Went to change the trans fluid and when i stuck my finger in the drain hole I noticed there was something in there...

I'm not sure what it is but its round with a hole in the center like a washer... Transmission worked fine but I'm not going to drive this thing until I figure out what the hell happened.

Any ideas on what this is would be appreciated.

 

in automatic trannies, at the factory they put a plug in the fill tube to keep contamination from getting in and it stays there until they fill the tranny with fluid. the filling tool and fluid pushes the plug into the pan and there it stays until the first fluid change. I acquired a car once with 85,000 miles on it and changed the fluid and it must have been the first change because the plug was in still in the pan. Not sure about standard trannies. If it is a washer, which it looks to be,than something is amiss in the box. You may have to drop it and pull the cover. What year is it and what tranny is it? Cheers

 

Yikes!

Is that one of those gas mileage additives?

Seriously, is it loose in there? Maybe a shim washer that slid off, before a shaft went all the way throughsome parts. Maybe a shift rail in the linkage...

If it feels completely smooth on both sides, it probably fell through without goin' through the gears.

 

Sorry the trans is doug nash 4+3 manual trans in a 1987.

The washer/shim feels completely smooth on both sides and shows no sign of being ran through any gears or anything else.

 

Well, I'd say it's not supposed to be there and you would need to remove it and find out where it belongs before you drive it any more. you may have just been lucky to this point. Good luck with it. Cheers

 

[sm=goodidea.gif]You need to check it out fully. How is it shifting? With something in there, it would seem that it would not shift properly.

 

Just like they said over at Corvette Forum - its probably a thrust washer.

 

Whats is it for?

 

If itlooks like a big flat washer, it is part of the reverse gear cluster. (inside dimension of washer hole is about 1 inch). If it looks plastic, it is probably part of the pressure relief valve, which is located just above the cover plate on the drivers side. It is possible to remove the side cover plate, without removing the tranny, and you might be able to get your fingers inside to scoop it out. Not to much else it can be.

 

Whats the best route to take on that? if i remove the linkages can i just pop the side cover off? do things have to line up? I'd rather not have to remove the trans, so anyone with advice on getting the washer out without removing it, I could use it. Thanks again.