I am posting this as memeber of the multi Monty family. My little brother has a 2003 Montero Limited (Gen III) with the 3.5 SOHC motor and the five speed auto trans.

Sparing you the history of his other automotive follies (he's actually a really smart guy and your tax dollars are paying him to fly a multimillion dollar aircraft off of and on to an aircraft carrier - he's recently back from a six month cruise where he spent allot of time over Iraq), he accidently pulled the plug on his trans instead of his crank case oil plug when he was doing an oil change.

I know, I know . . . I told him if he didn't know the difference he should have his oil changes done for him, but he's persistant, and he wants to learn how to do it himself - I guess I can't fault him for that.

Anyway, he thinks he lost about a quart or tranny fluid before realizing it was the wrong fluid and replacing the plug. I'm not sure what cheapo brand he put back in (at this point I think I had already read him the riot act and told him he'd ruined his car - so he was pretty quiet, and I think he'd thrown away the bottle already), but he did put a quart of some tranny fluid back in and then decided to call me to see if screwed something up after he read his owner's manual that said to "use only Diamond Star" fluid. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/angry.gif" alt="" />

So, my question is, could he have contaminated the fluid already in there if he used another brand, and what is his recourse? I told him not to drive it, to drain all the tranny fluid (now that he knows how to do that) and refill it with Diamond Star fluid from the dealer, which was not so easy to do on a Sunday night when this all went down.

He's off doing execises with the Enterprise, so I can't ask him any questions, and I feel really bad for going off on him, so I figured I'd try to get his little dilema straightened out before he gets back. Oh yeah, he and the truck are in Florida, and I'm in California, so I'll be relaying everything to his wife.

Thoughts, comments, further chastisement?

Thank you!

Jim

Jim -

If it was a compatible fluid with OE recommendations it's likely ok - particularly if he didn't drive it far and the A/T temp light didn't come on.

As for his CVN-65 "Big E" job, it's a small world. They'll leave before too long - once the sea trials are complete. Tell him the next time he's on the cat and looks out the bubble, the launch officer he'll salute just before his cat shot is my son-in-law. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/patriot.gif" alt="" />

Frank

Thank you Frank.

Actually he's with VS-31 (flying the old Viking S3), but his boat, the GW, is down for repairs and they're keeping current using the Enterprise on her sea trials.

It certainly is a small world. I wouldn't doubt if they've already met, or at least saluted each other. Those guys on deck and the pilots seem to keep pretty close company. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/patriot.gif" alt="" />

Funny aside, if you enter "VS-31" on E-bay, you can buy pictures of my little brother coming in for a landing on the GW. The picture was taken when they were on deployment, and has actually been my computer wallpaper since September - and everyday I come into the office, turn on my computer and stare at it for a few minutes and pray that he's still nailing those landings. And it still has me questioning my career choice.

As for the tranny, would you suggest a drain and refill? Again, I think he tossed the bottle of the stuff he filled it with, so I'm not sure if it's compatible or not. My fear is that if it wasn't, and he drove it, he could really have a problem on his hands.

Anazing, the kid's an aero major who graduated from Annapolis, and I'm an English major who went to San Diego State, and I'm the car nut and supposed guru - go figure. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

Thanks again,

Jim

Is it in Pensacola? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/patriot.gif" alt="" />

Jim -

Can you look in the manual and get the recommended fluid? Or maybe someone here can post it for you. Then I guess a drain and refill would ease your mind about it. Wyleone on this forum is a transmission tech, so he's better qualified to give you the advice.

On the flight deck, the yellow-jacket officer he salutes is known as the "shooter". The shooter's job is to check the aircraft on the cat, and coordinate the launch with the cat officer and the pilot after the pilot signals he's ready to go. One of the reasons the shooters are close with the pilots is because the shooter is also a pilot - in my son-in-law's case he flew EP-3E models like the one we lost in Hainan Island to the Chinese (4-engine turboprop high altitude version of the Lockheed Orion sub-hunters) - NSA work - electronic eavesdropping over Bosnia and Iraq - then a tour as a flight instructor in Pensacola and now serving the mandatory sea tour before he's ready for his own command. They were flying my son-in-law back and forth to the Enterprise and other carriers on S-3s during his shooter training and I'd bet your brother gave him a ride at least once.

Bless 'em one and all for the work they do. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/patriot.gif" alt="" />

Frank

ATF +III or Diamond III was specifically engineered for that next generation of transmission, anything less and you are toast. ATF +III is now the most commonly available version anyways and runs great in older rigs.

Ok, I found that it requires "SPF-3" fluid. Honda Mitsu and Toyota uses it. I haven't seen it in parts stores. I also called a freind at Mitsu and you can use Mercon-Dexron III if you buy the additive fluid from Mitsu to put in with it.
So Mercon-Dexron III or SPF-3 is ok if thats what he accidentally put in it. If it wa ATF+3, Mercon V, type A or type F ect. Then it will require a full fluid flush. Do not drive it far with the wrong fluid as it can disinterate seals and cltches. I see this problem w/ Fords all the time.

Gentlemen, thank you!

I will relay this info, and hopefully he used Type III as the replacement fluid, and just needs to add the addative. If not, hopefully he didn't drive it. I can't seem to reach his wife to find out what's going on.

I will post what happened when I hear.

Thanks again!

Jim

P.S.
Don, my brother, trained in the T-45 in Pensacola, went to Kingsville, TX for jet school, and came back to NAS Coronado (San Diego) to learn the S-3, but then he went back east again and now he's based out of NAS Jacksonville. He was a 2000 Academy grad, so that would have put him in Pensacola around '01 or 02.

ATF+4 has been out for several years.
Dimand star and Diamond III are not the same either.

Good grief! He certainly opened a can of worms, didn't he. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

This is almost as bad as the last time he tried to change the oil on his old Honda Prelude - when he took off the old oil filter the gasket stuck. When he put on the new filter on and went off racing back to base (from my parents house in Laguna Niguel to San Diego) the oil blew out through the two gaskets and he seized the engine right in the middle of Camp Pendelton on the 5 freeway.

I could tell you a few more, but he's got about five inches on me and can put up twice my weight on the bench press. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/mrt.gif" alt="" /> Just in case he reads this, I will shut up now.

Thank you, again, for the info.

Jim