After a transmission fluid drain . . is the fluid suposed to look clean or does it still look kind of dirty?

Question

I know a drain means old oil remains and mixes with the new oil, but I am concern that I had the transmission fluid drain, and after a couple of days I checked the stick and the oil is kind of dirty.
I'm afraid the mechanic took my money, bud either didn't do a good job, or didn't drain the fluid at all. The day I took my car to the mechanic I waited for over 3 hrs. it was so busy!! Is it possible it didn't get done?

Answer 1

Anything is possible. If all they did was to drain the pan, then the fluid will look old.

The best way is to take it to a place that will use a machine to flush out all the old fluid. Your torque converter will hold quite a bit of fluid and that needs to be changed out also.

with the flush system, they will pull the lines to the transmission cooler and hook the lines to the machine. When the transmission pump forces the fluid to the cooler, the machine will remove the old fluid and replace it with new fluid, when all the old fluid is out, you can physically see the new clean fluid coming out.

This runs about 100-150 normally.

good luck.

Answer 2

It's entirely possible that it did not get done. It's more than likely that it did not. There are several ways for you to tell for sure.

For starters even though it was just "drained" a good portion of new fluid should've been replaced. It should be dark red in color and should feel smooth when you rub it between your fingers. It should not smell burnt, it should smell similar to petroleoum.

If you want to know for absolute sure you can have the fluid tested at most auto parts stores. They can tell you if any new fluid was added recently or if it's the same old fluid that's been in the tranny for awhile.

Furthermore why was it drained? Was the filter being changed? If this is the case it should've been purged as well (all old fluid removed/replaced with new). It's uncommon for this not to occur unless the tranny has excessively high mileage. Also, remember...it's not oil, it's transmission fluid. If you tell anyone the "oil" looked dirty they will assume you're talking about the engine oil.

Hope this helps!

Answer 3

Never just get you transmission drained. Tranys have alot of passage ways that still have old oil in them and will mix with the new stuff. Always ask for a Flush were they get all the old oil out. And never get a flush if your oil is burnt just ride it till it dies because a flush will make it die even faster.

Answer 4

New fluid should have a pinkish-red color. Old fluid will be a brownish color. A better way to tell though is the smell. New fluid will have a distinct petroleum smell to it. Old fluid will have a slight burned smell to it.

Answer 5

you got fxcked