I looked at my auto trans fluid for the first time today, and thought I was looking at the engine oil. I then checked the engine oil, it actually looks the same colour, like a cleanish engine oil, kinda light brown I guess. I thought it was supposed to be bright red, is this bad ???? My auto seems to work very nicely, the only problem I have with it is on a cold morning, i reverse out the driveway, put it in drive, the car rolls forward, but then when i squeeze the accelerator there is a slight delay before it hooks up and then jerks a tad, but then it works totally fine.

Man id be getting that flushed out pronto, its supposed to be red!

']Man id be getting that flushed out pronto, its supposed to be red!

Dexron type transmission fluid is red in colour. The **** your mitsubishi auto trans needs (3rd gen at anyrate) is light brownish in colour. If your gearbox isn't playing up - then you probably don't need to touch it.

Bit confused, you mean Mitsubishi fluid is supposed to be light brown because it doesnt use the typical Dexron fluid???

Mitsubishi ATF is Dextron based but has additives. Which is why you should NEVER EVER PUT DEXTRON IN YOUR MAGNA.

Castrol TQM-ST is fine to use in Magna's but you can get genuine Mitsu Auto Trans fluid for cheaper from their parts department.

You need to use the Mitsubishi fluid.

The auto plays up if you don't.

Its not any more expensive so there is no reason not to use it.

However mine is red. It was red out of the bottle and its red in the auto.

Rob

You need to use the Mitsubishi fluid.

The auto plays up if you don't.

Its not any more expensive so there is no reason not to use it.

However mine is red. It was red out of the bottle and its red in the auto.

Rob

Fair enough, My experience was with a TJ series 2 auto. The trans was playing up so got it flushed and renewed by mitsubishi dealer and the fluid was light brownish immediately after the trans service (and the problems it had been exhibiting were gone).

So we have light brownish and red. hmmm. maybe some mitsubishi dealers are not putting the correct fluid in ???

So we have light brownish and red. hmmm. maybe some mitsubishi dealers are not putting the correct fluid in ???

Well i have a 2nd gen like yours, and yeah, I'm telling ya' its red:P

should be a pinkish color - even reds too dark

Fair enough, My experience was with a TJ series 2 auto. The trans was playing up so got it flushed and renewed by mitsubishi dealer and the fluid was light brownish immediately after the trans service (and the problems it had been exhibiting were gone).

I got a bottle of 1L Mitsu Auto Trans Fluid and its red... and i had my transmission serviced at an auto garage not long ago and its red... the only time it was light brown was before my service.

I can confirm too that the colour definitely should be red/pink. I have flushed my transmission a few times and each time filled it with the Mitsubishi fluid and it works really well. If the fluid has turned brown, most likely the gearbox is on its way out and is losing friction material from the clutches. I had the same problem a while ago, and the fluid appears to be turning brown again in mine also after only 3 weeks... so most likely box is slowly giving out as it does seem to have pretty sloppy response these days :(

Fair enough, My experience was with a TJ series 2 auto. The trans was playing up so got it flushed and renewed by mitsubishi dealer and the fluid was light brownish immediately after the trans service (and the problems it had been exhibiting were gone).

I can understand what he is saying there. I had mine 'flushed' at a dealer but it was not done properly, slightly brown. Next time i had it done they did it properly and was red....still is.

Shieet, if the transmission fluid is red then that's what the liquid is forming under my car :cry:
if it's leaking fluid is it most likely a serious problem? or perhaps something loose and it's seeping out?

Shieet, if the transmission fluid is red then that's what the liquid is forming under my car :cry:
if it's leaking fluid is it most likely a serious problem? or perhaps something loose and it's seeping out?


Power steering fluid is the same colour


What colour is leaking?

Power steering fluid is the same colour


What colour is leaking?


It's a reddish sort of colour, very blood looking when it's on the concrete actually...lol my first thought was "my car is bleeding!!" (it sounded logical initially...until i realised i was talking about a car!)
The area it's coming from is more towards the front, probably 1/2-3/4 way into the engine, perhaps even as far back as the firewall, if that makes it any easier to identify.

Shieet, if the transmission fluid is red then that's what the liquid is forming under my car :cry:
if it's leaking fluid is it most likely a serious problem? or perhaps something loose and it's seeping out?
Both the transmission and the power steering have dipsticks to check the level.

Why not check that and then at least you have an idea which is leaking.

Rob

Put some newspaper under the car for a night or so, then in the morning check for any spots of fluid to work out where the source is. If it's back towards the firewall, it is likely the power steering. If it's closer to the front it could be the transmission sump or one of the transmission cooler lines leaking. Regardless, either system leaking fluid is not a good thing.

ok well i guess i have a good and a bad or a bad and bad depending how you look at it.
The reddish colour seems to be coming from the power steering since the transmission colour is now a light'ish brown. Also the power steering colour is getting somewhat close to the minimum levels...I'll hae to fill it up and take it to a reputable place to see what they can do. The good, i'm assuming fixing the power steering would be cheaper than fixing the gearbox but (the bad) now that means the gb needs to the flushed pretty soon....Lets hope the gb isn't dying and going to turn the new fluid to a darker colour any time soon.

Ruskie I rang an auto place to ask about gettign my auto flushed, and I asked him about the colour, he reckons the lightish brown is just because it hasnt been changed in a while. If its dark than id say its an issue, if its just light brown, probably no damage but old oil, though I guess it would be best to get it flushed to completely replace the oil with some fresh stuff fairly soon.