Thread: Lost Auto Transmission Fluid

Same thing happened to mine,and I am sure many others.

New hose and refill all that was required. no damage done.It all happens so quickly that when drive is lost no go.
More likely to do damage if the auto level oil has been low for a period of time and especially if towing.
I reckon you have a pretty good chance that all will be well.

Trev.

This happened to me last Saturday up the mountains in the snow. The top hose must've rattled out and I lost all ATF and power. After towing it with a tow strap 70ks down the mountains and 30 to camp we refilled with ATf but still no engaging of the gears. Got it towed home and then to my mechanic and they drove it off the flat bed, they said the atf probs needed to settle and build pressure. So hopefully it's the same with you, it did scare the crap out of me though, right at the snowline with no transmission is not fun.

There's a particular method for topping it up, have to top it up to full, turn it on and run through the gears, not sure on order, then keep filling until a 2mm bead runs from the plug. Much more complex than what I described I think, I can have a dig around for you if you like.
I had my ATF cooler and lines replaced pre-emptively as Slunnie noticed it was leaking.
Bloke said that 8 times out of 10, the transmission is fine, so fingers crossed!

Yes DM, it is more complicated than that. I topped off til it dribbled out and then got a mate to run through the gears holding for 5seconds from P-1 and 1-P making sure it dribbled out at each change. I'm assuming I did the job right as my mechanic drove it right of the flat bed. Funnily enough I was toying with the idea of changing my hoses before my trip but obviously didn't; btw a rogue stick helped dislodge my top pipe too so I'm looking at a tranny guard to avoid any serious damages.

I just went thru this on friday and managed to limp home using 10ltrs of atf , going to get new pipes but to get mobile i just fitted two brass barbed 1/2" joiners where the hoses had rubbed together puncturing the hoses.
I hoped no damage was done as so far after a top up and test it seems to be as good as before, sure made one hell of a mess to underside of car and all over the back door.

Pics of the location?

Happened to me too. Cause was a swaged connection from the rubber hose to the solid (copper?) hose at the transmission. Just burst and dumped all the fluid. Was only a repair of the fitting and a top up. No damage.

Dropped off at MR Automotive yesterday and all fixed today. As with e3j, connector let go. MR said that transmission damage in these circumstances is unlikely as the trans immediately "shuts down" (whatever that means).

Thanks to MR for fitting me in. They were booked out for weeks but try and help travellers whenever they can.