My SST was acting up recently, some occasional grinding and slipping around 4500RPM. I figured something was up with the fluid, so I decided to flush it this weekend. I've only put on another 20k miles since I last flushed it. The fluid wasn't bad, it still had a nice golden hue to it. However, the filter was already filthy and completely clogged.

I flushed my old filter with some mineral oil, and this is what came out of it:


Out of curiosity, I stuck a magnet in it to see what it could pick up. A quick swirl:


I left the magnet sitting in the debris for 15 minutes:


Swiped my finger across one side of the magnet:


Keep in mind, that this is my third SST flush, and it has only been 20k miles since my last one. The material was very coarse and there was a couple of big metallic chunks in it. This may be unique to me, and it may be a symptom of other problems. But, I finished the transmission flush with a couple gallons of mineral oil, and the old filter seems to have caught all of the debris floating around. Everything is alright for now.

Don't skimp on SST filters, guys. . Get OEM or better, and change it every single time.

 

that's some gnarly stuff

 

yikes

 

Clutch material, no worries.
I've had my fluid come out blacker than that after 9 months. The important part is the consistent 15-20k fluid change.

How is the car driving after that change??

 

What fluid do you use? Ravenol, Pentosin, or Diaqueen?

 

There's a face in that oil....

 

Clutch material will make the fluid black (silt), the metal particles are most likely gear wear... A bigger concern.

 

I'll have to give mine another change and see how it looks, that is pretty nasty.

 

I just did my first at 60K miles - fluid was golden and not tooo dark. No metal shavings

And - i was able to do the flush myself thanks to this forum and all the good info!

 

You must be too nice to your car

 

He even "named" his car, so I think that goes without saying....lol!!!

 

werd. I drive her hard but take good care of her

 

sorry to semi jack but does anyone have any images of the SSt drain plugs.. trying to get a thread length as well as an idea of what kind of bolt it is with regards to washer/gasket as i'm trying to buy magnetic drain plugs to stick in for my upcomming flush and i'd like to make sure its the goin to have the same kind of fit

as i assume a magnetic plug would help collect this kind of junk

 

They looked like mag plugs and did not have washers...

 

Not sure if magnetic plugs will help or not, really. The filter catches almost all of the silt from the clutches. The fluid that came out was golden and clean. I flushed my SST with mineral oil afterwards and it also came out quite clean. IMO, I'd prefer the silt being caught and stuck in the filter, instead of being stuck to a magnet on in the oil pan of the transmission.

The filter can get clogged to a point where oil isn't flowing freely enough and start to cause SST jittering, RPM bouncing, and other problems. If it were easier/cheaper to change the filter, I'd be more inclined to changing it every 10k or so miles.

In any case, I can take some pictures the next time I flush the transmission, if no one else has for you. .