Water in Transmission question . 1078 1997

[Blairg]

Last Friday i hopped in the truck after not driving the truck for awhile. Checked fluid levels and drove around 25 miles. I was dropping the truck off at buddies house so he could do some cabinetry work on the camper box.
Got to his house and noticed that dripping had occurred under the transmission that looked like oil/water mixture. Checked the transmission and its definitely contaminated. Checked the radiator header tank and it still had coolant with no signs of contamination. Checked the location where the dipstick goes into the transmission i noticed that the seal that seals the dipstick tube to the transmission had been damaged and am guessing water was leaking onto the transmission during all the rain we had received.
I have already swapped out to Allison transmission fluid and was shifting great.

Any wisdom of how i should proceed to change out the fluid? How do I make sure that i get all water out of the transmission? Just multiple fluid changes?

Thanks, Blair

 

[Ronmar]

Sadly multiple fluid changes is probably the best option…

 

[coachgeo]

Hopefully you can find a sale on some cheeeeeeeeappp trans fluid for the flush process?

 

[Blairg]

Sadly multiple fluid changes is probably the best option…

Thank you. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything special.
Blair

 

[RRaulston]

if its 15w40, Costco has it for 13.99 a gallon. Thats the cheapest I've found...

 

[Blairg]

Sadly multiple fluid changes is probably the best option…

Quick update,
Decided to take the truck to a mechanic. Didn't want to change the fluid in front of my friends house. Truck center replaced dipstick grommets and seal, Pressure tested transmission cooling system (no issues) and as a matter of routine sent transmission oil sample out to be tested. Came back with what we already knew, water in the transmission. Their course of action is to recommend a transmission rebuild. My idea is to make sure all the water has been drained out and refill it.
Anybody have experience with having got water in the transmission before and its long term effects?
Blair

 

[gringeltaube]

Anybody have experience with having got water in the transmission before and its long term effects?

Not personal experience, but what that man in the vid is explaining, is exactly what happened to my buddy, not too long ago.
(His is an older Chevy with a TH400)

Video: Got water in your transmission?

 

[coachgeo]

Not personal experience, but what that man in the vid is explaining, is exactly what happened to my buddy, not too long ago.
(His is an older Chevy with a TH400)

Video: Got water in your transmission?

uggg...... but this seems to be very different volumes of H20.

on the trans oil test?? what was the % or other measurment they found in the trans oil?

 

[Third From Texas]

Quick update,
Decided to take the truck to a mechanic. Didn't want to change the fluid in front of my friends house. Truck center replaced dipstick grommets and seal, Pressure tested transmission cooling system (no issues) and as a matter of routine sent transmission oil sample out to be tested. Came back with what we already knew, water in the transmission. Their course of action is to recommend a transmission rebuild. My idea is to make sure all the water has been drained out and refill it.
Anybody have experience with having got water in the transmission before and its long term effects?
Blair

Sadly, I do. Never did determine how the water got in there (truck came that way).

That brownish goo is the coating from the clutch packs in my case. Trans rebuild was more than the truck value (rebuild kit's are hard to locate and don't forget the t-case shares the same contamination). You're looking at $12--15K for a rebuild (not including the transfer case). I considered buying a takeout trans/t-case but after shipping it's a great deal of work doing the swap with no assurance that the replacement trans is viable.

I sold the truck for parts.

Flush her out a few times (at every possible cooler line and orifice) , replace the filters, and see if it drives w/o issue. Test your solenoids (as they can fail to moisture). You may get lucky. If not, a takeout replacement is the least expensive option (but a gamble).

 

[RRaulston]

Flush and run? What do you have to loose? I would hate to spend 15k not knowing if I really needed to...

 

[Blairg]

uggg...... but this seems to be very different volumes of H20.

on the trans oil test?? what was the % or other measurment they found in the trans oil?

I am waiting to hear what % will be. I have been trying to educate myself regarding what the analysis will show.

 

[Blairg]

Sadly, I do. Never did determine how the water got in there (truck came that way).

That brownish goo is the coating from the clutch packs in my case. Trans rebuild was more than the truck value (rebuild kit's are hard to locate and don't forget the t-case shares the same contamination). You're looking at $12--15K for a rebuild (not including the transfer case). I considered buying a takeout trans/t-case but after shipping it's a great deal of work doing the swap with no assurance that the replacement trans is viable.

I sold the truck for parts.

Flush her out a few times (at every possible cooler line and orifice) , replace the filters, and see if it drives w/o issue. Test your solenoids (as they can fail to moisture). You may get lucky. If not, a takeout replacement is the least expensive option (but a gamble).

View attachment 891642

That doesn't look good. I assume that was motor oil inside? "Hope" is not my typical plan in life but in this case I hope the water wasnt in there long enough to damage anything.

Blair

 

[Blairg]

Flush and run? What do you have to loose? I would hate to spend 15k not knowing if I really needed to...

Those were my directions. Nothing to lose at this point.
Blair

 

[Third From Texas]

The % of water isn't really all that important.

The clutches are coated in an asbestos-like material. The adhesive it's applied with is water soluble. It sadly doesn't take much to wipe the clutches clean of their traction resulting in slip.

In the end, either the clutches got wet or they didn't. And if they got wet, the amount of surface material loss is what causes slippage. It may still work flawlessly; it may work with a limited lifespan; it may slip in the gears associated to any surface loss. There's really no way of telling w/o a complete teardown.

The trans controller will often indicate slippage on the display in the form of an error (even if no slippage is "felt"). It may code as a "solenoid short" but it's often actually a result of the slippage as a result of clutch damage (not the solenoid actually failing to engage/maintain pressure).

Again, unless you've already seen slippage I would flush, flush, flush. What percentage of water was present isn't going to tell you anything pertinent.

Good luck !

 

[Ronmar]

I would say time is at least as important as concentration. In the end the only thing you can do is get it out and eliminate the source, and the sooner you do that the better... will the trans survive? Only time will tell…

love those videos from “professionals” like tim the transmission guy. Very lacking on specific details, like how long the guy drove it before discovering the water… ‘If this happens to you, don't bother trying to fix it yourself, just put it on a trailer and bring it to me… Oh, don’t forget your checkbook, cause you are gonna need it”…

Good Luck!

 

[Suprman]

You can drop the pan/pack and look right up into the trans assembly. Thats alot of water for one leaky dipstick seal. Ive seen the fill tube hose crack before.

 

[Blairg]

You can drop the pan/pack and look right up into the trans assembly. Thats alot of water for one leaky dipstick seal. Ive seen the fill tube hose crack before.

Having only had the pan dropped to put in some new solenoids, what would you see that could indicate condition? My theory on the water egress came from finding that seal badly damaged and the area being a flat surface exposed to rain. We have had a ton of rain as of late and i hadn't driven the truck during those times. I will check the dipstick fill tube when i see the truck.
Thanks
Blair

 

[Suprman]

I had a pan out one day and I looked up into the trans it appeared I could see the clutches.