Brown Transmission Fluid 2002 X Star

[Floydage]

Thanks, I am going to drain it out tonight, I am worried about the water sitting in the transmission. Does anyone know why there is a suction or pressure when I take off the cap/dipsick? Is this indicative of the cooler or a seal?

[Floydage]

Thanks again for all of the help. So I took off the transmission cooler and it looks to me like it is fine. Not sure what a bad one looks like, there is a little rust on the end but it looks solid. I am assuming that a bad one would be rotten inside, but that appears to not be the case. So if the cooler is fine, then how could water have gotten into the system? There is water at times in the bilge, but never enough to turn on the pump. Also if the cooler was bad and it got water in the system is it possible for so much water to be in the tranny that it blows the seal? Thanks!

[76S&S]

There have also been several 02's to have the seal on the transmission fail. Roughly $1,000 for your dealer to pull the trans and change the seal.

[Jeff d]

Unless its a catastrophic failure you usually won't be able to tell it's bad by looking at it. A radiator shop can pressure test the cooler for you. They will likely charge less than $20 for this. I brought mine to a local place and they did it for free.

The fact that you have water in the transmission suggests 2 possible scenarios:
1) you have a bad seal AND you rode around with a lot of water in the bilge. The water can't just get in there because the seal is bad. You'd have to have enough water in the hull up to the level of the seal at least under acceleration when the water runs to the back.
2) bad cooler. Water pushes into the transmission from the cooler leak, displacing the oil until it flows out of the vent.

[Floydage]

Well I finally took it in to the shop and was quoted 2,000 bucks to replace the seals. First big repair on the boat, but seemed expensive. They said they have to pull the engine and remove the back seat, 12 hours labor. Also they told me the transmission sits real low in the body of the boat and gets wet, that's what makes the seal fail. Does all this sound right?

[Thrall]

$2000 sounds steep.
I'd think you could get the v drive out w/o pulling the engine, but not real sure of the access in a 205V.
Seals are cheap and easy to replace. $95% of the cost is getting to them.