip-Stop & Leak Fix' by Trans-X to help, but if I'm overfull, I don't want to put more fluid in it. Help, anyone? We're taking a multi-state trip tomorrow, and I don't want to blow this thing up AGAIN, this time far from home. I'm just not sure if I've got a fatal problem or what.

Thanks- this is the best forum out there!Hey dekeman, Sounds also low to me. On my windstar, the dipstick is not accurate. the crosshatch marks are way too low on the dipstick, and I'm the orignal owner of my car. My top fluid level when cold is just below the first curl of the tranny dip stick,and my van runs fine. I wound add tranny fluid 1/2 pint at a time and recheck.

Yep- y'all were totally right. A quart and a half (and then some!) low. Guess I didn't add enough last time. I made some quick left turns from a stop and the slipping is gone. I'll have to keep an eye on it for the next little while. Goes to show how you can have a false sense of security in fluid level.

Still having trouble reading level on the dipstick, though. The runoff on the stick makes it almost impossible to see what level it's really at. I had to have the guy at Auto Zone double-check it with me. Maybe it's just me, but that's a hard nut to crack!

Yep- y'all were totally right. A quart and a half (and then some!) low. Guess I didn't add enough last time. I made some quick left turns from a stop and the slipping is gone. I'll have to keep an eye on it for the next little while. Goes to show how you can have a false sense of security in fluid level.

Still having trouble reading level on the dipstick, though. The runoff on the stick makes it almost impossible to see what level it's really at. I had to have the guy at Auto Zone double-check it with me. Maybe it's just me, but that's a hard nut to crack!

theres a TBS from ford on this shudder while turning and they say to fill it to the TIPPY top of the STick HOT "After 20miles of driving before checking level" Weird Trans right hehe

To read the dipstick.....with clean fluid.....I remove the dipstick......wipe, re-insert all the way.....remove.
Then....hold the dipstick so that you can see the light reflecting off of the fluid at the bottom of the stick.....but with the handle higer than the bottom end of the dipstick (so that the fluid does not run 'up' the dipstick).......and you will be able to see the difference between the wet portion and the dry portion.....indicating the fluid level.

To read the dipstick.....with clean fluid.....I remove the dipstick......wipe, re-insert all the way.....remove.
Then....hold the dipstick so that you can see the light reflecting off of the fluid at the bottom of the stick.....but with the handle higer than the bottom end of the dipstick (so that the fluid does not run 'up' the dipstick).......and you will be able to see the difference between the wet portion and the dry portion.....indicating the fluid level.

If you add tho, you have to wait awhile so the fluid gets outta the filler pipe.. It takes 15mins at times if its chilly outside to get a good reading on the stick.

Thanks for all the helpful replies. I was STILL low when I checked it on the trip. It was better at that point but it seemed like a good idea to check it anyway, and it was low on the stick. I ended up adding Lucas slip fix to it. I expected this stuff to have the viscosity of regular fluid, but it was like cherry pie filling! I don't look forward to THAT fluid change! The stuff worked like a charm, though. It says that it smooths rough shifting and treats the bands (still don't know much about trannys), and it really made my ride smoother. You could say that just topping off the fluid would have done the same thing, but with it being low for so long, it seemed a better idea to add this stuff. The contents were about what I needed to top off, and it recommended to add the full bottle.

This stuff was recommended to me by the same retired Army motor sergeant who said to stay away from CRC products. Probably good info from a guy who used the stuff in extreme environments on severely abused tactical vehicles and had a high success rate. His colleagues in the shop seem to respect his opinion and seek him out first for advice and what not. YMMV.

Thanks again for the help!