Well after much think, reading and asking.....I have discovered I have had my transmission over filled for close to 2 years....

At first I thought the high reeves and hard shifting was normal....then I thought it was the linkage, then I thought it was the kickdown switch.....

Well going down the list, I fixed the out of adjustment linkage, the dead kickdown switch.....

But my shifting was still a little harder then I thought it should be...

Next time to slowly start draining fluid, noticed I was probably a quart over filled...

First drain, shifting got smoother...down shifting started to happen where there was none before....and sooner....

Second draining....my kickdown switch finally worked....twice!!

Now I will do a third draining tomorrow...and see if the shifts become even more unnoticeable...

But I noticed my fluid is dark...and a light burnt smell.....has only been in for 2 years, previous owner had the trans rebuilt in 2003...

So in the end, I suppose I single handed damaged my transmission....because I was unfamiliar on how to read the dipstick....

When I get some extra change, I will do a fluid and filter change......and just keep driving.....hopefully I will still get a good amount of miles from this transmission....

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When you do your fluid change - measure the new stuff as you put it in. Don't go along with a can of oil that says it contains XX litres or quarts. Measure it in a plastic / glass measuring jug. You are better off getting a measuring jug that has graduated marks embossed in the side of it rather than something that has had a transfer or printing on it. If you are unsure of the accuracy of your measuring jug 1 litre of water at 20 degrees C is more or less 1kg in weight. Yes it is a good idea to be that anal about measuring!

And don't forget the torque converter.

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Overfill won't damage the tranny, and should not have affected shifting. What it will do is cause a spectacular fire when it pukes out of the tube onto the exhaust manifold (ask me how I know).

Try a filter change and drain the TC as well, fill with good stuff to exact measure of what drained out of both. Good chance tranny is fine.

While I'm a firm believer that mechanics don't come in cans, I did the above with mine and substitute 28 ounces of lucas trans conditioner in my change. Acts like a new tranny and my fluid was brown and smelled like burning tractor tires.

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Eric, CPO, Submarines, retired.
Here's a sig line...
Mine: '68 Corvette LS1/4L65E, 83 240D, 2000 GMC 4x4, 08 FLSTC Anniv
Hers: '72 Corvette 454/4spd, '99 MB SLK, '93 Metro vert, 78 240D, '92 Silverado, '65 Fjord Rustang, '59 Fjord Fairlane, '17 Slingshot.

overfilled transmission can CERTAINLY damage things! what happens is the fluid gets FROTHY... frothy fluid does not pressurize, and things slip, and burn.
as CRITICAL as fluid level is, I'm always amazed at how difficult the manufacturers make it to get the level correct...
I'd not wait to change it. if it's burned smelling... you DO NOT want it to remain in there. get it out, and get the pan cleaned! sell a kidney or something, borrow from your credit card whatever, but get it done asap.

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

I found that on a 722.4xx transmission the correct dead cold level is achieved when the fluid is at the pointer mark of the curled end of the dipstick which is approximately 10 or 12mm below the lowest mark of 30C.

Really makes the trans behave correctly. When overfilled I used to get a whine at startup, not after new fluid/filter and correct level. I believe the 722.3xx has it a bit different - somewhat like 5 or 6mm below the 30C mark on dead cold

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2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

I wish I could, I don't even have have Jack stands to get to the torque convertor bolt anymore.....the only thing I was thinking I could do is, drain what fluid I can and replace it with clean but I can't replace the filter...would that even be better or not?

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Drive up on a curb, set the parking brake, throw blocks behind the rear wheels and shimmy under there. That's how I've been working on my DD lately.

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$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges
$110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges
No merc at the moment

yup... or build a set of ramps with lumber and nails... but you really need to drop the pan and clean out the clutch debris...

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Well duh, I have done that before....but totally flew my mind


I will try and work on it next month, the joys of living in a small town....I do very very very little driving...usually I get on the freeway once a month in order to charge the battery.....I checked the price at the local auto zoo.....filter kit is 16$ and quart of dex III is 5$....so I will start saving my pennies to get the stuff to change the fluid....I have 30$ now...but I am almost on empty, so I really need fuel....life sucks when you suddenly become homeless in the course of one night....

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Well....I got a call that I have an doctors appointment in the next town over 150 miles one way.....I didn't want to drive that far on the burnt fluid.....

So I have drained my pennies out of my accounts....I have 5 quarts of valvoline dex/merc fluid.....and a new filter will be in, in the morning......at O'Reillys it is strange, they wanted to know if the filter had a pickup or not....no idea what a pickup tube means.....the one I ordered from auto haus says no neck.....I just got the no pickup tube one....

I dumped the fluid out of the container i drained some out with....and there was some little chucks of orange things in it....guess I did damage it......hopefully I can get 10 years out of this trans...by then I may have an income...

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orange things?

um, most likely that's RTV from the obviously poorly done transmission rebuild...
unless the orange things are hard, like clutch material... eeewww...
got pics of em?

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

I think I some how, over exaggerate things, I went out and was going to take a photo....but it was just very fine particles...I used a strong magnet to see if any were metallic, but none moved.....its pretty sandy around here, I am thinking it was just stuff on the outside of the bolt I loosened to drain it.....the old radiator was very very rotted from the car sitting for something lite 20 years combined, I was wondering if the trans cooler was in the same shape and this is from it....I never drained the torque converted the first time I changed the fluid....I need to stop thinking about transmissions and just drive the darn car

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Well I did it, I got the car up on this curb....use the tie rods to help pull me under and I got it done....I cheated and used child labor I had my neighbors 7 year old turn the engine while I looked for the plug....I couldn't see it so I was giving up and moved onto the pan, filter and oil cooler line....wanted as much out as possible.....

Then I got everything back together and got a flash light to look for the drain bolt on the torque converter....I seen it maybe past up by an inch....turned the engine some more and there it is....

One set back, I dropped one filter screw into the oil pan....crap....didn't have a jug to pour it out and find it....had to empty the container behind the garbage cans....one good thing about living in the desert....we have no ground water...

One really really annoying aspect is the damn sand every where....it stuck to my tools and hands....so I had to be extra careful to not transfer any to the pan...

Got it all buttoned it....poured four quarts in....went for a drive.....came back....topped it off.....went for another drive and its perfect.....right between full and max....

I found nothing in the bottom of the pan, I kept the old filter thought I might cut it open and see if there is anything inside....

The shifting feels really smooth now....you still feel shifts, which I am coming to the conclusion is normal....

One question.....does anyone know the FSM speeds on the length of the Bowden rod? And does anyone know if there is suppose to be a bushing at the end of the rod that connects onto the arm of the transmission? It seems like there should be one, but I am not positive or what type?

I noticed my oil filter housing is leaking....again.....once I find some one to cut down one of my Allen wrenches....I am going to pill it and just use gasket maker and glue it to the block....

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A 7-year-old who has the muscle to turn an engine? Wow! I still struggle with it sometimes.

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"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

Ah, that actually reminds me of a saying: "Pics or it didn't happen."

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"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."