1994 camaro z28 - 130,000 miles. tranny fluid is maroonish brown. i bought it with about 120,000 miles on it. i dont know if the original owner had done one or not. heard problems with people flushing and sludge ruining the tranny. should i flush it or just change the fluid???

 

My opinion, just a filter and replace the fluid that comes out. Since you don't know what's been done before you bought it, I wouldn't chance the flush.

 

i think u should wipe the dipstick on a rag a few times and take a pic of it in decent light and post it. depending on how brown it is, changing the fluid might kill the tranny.

if the fluid is burnt to the point that you shouldnt change it, the tranny is already dead but hasent figured that out yet.

 

If the sludge is the only thing holding it together, wouldn't you want to KNOW that, not just be guessing and holding your breath?

Flush and filter, when you drop the pan it will tell you more, whether it's just normal wear parts or little metallic bits floating around-

Clean fresh fluid will make your tranny last longer, and is cheaper than a rebuild- if you just got this vehicle and don't know the history, and it looks that bad, you may want to flush it now, and again in, say, 10 k miles or so, to help clean all the crud and varnish out-

 

or what might happen is,

you drain the pain, new filter fresh oil etc etc.... button it all up. put it in drive or reverse and find yourself having to lay out money for a tow truck.

if the fluid is really burnt and u change the screen and fluid there is a good chance it will die immediatly.

just be prepared