Fletch9871
Active member
Hey fellas…I’ve embarked on a Sprinter odyssey and it’s been quite an education so far. The goal is to transition from Cargo Van -> Adventure Van -> RV. My number one goal presently is to do as much maintenance and PM work as possible.
Today’s work was mostly transmission related. I cannot stress enough the importance of a fluid flush, filter change and DARF modification. My van is a 2005 3500 with 190k and a stack of maintenance records and receipts. I found the receipt for a transmission flush and filter change at 75k but nothing after that. The transmission was making god awful groaning and humming noises and a very loud RSN. To give you some idea how loud it was it was hard to have a conversation over the noise. 1-2 and 2-3 shifts under power were fine but slow acceleration in traffic would lead to jolts and bangs both up-shifting and downshifting. The previous owner tried to convince me the noises were the automatic engine jake brake...LOL. I was really concerned the transmission was on its way out.
Figuring I had nothing to lose I decided to do a full flush and filter change. I’ve never worked on an automatic transmission before so it was a steep learning curve. I also replaced the plug and did the DARF mod. All in all it was a soul sucking experience doing all this for the first time. Not to mention the smell of ATF makes my stomach churn…BLEECH…!!! There was a considerable amount of sludge in the bottom of the pan and around the magnet. Surprisingly little metal in the pan and filter. The screens under the servos were 100% clean.
8+ quarts of Shell 134 later and the result is nothing short of amazing. The transmission is shifting 100% smooth at all speeds. The best part is the silence. It literally makes nothing more than a gentle whirring noise now and then which is expected being a gigantic echo chamber in its current form.
More to follow in the coming days/weeks including an interesting fan clutch failure and fan shroud repair…Stay tuned.
Cheers...Chris
Today’s work was mostly transmission related. I cannot stress enough the importance of a fluid flush, filter change and DARF modification. My van is a 2005 3500 with 190k and a stack of maintenance records and receipts. I found the receipt for a transmission flush and filter change at 75k but nothing after that. The transmission was making god awful groaning and humming noises and a very loud RSN. To give you some idea how loud it was it was hard to have a conversation over the noise. 1-2 and 2-3 shifts under power were fine but slow acceleration in traffic would lead to jolts and bangs both up-shifting and downshifting. The previous owner tried to convince me the noises were the automatic engine jake brake...LOL. I was really concerned the transmission was on its way out.
Figuring I had nothing to lose I decided to do a full flush and filter change. I’ve never worked on an automatic transmission before so it was a steep learning curve. I also replaced the plug and did the DARF mod. All in all it was a soul sucking experience doing all this for the first time. Not to mention the smell of ATF makes my stomach churn…BLEECH…!!! There was a considerable amount of sludge in the bottom of the pan and around the magnet. Surprisingly little metal in the pan and filter. The screens under the servos were 100% clean.
8+ quarts of Shell 134 later and the result is nothing short of amazing. The transmission is shifting 100% smooth at all speeds. The best part is the silence. It literally makes nothing more than a gentle whirring noise now and then which is expected being a gigantic echo chamber in its current form.
More to follow in the coming days/weeks including an interesting fan clutch failure and fan shroud repair…Stay tuned.
Cheers...Chris