Automatic transmission fluid flush after engine overheated

[pt80chip]

Hi everyone. I recently joined the forum and figured I'd share a personal experience. I have a 2002 Impala 3.4 and I am having overheating issues (a whole different topic). Recently I was on my way home on the highway and my car ran extremely hot. I won't go into details about that but a couple of days ago I decided to check my ATF and noticed it was brownish and smelled a little burnt. I changed the filter and fluid and the old fluid came out completely brown.

 

Since this is a used car I don't know if the fluid was ever changed and I also don't know if the fluid went bad because of my overheating, but as a precaution I just wanted to warn everyone to check your ATF if you overheat. For those of you that didn't know, the transmission fluid gets cooled by your radiator (usually) so if you are running hot so is your transmission. Furthermore bad transmission fluid can lead to irreversible transmission issues and ultimately a rebuild.

 

On a side note, since the transmission pan doesn't have a drain plug I decided to use a large disposable aluminum cooking pan to capture the fluid. I then put the pan on a platform which was about 1 foot off the floor, leaving about 3 inches of the pan off the platform. I put the empty bottle with the funnel below it and punched a hole in it so it leaked into the funnel. Once the first bottle was close to full, I put my finger under the hole I punched and switched bottles. I didn't have a drop of oil on my floor. The reason I'm sharing that is because every time I try to get old oil back into the bottles I end up spilling it on my floor. I waste paper towels and time. I hope that's helpful to someone

[Andrew]

I also don't know if the fluid went bad because of my overheating

It didnt, its unrelated. Probably just old.

[pt80chip]

Good to know, I was afraid that overheating deteriorated my fluid and potentially harmed my transmission.