I recently purchased a 1990 bronco for 200.00. The guy told me that the tranny was recently acting up. I drove it a month ago and the tranny was working fine, so I'm boggled about this new problem. When I put it in gear the engine idle shot up and the tranny didn't engage immediatly. It did engage sort of but, I could not go over 25 mph. If I step on the gas the tranny disengages and will not come out of 1st gear even when the truck manages to reach the shift point. When I got it to my place I took a look at the tranny fluid and it looks like motor oil. Also the dip stick was too hot to touch for more than a couple seconds with out gloves. I asked the previous owner if he knew anything about it and he said that he hadn't put oil in the tranny. He didn't leave me feeling confident with his anwser. Anyway, I'm going to put the engine into a ford pick-up for now but I want to keep and repair the bronco. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm going to try to flush the tranny and replace the filter/fluid but I've never heard of tranny fluid turning thick and black like motor oil. I know the person who owned the bronco before the guy I bought it from, and I know that he didn't have any problems with it for the 5 years that he owned it. It has always been a gas hog but has run tough since the first time I saw it until now. Any how, I'd sure appreciate some suggestions/help. Oh, one more thing. The dip stick has a rusty paste on the upper end of it. It seals well so I'm confused about this also. Is this normal?

 

Tranny oil thats thick and black and maybe smelly. The transmission needs to come out and be overhauled. Don't bother with a flush and new oil would be a waste.