My goodness- almost no tranny fluid!
 

I last changed my tranny fluid in my 84 300 SD about 2.5 years ago and about 15,000 miles ago. Its shifting has been gradually going south to the point where I do not want to drive it. Anyway, went to change the tranny fluid - not a lot came out of the pan and NONE came out of the torque converter:confused:. What's the deal here? I never noticed any large leaks and I occasionally checked the tranny fluid (rarely to be honest) but I never noticed this. I wonder if I pulled the proper TC bolt - the one in the recessed area that you access by rotating the fan belt bolt with a 1 1/8 inch drive. Any thoughts? I will go ahead and replace the filter, etc., but this has me baffled....

If the car was driveable at all there had to be fluid in the torque converter. I wonder if above the torque converter drain bolt you pulled was not sludged up somehow. I would remove the bolt again and probe that hole with something.
No fluid in there no power transfer as the coupling in the converter is totally done with fluid. Also by design the converter retains fluid to almost the half way point. The only other thing and it is a long shot is the converter weld has a hole in it. Or your bolt was leaking heavy and the converter came to rest with the drain bolt pointing straight down. I probably would not suspect that as much of a possibility myself. Just my opinion as I am certainly not an automatic transmission expert.
The only function a bolt on the outside perimeter of the torque converter could serve is to be a drain. I can think of no other possibility at the moment.

Check the transmission cooler line where it connects to the oil pan for support . There are little plastic bushings to protect the alininum tube from vibration of the mounts to the oil pan. They dissolve over time (I recall seeing a post about this)

However my wifes MB developed a tiny pinhole leak at these spots. Replacement of the line and a 3/6 peice of rubber hose at the Oil pan/Oil cooler mount solved the issue

tranny
 

Thank you for your thoughts. I ended up doing the work I had intended - replaced the filter, etc. I was very cautious about torqueing the pan bolts to the proper amount, though.

Note - only 2 quarts of tranny fluid came out (plus maybe 1 quart that they say stays)! I had been running (and gradually degrading) on that amount (but barely, I was noticing no power on the last trip I decided to take and the car would move forward when in reverse, etc.). Upon filling the tranny back with fluid, it took the full 6.6 quarts that the manual says it should (and now it is full per the dipstick). Now it runs great! Its good to know that you can underfill it significantly and gradually fill it to the proper amount over time. My car must have been on 3 quarts (total) when it supposed to take 7.7! Not that I recommend putting less than the proper amount (and I am concerned what I may have done to my tranny) but it is good to know the car can deal with at least a little less, anyway.

However, I am noticing a small amount of fluid leaking (I think) from the torque converter. I am concerned that I do not have the proper washer on there. That may be the issue. I will check in daylight and see if that is indeed the source. This may be what caused the whole thing to start with.

OK, Now I get to eat it...

I went to release my tranny fluid to change plugs and hopefully stop the leak only to realize that I didnt pull the tranny plug, but one of the other bolts thinking it was the tranny plug.... Oh well, now I get to do it right if I can find that tranny plug...

There's only one plug on the torque converter. It's very similar if not identical to the transmission pan drain plug and it moves with the torque converter when you turn the engine. That should narrow it down considerably.

Now we're all wondering how overfilled the transmission is if you drained 2-3 quarts and filled with 6.6 quarts when the torque converter was still full :eek:

Sixto
87 300D

TC plug
 

I am wondering the same thing... What I can say is that it measured full when level (but cold) but I did turn on the car and shifted thru all the gears in the middle of adding. Maybe this is why it was leaking more, too.... Hope I didnlt damage something by ovefilling and then driving 60 miles... It shifted so much better, though. I hope this thing is resilient with me..

I have replaced the TC tranny fluid in the past, but I clearly forgot what the drain plug looked like.... I spent what seemed like forever today turning and turning the motor with a 27 mm socket but for the life of me could not find that plug. Guess it wasn't the right day.. I'll try again next chance I get (which may not be for a few days) but I do not need to drive it, so car will have to sit...

Another question - I did notice a little leaking from my new pan gasket edges. I thought I tightened the 6 pan bolts to the proper spec (8 Nm = 6 ftLb). Come to think of it, I think I overtightened somewhat to 12 ft lb (messed up the conversion). Maybe I need to loosen if its not too late? I did do it in a star pattern at least.

I also messed with replacing the AC bracket and managed to drop the bottommost bolt into an area close to the turbo and cannot find it yet... What a day!:(

I need to get back to my car when I have some daylight, but last time I tried looking for the TC drain plug a few days ago I saw only the bolts that hold the plate on to what I assume is the tranny? If I hadn't drained it 2 and a half years ago I'd swear that I didn't have a TC drain bolt! I must have turned my shaft about 15 times.... Can someone remind me where that plug will turn up - is it at about the same level as the bolts that keep appearing as I rotate the TC? Maybe I just need a better flashlight, but my fingers aren't feeling it, either...

it is on the opposite side of where the flex plate bolts are... facing the back of the tranny there is a cut out like on the opposite side.. it is easiest to get at it with a helper turning the engine over

overfilled tranny - what will happen?
 

Thank you, 79300sdtd,

For my own record (because I did the same thing 2 years ago!) The TC drain plug faces the rear of the car and is opposite the circular plate with the hex bolts in the tranny that turns when I rotate the 27 mm bolt... I can't believe that I forgot that again (I must have selectively forgotten it). It is in a space in the grille. Took me about 3 minutes to find the drain bolt once I remembered where to look.

This time it cost me overfilling the tranny... In my haste to complete the job a couple of weeks ago I used the first spring in the tranny dipstick as the full line... Yikes. Then I drove 60 miles (it was smooth) but noticed some leak, so its been on stands ever since and I am now finishing the job between rain drops.

Is the price I pay for an overfull transmission for that 60 mile drive a leaky seal? Does anyone know? I guess I will find out. I did buy some tranny stop leak that I will use if it will be a quicker fix than a seal replacement, if it still leaks....

I'll chalk this up as yet another learning experience....