Yeah, I feel pretty dumb having to post this but i'm kind of worried. After changing my clutch I decided to reuse my 10k mile tranny fluid. It looked good and has the synchro material in it to aid in friction. The first dumb move was to try to pour the 4 quarts of fluid in the shifter opening without the driveshaft in. I got about 1/4 of a quart in before I noticed it pouring out on the floor. Well to make up for that lost fluid I grabed an extra quart of fluid from the rack to pour in. Low and behold it was power steering fluid. I only got about four ounces in before I noticed the lack of red color on the funnel. I couldn't get it out before it flowed in the holes. Is this a horrible thing? Will it cause my synchros to slip? Do I have to change the fluid? I've already put it all back together. I hate filling the tranny through the fill hole on the side.
Thanks, paul

 

Drain it get a cheapo fluid transfer pump & fill it with new stuff.
I wouldn't take a risk, DEX III is to cheap to do that IMO.

 

Hate filling the tranny or pulling it due to a painful slow death later on down the road?

Choices...choices. Better to suffer some inconvenience now and drain and change the fluid.

 

I was just wondering if anyone knew the viscosity of power steering fluid. Hell for all I know it could have similar properties to dextron 3. We're also talking about a ratio of 40:1. Just curious, I spent a week working on the car and no way to get to the store that night for tranny fluid. Im not lazy, just curious.

 

Do not use anything but Dexron III. It is not a question of viscosity. Other fluids can degrade the fibre blocking rings in the synchronizers.

 

He's right. Power steering fluid and brake fluid arent made for viscosity. They are hydraulic fluids. Flush that crap out of there with some cheap stuff. Fill the trans with cheap fluid, run it for a short time, then drain it and put in some good stuff. You'll be happier knowing that you dont have to "risk" it. You'll also be happier when you dont have to pull the trans for some reason, when you could have done something so super simple like change the fluid again.

J.

 

Done!

 

Dexron 3 is a hydraulic fluid as well.... as far as I know anyways.