No fluid in tranny?

tercelebr8 · Post by **tercelebr8** » Fri Apr 05, 2013 10:32 am

I bought a tercel that had a tranny put back in, but they didnt fill it up w tranny fluid. Going to pick it up soon, wondering if i should just take fluid for starters to see if she will just take to some lube.. According to the owners the car still moves, just not very fast, and she hasnt driven it since the tranny was reinstalled w out fluid (other than the short drive home)

Any advice?

Post by **dlb** » Fri Apr 05, 2013 10:48 am

hopefully they haven't driven it AT ALL without gear oil in the trans. as long as that's the case, yes, you can fill it with gear oil and give it a shot. fill it from the 24 mm plug just behind the driver CV and make sure the rearmost drain plug is unscrewed 7-8 turns. it will take 4.1 L but just keep filling until oil spills out the fill hole. you'll need a long tube and funnel, ideally. some people use pumps but i've never needed one.

marlinh · Post by **marlinh** » Fri Apr 05, 2013 10:58 am

Is this an automatic or a standard?

xirdneh · Post by **xirdneh** » Fri Apr 05, 2013 11:43 am

if its an automatic maybe they filled it but it leaked out on the drive home
the two hoses under car that connect tranny to bottom of radiator could be leaking
had that happen once on the only tercel automatic i have messed with

tercelebr8 · Post by **tercelebr8** » Fri Apr 05, 2013 12:15 pm

standard

tercelebr8 · Post by **tercelebr8** » Fri Apr 05, 2013 12:28 pm

just found out it was driven about 3 miles total

Post by **dlb** » Fri Apr 05, 2013 12:54 pm

tercelebr8 wrote:just found out it was driven about 3 miles total

with no gear oil? yikes. how could and why did they miss that crucial step? it potentially means they or someone else just have to pull the trans again. that's crazy.

no harm in dropping $40 on gear oil, filling the trans, and seeing how it runs. just don't hold your breath.

marlinh · Post by **marlinh** » Fri Apr 05, 2013 1:52 pm

There must be some damage if it barely moves. What does not very fast mean? Can't shift past second? I would be suspicious of that trans. Was the vehicle expensive? Add oil and try it but don't be surprised if it doesn't last.

tercelebr8 · Post by **tercelebr8** » Fri Apr 05, 2013 2:04 pm

"goes through all gears if gentle, if forced it makes a grinding sound (hmm?) and sounds awful acc. to previous owner.." im thinkin add fluid and let her rip?

Post by **dlb** » Fri Apr 05, 2013 2:20 pm

tercelebr8 wrote:"goes through all gears if gentle, if forced it makes a grinding sound (hmm?) and sounds awful acc. to previous owner.." im thinkin add fluid and let her rip?

grinding sound on forced shifting could just be bad synchros, which i live with in every vehicle i own. at this point, i consider synchros a luxury that i can live without.

xirdneh · Post by **xirdneh** » Fri Apr 05, 2013 4:22 pm

seems to me 3 miles would not be enough to ruin the tranny
you cannot get all the oil out
the gears would still have a coat of oil on them that should protect it for 3 miles

Post by **Petros** » Fri Apr 05, 2013 8:35 pm

I agree with Xirdneh, it is likely okay if was driven three miles on surface streets, lower speeds (which is sounds like it was). If it was driven at Fwy speeds without oil, not likely it would survive that. the problem with the trans is without oil the syncors were not working properly (they are designed to be bathed on gear oil), and likely just made a lot of bad noises.

Make sure you get at least 3 quarts into the trans, 4 would be better, but you can get it home without damage with at least 3 quarts okay.

Good luck.

keith · Post by **keith** » Sat Apr 06, 2013 2:03 pm

My 97 Nissan PU transmission has been making a whining sound for about three years now so on the last oil change, I decided to check the gear oil level. Out of a 2.1 qt capacity, it took 2.1 qts of gear oil to fill it. Oops. It still wines a little but not as bad.

MR2Di4 · Post by **MR2Di4** » Tue Apr 09, 2013 10:18 pm

I would plan on filling the tranny with oil, and then changing it out after about 500-1000 miles, providing everything works out well. Be sure to check ALL the drain plugs for metal shavings. They should have magnets in them to catch floating particles, but make sure to clean them off before reinstalling. Why was the tranny out of the car? Was it being serviced or was it just a clutch job? Reason being is that if the transmission itself was serviced then the damage may be greater due to less residual oil in the case. I hope you didn't pay too much for it if the tranny is toast. They're getting hard to come by and nearly impossible to get rebuilt.

MR2Di4

Eightcruiserchicks · Post by **Eightcruiserchicks** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 1:42 am

Ok, I've got the poor girl now and I'm going to check for shavings before I fill her up with fluid. It sounds very much like what one would expect from a transmittion without oil...an extremely metallic grinding sound/whine as the teeth beat each other up. Honestly though, if you are delicate with the clutch, she will not protest. This is of course, only from backing her off of a trailer and into place in the garage. It is quite interesting to experience a clutch without oil...it brings about a new respect level for the quality of gear oil that is invested in. Any other tips? I'm usually on fj80's but I'm super excited to be working on something that gets better gas mileage than 5 gpm!! Since I'll be working on her, are there any "typical" issues that I should check for?
Thanks,
L

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