How To Recover a Flooded Transmission

The internal components of a vehicle and large amounts of water don’t make the best combination. Whether you experience a flood in your area or simply drove through a puddle that was way too deep, significant damage will likely occur to your vehicle’s important internal systems, including the transmission. To prevent rust, adhesive loss on the clutch, buildup, and other types of permanent damage from destroying the transmission, the owner must take immediate action in the case of transmission flooding. For tips on how to recover a flooded transmission before it’s too late, continue reading. 

Don’t Start Your Vehicle

If you think your transmission has flooded, avoid turning it on. Turning on a transmission that has experienced water damage will cause the water in the transmission fluid and oil to flow throughout the system. In doing so, further damage will occur. As such, you should tow your vehicle to a repair shop to refrain from turning it on.

Check the Water Level

The first step in recovering a flooded transmission is to identify the damage. To do so, check the water level in the transmission. In most vehicles, the only entrance point for fluid in the transmission is the transmission fluid dipstick. If water rises past the opening for the transmission fluid dipstick, most dipsticks won’t prevent it from entering the transmission. Thus, if the water level rose higher than the dipstick, you can assume that the transmission flooded.

Drain the Transmission’s Fluids

Even if the water level did not rise past the dipstick, you will likely still want to take precautionary measures—especially because it only takes an ounce of water in your transmission to cause serious issues. Healthy transmission fluid will have a clear pinkish color. If the transmission fluid has a milky or gray color, water has likely infiltrated it. If your vehicle has discolored transmission fluid, you will need to drain and replace it immediatel