transmission fluid smells burnt
 

the saga continues
took my 85 300SD on it's first long drive yesterday
got about 70 miles into it and noticed that the tranny started losing power at highway speed when i was going up hills
nothing terrible
should mention that it still shifts very gently
(thot they were supposed to be a bit stiffer)
after about 90 miles i pulled over b/c i was looking at an 800 mile one way trip and wasn't liking my options of getting stranded in the middle of nowhere
fluid level seems just a tiny but high but there was no foam in it
it does smell burned tho
it shouldn't
it's new fluid
i didn't change my filter when i took the tranny out of the 82 but did drain the torque converter
going to drop the tranny oil pan and change the filter and clean out the pan this time
what causes the burned smell?
is it as bad a sign as i think it is?
thx

What causes the burned smell? Friction.

The brake bands and the clutch packs are made of paper(?) based friction material bonded onto steel. Under normal circumstances they'll work - but when they get old or contaminated...

How old is the fluid?

not even 2 months
the filter on the other hand could be very old

Well like you say...

Drain the torque converter (consider doing the transmission oil cooler lines too) replace the filter and check for debris. Drive it and see how you go. As we don't have smelly-net (thankfully!) I'd take a sample of oil to someone who knows, to get a second opinion, if you are unsure about the burnt smell.

i read in one of the other posts (somewhere) that doing that can cause as many problems as it fixes.
i've got the pan off now
looks clean for the most part
the filter is a bit dark but not BLACK
i'll do the full meal deal again and see what happens
thx

Someone said that draining the torque converter and replacing the fluid and filter causes problems? On this forum? Did I read that right? Am I missing something?

Stop being so cheap and change the filter along with the fluid when you do a transmission service.

Old wives tale.Clogged filter can burn up clutch packs.