270,000 Mile Pan Drop ... Brass Pieces?

[Impala131]

Good day all,

I hit 270,000 miles in my GTP the week before last. Completed a number of service items today, including the transmission fluid/filter.

Went the extra step and busted open the old filter. Have some pictures for y'all.












Notice the circular pieces that appear to be brass... some kind of bearing maybe? Thoughts?

I'm hoping to milk this drivetrain (all original) to 300,000 miles.

[dsmuts]

Does it still shift fine?

[Scottydoggs]

only one way to find out. keep driving it. more then likely what ever that is has been there for a long time.

the magnet looks damn clean and the fluid looks a touch dark but not to bad really for those miles.

[QUICKSILVER462]

Those brass pieces look like the thrust washers for the planet gears on the differential.

[Impala131]

Does it still shift fine?

Yes, the shifting is still fine, considering the mileage. The torque converter engagement is rather harsh though. This is due to raising the TCC duty cycle in the PCM. Without a raised TCC duty cycle, I have an issue with RPM's oscillating when the transmission warms up.

Scottydoggs

Re: 270,000 Mile Pan Drop ... Brass Pieces?
only one way to find out. keep driving it. more then likely what ever that is has been there for a long time.

the magnet looks damn clean and the fluid looks a touch dark but not to bad really for those miles.

Well, this isn't my first pan drop in this car. I did this around 230,000 and 250,000 as well. The level of metal in the magnet is about the same at each interval. I've been using Dexron 6 since I bought the vehicle. I know that Dex 6 is visually darker than Dex 3. Still dark for Dex 6?

QUICKSILVER462

Re: 270,000 Mile Pan Drop ... Brass Pieces?
Those brass pieces look like the thrust washers for the planet gears on the differential.

Hmm, maybe. I'd say the brass pieces are a few times thicker than a sheet of paper, but definitely seem like more of a foil/shaving than a piece of a washer. It's hard to tell from my photos, though.

[QUICKSILVER462]

It is thin as foil because it has been worn down, maybe it has a lot of mile on it.

[Anthony Smith]

Those brass pieces look like the thrust washers for the planet gears on the differential.

This ^^^^ I wouldnt say specifically the planets on the diff, but that definitely looks like pieces of planetary gear thrust washer. Something is wore out

[Impala131]

This ^^^^ I wouldnt say specifically the planets on the diff, but that definitely looks like pieces of planetary gear thrust washer. Something is wore out

Does this mean that I'm likely to lose one or more of my gears very soon?

[BillBoost37]

Not necessarily. The washers are obviously in there to keep the steel from wearing the other steel etc. If it's not diff and it's planetary like Anthony mentioned, it's dead center of a trans. I'd drive it til it drops.