It seems I've neglected to check my 300CD's ATF often enough ~ I got off the freeway @ 05:00 this morning and lost almost all drive ~ the engine would rev. up but the car wouldn't go faster than a walking pace ! EEK ! .
I imagined my tight , hard shifting Sports tranny all ruined and me having to drive it 12 + miles to Victor for overhauling , my bank account has $364 in it and he needs $1,800 ~ $2,000 , not good .
I kept the engine to 2,000 RPM's and eased it across Chinatown to work at a walking pace , stashed it in the L.A.P.D. Garage and began working , after the boss and others showed up I went out and checked the tranny , the tip of the dipstick was dry (gasp) so I added just enough ATF to reach the " full " line with the engine off , then I started it and slowly added ATF bit by bit until it reached the " low " line and took it for a test drive , it shifted nice and tight like normal so I ran it up on the freeway a few miles to bring it up to operating temperature as ATF expands by about 10 % so you never , _EVER_ want to top it off until you're _certain_ it's fully warmed up .
Too much ATF can cause the seals to blow , or if you're really unlucky , the fluid will aerate (foam) and cause the tranny to slip and grind itself to death in 20 miles .
All seems well now so I'll top it up after I drive it home .
Whew ~ I think & hope I dodged a bullet here .
That'll teach me to look after my car as closely as I look after my animals , no matter how much I'm hurting .
It could have died @ 0-Dark:30 in a *very* bad part of town where I drive pretty much daily , that would have been a bad thing .
-Nate
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