Cold wave here in the deep south and today my transmission froze twice. I'd get into the car and the shifter was very difficult to move. A few cycles of shifting through all of the gears solved the issue, but it freaks me out a bit that there might be water in the fluid as the fluid had gotten very viscous, something that I have never experienced, even in 12 years of living in Colorado.

Anyone know about this?

I suspect that switching to a quality synthetic fluid will do the job, but I am just a little worried that the factory might have substituted Guinnes for transmission fluid. . .





_________________
~Yucca Patrol~
I'm just here to have fun, participate, and not make an @$$ of myself!

7 sub 21

 

Do you have the 6-speed or 5?

The 6-speed is a Getrag and every getrag I have worked on for the past 10-15 years has used some form of synthetic already.

 

According to MINIclo and her research at Roadfly, this condition is apparently caused by a shifter cable that does not seal very well and allows some condensation to collect. The combination of recent rains, high humidity and a cold spell add up to create sticky transmission cables.

I am just going to let the vehicle warm up a bit before driving, and very gently work the cable free if necessary, but will get the updated cable at my first service visit.