transmission pan bolts

ok I have a 2000 xls 4.L OHV I was doing an oil change and noticed that
there was two bolts missing from the transmission pan and a little fluid
on the pan so I went and bought the bolts and figured while I was there I
would do the filter too I get home get under the truck and all of the 16
bolts where loose I took all of them out buy hand changed the filter
cleaned the sludge out of the pan and put it all back together put 4
quarts in and the level was good and took it for a test drive its
definitely more responsive and shifts a lot smoother too I have 3
questions


1) how much sludge in the pan is normal for 100 K miles

2) why would it shift smoother if the fluid wasn't low

3) what would cause all of the bolts to loosen and is the a common problem

mab6680 wrote:
> ok I have a 2000 xls 4.L OHV I was doing an oil change and noticed that
> there was two bolts missing from the transmission pan and a little fluid
> on the pan so I went and bought the bolts and figured while I was there I
> would do the filter too I get home get under the truck and all of the 16
> bolts where loose I took all of them out buy hand changed the filter
> cleaned the sludge out of the pan and put it all back together put 4
> quarts in and the level was good and took it for a test drive its
> definitely more responsive and shifts a lot smoother too I have 3
> questions
>
>
> 1) how much sludge in the pan is normal for 100 K miles

Depends on usage and if the fluid was changed previously, some is
normal

> 2) why would it shift smoother if the fluid wasn't low

You put in some fresh fluid and a new filter which can make a
difference

> 3) what would cause all of the bolts to loosen and is the a common problem

Possibly someone before you did not torque the bolts correctly, or
perhaps they came loose on their own from the vibration of the engine.
I have seen bolts come loose before although its rare.