Low gear appears to be gone..
94 Brave 27RC with 454 chevy engine apparently has lost the low gear. 110,000 total miles. I can still drive but nervous about moving it unless absolutely necessary. I live in Florida where it is real...
Forum Discussion
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psalm,
One of the first things I do, and highly recommend, after buying a used vehicle is either change the tranny fluid myself or have it changed... no matter how good the fluid looks. An exception to this would be pro service records indicating it as just been changed and reasonable belief that the previous owner did not take the coach on a hard trip in warm weather since.
I have a concern here that you may still not be convinced tranny fluid changeouts are paramount; that it might somehow be ok to run old oil. Any vehicle needing an engine probably at the very least needs new fluid.
The reasoning is that only 30 minutes run too hot is already good reason to change fluid even if there is only 100 miles on it. Heat changes the oil molecules, one-by-one, making them thicken, and the delicate hydraulic system will immediately begin to malfunction when this becomes the majority. The "dirt" found in the pan bottom is worn clutch material, facing and metal. This is normal wear, but there is a limit of course. The filter is usually plugged to some degree, sometimes shifting sluggish in cool weather or not at all if ignored.
Which brings us to flushing. Don't bother with flushing machines. They are designed to rip off customers and a total flush is unimportant anyway. Usually the shop offering this "flush scam" tries to promote a total flush because this type service is so lucrative and can be performed by the shop idiot in about 10 minutes. They merely hook the machine to one cooling line and the dipstick/filler tube and it drains and refills; 5min hookup, 5 min disconnect, while the idiot goes back to washing cars. The machine is supposed to do the rest according to the salemen who sell them. Note most of these scam-like shops will balk at having to remove the pan (without extra charges) so that the filter can be replaced. Keep in mind no pro shop would do service without the pan removal method, and they generally avoid using one of the scam machines altogether. Many "flush oriented" shops even charge more for their simpleton machine app than does a pro shop for doing it right.
My Ford trucks recommend new fluid every 30k miles. Barring abuse and/or overheating, a regular fluid & filter changeout will make trannies last the life of the vehicle. Good luck and whatever you do, change the fluid!
Wes
...
psalm,
One of the first things I do, and highly recommend, after buying a used vehicle is either change the tranny fluid myself or have it changed... no matter how good the fluid looks. An exception to this would be pro service records indicating it as just been changed and reasonable belief that the previous owner did not take the coach on a hard trip in warm weather since.
I have a concern here that you may still not be convinced tranny fluid changeouts are paramount; that it might somehow be ok to run old oil. Any vehicle needing an engine probably at the very least needs new fluid.
The reasoning is that only 30 minutes run too hot is already good reason to change fluid even if there is only 100 miles on it. Heat changes the oil molecules, one-by-one, making them thicken, and the delicate hydraulic system will immediately begin to malfunction when this becomes the majority. The "dirt" found in the pan bottom is worn clutch material, facing and metal. This is normal wear, but there is a limit of course. The filter is usually plugged to some degree, sometimes shifting sluggish in cool weather or not at all if ignored.
Which brings us to flushing. Don't bother with flushing machines. They are designed to rip off customers and a total flush is unimportant anyway. Usually the shop offering this "flush scam" tries to promote a total flush because this type service is so lucrative and can be performed by the shop idiot in about 10 minutes. They merely hook the machine to one cooling line and the dipstick/filler tube and it drains and refills; 5min hookup, 5 min disconnect, while the idiot goes back to washing cars. The machine is supposed to do the rest according to the salemen who sell them. Note most of these scam-like shops will balk at having to remove the pan (without extra charges) so that the filter can be replaced. Keep in mind no pro shop would do service without the pan removal method, and they generally avoid using one of the scam machines altogether. Many "flush oriented" shops even charge more for their simpleton machine app than does a pro shop for doing it right.
My Ford trucks recommend new fluid every 30k miles. Barring abuse and/or overheating, a regular fluid & filter changeout will make trannies last the life of the vehicle. Good luck and whatever you do, change the fluid!
Wes
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