HI, 3000 kms after the dealer replaced oil and filter in my KJ autobox (5-45RFE), I started have shift problems. Changing from 4 to 5 the wheels would lock up for a moment before changing a week later it started doing this from 2 to 3 aswell.
Dealer says its time to rebuild the Box Today I dropped the sump off the gearbox and it was a mess. they hadn't cleaned it at all... I also took out the valve body and noticed some small metalic balls. They don't seem to be the remnants of bearings but I have no idea where they could have come from. I took some pictures but not too sure how to insert here...
Has anyone experienced anything like this?

You most likely waited way to long to have the trans serviced since ATF cleans very well when new so it may have cleaned all the gunk out of the trans leaving it in the pan.Those little metal balls are supposed to be there in certain places,there check balls and must go back into the correct spots for proper operation.

I agree with TJKJ2002 on waiting too long to clean the tranny.

The dealer most likely attached your transmission to the Dreaded automatic transmission flushing machine.

This machine works great on low mileage vehicles and those vehicles that have a properly maintained Transmission, but not so great on high mileage vehicles that have never had their transmission fluid changed.

According to the service manager that replaced my transmission recently, this flushing machine has the tendency to churn the accumulated metal shards and dirt resting undisturbed in the nooks and crannies at the perimeter of the gears and relocate them onto the plates, gears and other moving parts.

He said that, more often than not, flushing the transmission of a high mileage vehicle, almost always causes the transmission to malfunction in one way or another.

The best thing to do to a high mileage vehicle with a dirty transmission is to drop the pan, drain the fluid and replace with new, instead of flushing.

Some have done the transmission fluid drain several times back to back and each time they got more debris to drop out. Doing it this way may bring the tranny back to normal and hopefully prevent a rebuild.

The idea is not to suck the fluid out of a high mileage vehicle, but to drain it.

_________________
2006 Liberty Limited CRD, Deep Beryl Green, Yeti tune, Arp studs, new cams, rockers, lifters, TB. "Green Monster"
2005 Liberty Sport CRD, Deep Beryl Green, GDE Hot Tune, ARP studs. "Rocket"
1982 Fiat 124 Spider Convertible. "Fiona"

Thanks for the feedback. I think that when they service the tranny they should clean the transmission magnet?

The metal i found in the solenoid block are not the check balls. (there are 7 check balls and I have found +/- 20 strange shaped objects)
They look a bit like balls of solder. how can i post a picture on the discussion?

Picture posting PM sent

_________________
Sold to LOST member my 05 Ltd, GDE Stg II turbo + TCM tune, SunCoast TC w. Transgo kit, Steiger window regulators, Samcos, Fumoto valve, 2nd gen filter head with Lub. Spec. bleeder, Hayden clutch & 11 blade fan, inverted spare, P-1 battery, BF Goodrich Long Trail TAs, Etecno1 glow plugs, timing belt at 50K miles/8 yrs

So is the factory recommended 60k mile fluid changes adequate or should it be done sooner?

FYI, I used Seafoam's TransTune in my fiance's Legacy with good results. It had 75000 miles and I had no service records, so as far as I know the fluid was never done. It was shifting hard and hesitating so I put the TransTune in and it made the transmission shift like butter. I did a full fluid change after running the TransTune for ~100 miles and its been great ever since.

_________________
2006 CRD - GTB2056 turbo by Dieselguy86, Eco Trans Tune, Lift Pump, Week's, HDS Tstat, Racor Filter, ARP's, OME 790's+Top Plate, JBA 2.5", JBA UCA, Moab's+265/75R16, ARB Bull Bar, 4.10's, TrueTracs