[Ryan Angela]

First time changing the fluid/filter on my 3 speed auto. After a disastrous cascade of fluid caused an ill-placed jack stand, I was finally able to get the pan drained and on the bench. I expected something on the magnet, but is this excessive or normal? Also, a couple small tufts of what looked like hair/lint turned out to be metallic as well, seen inches from the magnet.



Any cause for concern? 130K miles, trans operates flawlessly.

 

[wwch99tj]

Looks normal to me

 

[Jerry Bransford]

I've removed the 32RH's trans pans several times over the years and that magnet was never coated in shavings like that. About all I can suggest is to monitor it and do a complete flush now, not just a pan drain & refill. Dropping the pan drains out less than half of the ATF+4 in the system, I'd want all fresh ATF+4 in there after seeing that.

 

[bigman2x4x8]

It probably has never been changed before. Its a little much But if it shifts fine and its not making any noise. Put a can of TransX in it and fill it up with new fluid and filter.I have seen worse and trans lasted another 100K towing. Magnet is there to get the metal parts out of oil and not in valve body. Jerry is also right keep a check of it. Fluid start getting dark or black its tranny time.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

Don't add ANY additives to the 32RH's ATF+4 which will only likely just cause problems. Additives in an automatic transmission can cause more problems than the additive manufacturer's claims they can help with. Anything added is just going to degrade the ATF+4.

 

[Ryan Angela]

Full flush is the plan, I just had no idea what/how much to expect on that magnet. Hopefully she'll continue to shift smoothly without leaks

 

[AUJeeper]

I wouldn't be concerned with that. Chunks of metal would be a different story. What was the condition of the fluid you drained? If it wasn't red I wouldn't flush. If the fluid was still red and not burnt a flush may be a good idea. Another thing would be to run the Jeep for 6-10k and change the fluid and filter again. Not the same as a flush but gets more of the fluid out. Again, I wouldn't be concerned with what I saw there personally

 

[Ryan Angela]

What was the condition of the fluid you drained?

Side by side with new ATF+4



Definitely darker. Trace amounts of what look like copper shavings in my drain pan.

 

[AUJeeper]

A bit hard to tell but I wouldn't personally flush that. Flushing would clean things up that might lead to clutches slipping and ultimate tranny failure. I would keep running it and change the fluid and filter again in 6k-10k.

 

[Airstreamer67]

I put a $10 B&M oil drain kit on my auto tranny pan. It allows draining the tranny pan just like an engine oil drain. Then, removing the tranny pan is a no-mess process.

I also got a reusable LubeLocker oil pan gasket instead of using messy RTV on the pan. That eliminates any scraping-off of the old stuff.

I've found that just draining the pan gets five or six quarts out of my 03's tranny, which is a bit more than half in the system. Doing this periodically is no harder than an engine oil change and keeps the oil fresh. Of course, the filter should be changed once in a while too, which is easy to do with the drain port and gasket.

 

[Ryan Angela]

I put a $10 B&M oil drain kit on my auto tranny pan. It allows draining the tranny pan just like an engine oil drain. Then, removing the tranny pan is a no-mess process.

I also got a reusable LubeLocker oil pan gasket instead of using messy RTV on the pan. That eliminates any scraping-off of the old stuff.

I've found that just draining the pan gets five or six quarts out of my 03's tranny, which is a bit more than half in the system. Doing this periodically is no harder than an engine oil change and keeps the oil fresh. Of course, the filter should be changed once in a while too, which is easy to do with the drain port and gasket.

Still boggles the mind, the fact that these aren't installed factory. Discovered these too late, but I think I'll grab one now so I have it for next time.
Regarding the gasket, my filter came with a rubber pan gasket. The old one was cork, which took some time to clean off.