i hand some tranny problems the other day and the shop changed out the oil and filter element and put in some conditioner additive to free things up. the oil that came out was quite gummy but no metal or clutch bits were evident in the drained oil or pan, it drives like shit now but the shop is quite confident that this conditioner crap will do the trick. right now it doesn't shift very well and slips. to do a forced down shift with the gas pedal requires more effort than before. the oil was way overdue for changing but i only got the car a couple of months ago so i wasn't on top of that. has anyone had good news with these "conditioners" or do i have to open the vault and go tranny shopping? it on has 136000 kilometers on it

136,000 kilometers is pretty low mileage for an AW-70 transmission. How's the fluid level in the transmission? I've experienced the same symptoms that you just mentioned on SEVERAL cars and they were all solved by getting the fluid level up to proper spec.

Procedures for checking your automatic transmission fluid: After driving the car for 20 minutes, park it on a flat level spot, and work the shifter from Park, Reverse, Neutral, Drive, 2, 1, and back up to Park again (spending 30 seconds in each position and your foot on the brake). Now, with the engine running, check your trans fluid level (the yellow handled dipstick). Check it twice, wiping the stick between checks and use the side of the stick that has the HOT reference marks on it. Make sure that it's filled up to the top (full) mark, and it's even safe to go 1/2 quart above that.

If fluid level turns out not to be the issue, then I would try flushing the system as mentioned earlier. (about 12 quarts required)

Lastly, where do you live. I'm in West Michigan (49460) and I may have access to a free AW-70 if you need it (from an '86 vehicle).

God bless,
Fitz Fitzgerald.
--
'87 Blue 245, NA 228K

After you are done with the shop's additives make sure you get a flush done and use Mobil 1 synthetic fluid. Merely draining at the pan only changes less than half the total volume of fluid, a flush changes it all.
More than one AW7x has been restored to perfect condition that way including mine. The AW7x transmissions rarely fail and should easily run for 300K miles, yours is just broken in.
--
David Hunter

Buy a can of Berryman's Chemtool B-12. Pour 1/2 can into the transmission and drive it so that you are upshifting and downshifting to work the cleaner through the valve body. Do not use more than 1/2 can at a time. Once the transmission heats up, the cleaner will evaporate, but if you use more than 1/2 can it will boil the transmission fluid out the vent making a nice mess.

If this improves the shifting/slipping , wait for transmission to cool down then repeat with the other 1/2 can. Hopefully the clutches are not damaged yet and this will free up the valvebody.

I have saved many transmissions with B-12.

Oh, you should check the trans fluid after doing this. If it is was really dirty you should change the fluid again.

what is the active ingredient in that berryman b12?.. i don't think it is available in canada
Dboat

I don't know the active ingredient in B 12, but some time ago in this forum, it was recommended to me to use paint thinner (8 oz.) and run it that way for 400 miles. I'm only 150 miles into it, but it seems to shift better. Can't swear by that yet, but I'm anxious to see what comes out of the trans when I flush it.
Mark