The clunk is drive train slack has nothing to do with tranmission. Likely worn u-joints, diff's, transfer case mounts etc.

You dont really seem like it made a huge difference, I am wondering if it had a placebo effect

and for the love of god never take the advice of somebody from behind the counter at an autoparts store.

 

more than likely.. NOTED: no advice from cashiers at auto store..

 

Wait a minute. There is the 1 in 900,000 chance that the person knows what they are talking about. I used to work behind the parts counter part time so I could get a better parts discount for all the crap I had to do to repair my personal vehicles at the shop I worked at. The parts stores generally offer a much better discount to their employees than to indy shops. But it is usually pretty easy to tell which ones know what they are talking about. Ask them about their personal projects. A few seconds into it you will know if they are blowing smoke or have a good working knowledge.

Cashiers, on the other hand, don't know jack.

 

I would say the odds are worse than that around here. There is an indy LR shop little south of me but I am in Jeep Country. There is one other white RRC and a silver D2 I have seen in my area but that is it aside from the guy that owns the rover shop.

 

Yeah, I made up the odds, but that is a general idea. But you are correct. More than 99% are idiots. Some can't even find the right parts for you!!!!

 

Do any of you guys actually know what changing the fluid does that causes a transmission to fail?

What is it about changing the fluid that causes the filter to become clogged?

 

from what I understand after the fluid gets so old it starts to lose its chemical properties. And adding new detergents and additives can throw off a delicate balance that is created.... This is what I have been told... I in no way claim to be an expert and everything I know about my truck I am learning from these guys...and by getting my hands dirty

 

Higgs, what has been your experience?

 

Caveat: I am by no means an expert on automatic transmissions.

It may have been a time that I was clouded by Puerto Rican wildflower (as Danny likes to call it ), but Im almost positive I read that the little particles of metal and whatnot that build up over time in the tranny will act as friction enhancers.

When you put new fluid in, what little friction the tranny had left is gone, and hence it will no longer engage.

 

My experience is that if it needs changed...change it. It lasts longer than not changing it. Every time I see a tranny that "died" after a fluid change, it turns out the tranny was already dead. They were just trying the last thing they knew to gain a little extra life out of it.

What generally happens is the fluid is filled with friction material that doesn't lubricate but acts like liquid sandpaper, allowing the clutch packs to grip.
When the 'liquid sandpaper' is replaced with the correct fluid, the tranny dies because all the friction material was already gone and now so is the 'liquid sandpaper'.