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'98 Regal GS trans oil pan..... 1st or 2nd revision?


iTurbo

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I'm planning on making the switch to Dex VI fluid and installing a new filter in the Regal GS soon. I looked under the car and there appears to be a large shallow dent in the transmission oil pan. I went to Rock Auto to look at buying a new pan, but they list both "1st revision" and "2nd revision". How to tell the difference so I order the right one?

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I'm planning on making the switch to Dex VI fluid and installing a new filter in the Regal GS soon. I looked under the car and there appears to be a large shallow dent in the transmission oil pan. I went to Rock Auto to look at buying a new pan, but they list both "1st revision" and "2nd revision". How to tell the difference so I order the right one?

Save a batch of money, knock the dent back out once the pan is off. This is commonly done to lightly-dented pans. Won't hurt a thing.

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i think it refers to the bolt size. To quote ZZP:

 

"Some Early model vehicles use a large 8mm bolt to hold the pan to the transmission. We have only seen this on some 97's and earlier vehicles. Please check the bolts in your early model transmission and select '97' if you have the 8mm bolts (standard is 6mm)"

 

Why replace the pan though?

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There is a large fairly shallow dent in the pan. While it doesn't leak right now I know it's going to piss me off if/when I try to put it back on and the gasket rail is distorted enough to not seal well. Perhaps I am overthinking it though. I'm going to go ahead and remove it and take a look at it before buying a new one. The new pan from Rock Auto is only about $18.

 

Thanks for the info though, I've been all over ZZP's site recently and missed that.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I finally got around to (trying) to change the transmission oil and filter today. Sure enough, I had to order a new oil pan from Rock Auto. I cleaned up the old pan and tried to beat the dents out of it but they were too severe. It looks like a previous owner or mechanic had tried to place a floor jack under it. It wouldn't even sit flat against the transmission after I unbolted it and got everything cleaned up.

 

New question though... Is there a trick to getting the old filter seal out? I didn't get one with the filter I got from ZZP so I ordered that from Rock Auto too. I really don't want to gouge the trans case getting it out so any tips here would be appreciated. It looks like it's all steel so I wonder if it really even needs to be replaced?

 

I also ordered a new magnet. The magnet I found in the pan was a small flat square that resembled a kitchen refrigerator magnet. The one I ordered from Rock Auto is a larger donut looking thing. Going to go with Dex VI fluid as well.

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Just re-use the old filter seal. I've never had an issue. You almost always end up doing more damage to the sealing surface trying to pry the old seal out than you would ever do by reusing the seal that's in there.

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Thanks guys!

 

Was also wondering if that small flat and flexible square magnet was stock? Seems kinda cheesy although there was some graphite colored grime stuck to it. Not much though, and other than that the old fluid looked really good and didn't smell too bad.

 

Opinions on switching to Dex VI??? Reading up on RegalGS.org it seems like the way to go...

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If you dont mind spending the extra money, definitely go DexVI. And yeah that small magnet is stock.The gray goo is clutch material, and mine was caked when i first dropped my pan.

 

You could also add a universal drain plug if drilling a hole in your new pan doesnt scare you. Makes future work much less messy. The best spot is here.

 

pan.jpg

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Jeez....I went to the dealership today and they quoted me $8.62/quart of Dex VI! They told me they do not carry the 4 quart jugs which I thought was odd. So it looks like I'll be ordering Dex VI from ZZP afterall as I'll save quite a bit even with shipping.

 

I have a ZZP shift kit too.... I've thought about installing it but not sure if should bother until after I see what the trans acts like after the new filter and Dex VI fluid is in. I have the old pan bolted up with four bolts just to keep the dirt/dust out until my new pan from Rock Auto shows up. It would be really easy to put the shift kit in now though..

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Got the new trans oil pan from Rock Auto yesterday, but it turned out to be the wrong pan. I called them up to get a return label and they refunded my money including shipping and told me to keep the wrong pan. I thought that was pretty cool but I still gotta find a pan. I had ordered the "ATP" pan but should have just got the AC Delco one.

 

Really thinking of biting the bullet and getting the ZZP aluminum pan which has cooling fins on the bottom and a drain plug. Expensive though.

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I think the ATP branded pan was just boxed wrong. The picture on Rock Auto website was correct for the 4T65 but the pan I got was squarish shaped.

 

Is your pan totally dent free? My old one had dents and it had distorted the pan gasket rail. I'm going on vacation in a few days and won't be back until June 21st, so I'm trying to hold off having anything shipped so stuff doesn't end up on my doorstep while I'm gone. Still trying to decide on the ZZP too.

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  • 1 month later...

FINALLY I got the Regal GS swapped over to Dex VI. I also installed a new trans oil pan, gasket, and the filter.

 

On the pan, I decided to get the cast aluminum one from ZZPerformance. This thing is NICE. The cooling fins are 1/2" deep and I believe there is a little more capacity as well. There is also an oil drain plug with a magnetic plug installed. I got mine a few days after ordering and powder coated it in wrinkle black last night and installed today. Working great so far.

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The Dex VI from WalMart (Super Tec brand) is GM Dexos approved (unless that's the oil specifcation), but it meets their standards anway, and it's only ~$4 per quart. I was skeptical at first being it was SuperTec, but everything I've read indicates that all Dex VI is about equal.

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