E450 transmission

[smokeater1]

Our 2005 Minnie with the Ford V-10 has 5,000 miles. Today when checking the trans fluid level I noticed the end of the dip stick was coverd in brown crumbs. Not really rust like, but grain like texture. I have never seen this before.
Anyone have an idea what this is ?

Thanks.

 

[Karl]

Are they soft? If so, could be coolant leaking into the tranny cooler portion of the radiator. Check the radiator for any signs of an oil slick; red or otherwise. In any case, do not drive it; call a repair shop for their recommendation and have it towed for repair. Don't mean to be an alarmist, but it could mean the difference between a repair, flush, and fill or a transmission replacement. Don't have to tell you which is more expensive :'( If the grains are hard, I haven't a clue.

 

[smokeater1]

Yup, they are soft. Guess I will have to wait until the new Year. Everyone is either booked up or closed !

Thanks for the input !

 

[Karl]

Jack,

Sorry I couldn't have said "Hey, no problem!". Hopefully you caught it in time

 

[smokeater1]

We had the tranny completely flushed and serviced. Found no evidence of leaking to/from any place else.
Drove about 250 miles , all is well, dip stick clean. Service dept. had no clue as to what caused it........


Jack.

 

[Karl]

Put it down as one of life's great mysteries, and hope it doesn't happen again. Don't you just hate it when they can't find something...anything? :-\

 

[ALTACALL]

I would suggest  coolant pressure test and be sure it doesn't leak down and then check tranny fluid

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Brown blobs usually means water in the tranny fluid - a serious problem, so watch carefully for a re-occurrence.

But I had a similar experience with my previous motorhome and the problem never came back. There appeared to be moisture in the dip stick tube and the best guess was that it was simple condensation in the tube that caused the ATF+water globules to collect there. No sign of anything like that in the tranny itself when I flushed it.