lost transmission fluid

|I was on the highway driving at 60 Mph. The engine rev high and low as the |transmission engage and dis-engage. I pull over to side of the road (within |1 min max) to park the vehicle in the safe place. I quickly notice that my |transmission oil return line from the rad came apart spray the oil |everywhere. Re-connect the hose (hose clamp loose) and top up almost 4 L of |transmission fluid (my friend brought the oil for me). Drove it for about 5 |min to get off the highway then check for oil again, I have to add another |4L. Drove it home. It seems to run fine then. Now, when the engine is |warm, It jerk a bit as it drop into final gear. When I step on the gas to |accelerate, it change gear and accelerate fine until it go back into final |gear and then the process is repeated. I only notice this when the engine |is warm (15 min or more driving). |My question is did I damage the transmission by loosing the oil along the |highway? |This problem above, does it has any connection to the lost of transmission |fluid or just coincident? |Before this incident, I don't have any problem | |Thanks for your help!

Firstly, it is possible that you were losing tranny fluid for a long time and didn't know it. What happened to me with cooling system, was losing cooland -only- when system was pressurized, and it was blowing out through a crack in the bottom radiator hose onto the roadway. Of course, when the car was stopped, everything *normal* when engine cooled off.

When your tranny fluid line finally blew, chances are you had already been driving around for a while on low fluid. It is possible there is some damage in there; I'm not a tranny guy, but I would say the odds of there being some damage in there are greater than 50/50.

Otoh, on the bright side, if there is one, you're mobile. Outside of that tiny *jerking motion* you mention when it slipes into hi gear so to speak, you're mobile and comfortable. As long as you check and keep your tranny fluid topped up now, there should be no further damage. However, that said, if one hose line blew, that and all other rubber hoselines need to be replaced, otherwise, it is only a matter of short time before you end up stranded with a -trashed- transmission.

Change the tranny rubber hoses, or have somebody else do it.

Lg

I don't suppose you serviced the transmission after this happened, did you?

If not, do it. Check the pan for filings, etc, when you open her up. Change the filter and replace the lost fluid, perform adjustments if there are any on this vehicle.

That is about the best you can do.

You abused the high gear clutch pretty badly by letting it slip for as much as a minute. Probably made crispy critters out of the clutch plates. Any time a transmission slips, you really have to stop IMMEDIATELY because so much heat builds up so fast in slipping clutch packs.

Its possible that you put in an incorrect fluid type, though, so you might change the fluid and filter with the CORRECT factory-specified fluid and see if that cures the problem. It can't hurt at this point.

Let's all try to guess what model vehicle and how many miles are on it. When you run your vehicle bone dry out of tranny fluid ar 60MPH there is damage. It is not coincidence. If someone left the hose clamp loose than talke to them about fixing it. If you did it, kick yourself.

I thought the only way the engine can connect to transmission is by torque converter that is hydraulic fluid coupling. So, when there is no fluid there is no pressure thus no coupling. Without oil, clutch plates should not be connected and vehicle should stop and there should be no damage to transmission. For sure the line came apart only a few minutes because my car does not leak any oil on the driveway. I put Dexron III ATF oil from Canadian Tire. The vehicle is 92 GM with 4T60 transmission. Is that the right oil?

Thanks again, Paul

transmission

Your choice of fluid sound right. You logic in why there should be no wear when there obviously is wear is wrong. For one thing, the torque converter itself is not made to run without oil in it. And even if the transmission was not turning when out of oil, it's that middle area where the oil was leaving that the slippage and wear took place. If you really have an interest in understanding the dynamics of this, take a look at a clutch pack for an automatic transmission. You will see something that looks like a pack of CD's with something sprayed on them with a consistency of #500 sand paper. There is no thickness there, no margin for wear. Under the wrong conditions they can be worn out in seconds. Other areas of the transmission are as delicate. So live and learn. It's not a crime. Just move on.