Hi folks,

I own a 1999 Montero sport XLS, it has 106000 miles on it and decided to take it in for some work at the dealership recommended by the owners manual. Included were flushing the transmission with new fluid. After I picked up the car and drove it on a road trip about 120 miles round trip the nuetral transmission light on the panel was flashing and I felt that the car was acting a bit funny.
I took it into the dealership again and they say I have to change the fulid holding pan for the transmission to a larger capacity.

Have you folks experienced anything like this?

I know that back in 2000 it was I have to take the car in based on a recall notice to upgrage something with the transmission and the blinking light, it took care of the problem till now.

 

What exactly was done when you took your Sport in for the recall repair? When you say the car was acting a bit "funny", can you expand on that a bit? Finally, have you been changing your transmission fluid regularly? Thanks.

 

Here is some info on this from themonterosportonline.com FAQ section:

Q- After prolonged high speed driving or prolonged driving through mountainous regions with moderate to heavy loads, the Neutral (N) light will begin to flash in the dash (4wd models use a flashing A/T light). What does this mean, what should I do about it and what can I do to prevent this from reoccuring?

A- Basically, that the trasmission controller's way of notifying you that your ATF has reached a temperature that is excessively hot. What you should do is pull over as soon as you safely can, shift the transmission into Neutral (N) or Park (P) and LEAVE THE ENGINE RUNNING as this will continue to pump the ATF through the transmission oil cooler to cool it. Leave the engine running untill the (N) stops flashing, then proceed.
To prevent this from happening again, have your ATF inspected for it's condition. If it is dark in color or smells burnt, have it flushed with the proper ATF. If your ATF condition is good, be ABSOLUTLY SURE THAT THE FLUID LEVEL IS ON THE MARK. Overfilling the transmission will cause "foaming" as the fluid is churned with all of the rotating parts. The foaming of the fluid will lead to extreme slippage and erratic shifting- not to mention premature wear of the internal clutch packs in the transmission. ATF should be checked WHILE HOT on a level surface with the engine running and the transmission in "N" (98 and older). In 99 and newer transmissions, you can check the fluid in either P or N. There is an updated transmission pan available for 99-01 model MS's that is deeper to keep the fluid further away from the transmission (to prevent foaming).
If you are constantly towing or driving under heavy loads or even continuous mountainous driving- adding an aftermarket transmission oil cooler has had many positive results in keeping the fluid temperatures in check and is MUCH CHEAPER than paying for the undated pan (should your vehicle be out of warranty).

 

What exactly was done when you took your Sport in for the recall repair? Back in 2000, the recall letter stated they will do an upgrade to the software, because I paid nothing. Before receiving the letter, I did experience the blinking light while towing a trailer through the mountain pass. After the visit to the dealer I never had any problems and did tow a loaded utility trailer several times over mountain pass and did many long drives through mountain passes.

When you say the car was acting a bit "funny", can you expand on that a bit? Transmission felt like not changing gears properly.

Finally, have you been changing your transmission fluid regularly? Never have since I owned the car and amount of miles it has. Maybe I shouldn't have since right after they put new fluid in I started having this problem of blinking light and over heating. What I asked the dealership is that could the grade and or viscosity of the fluid that the car came with from manufactures be different from what they are putting in?

adding an aftermarket transmission oil cooler has had many positive results in keeping the fluid temperatures in check and is MUCH CHEAPER than paying for the undated pan-
Can you please let me know where I can look for this part and who would be able to install such a part for me?