Tranny fluid / filter

[Rob95CS]

How hard of a process is it to drop the tranny pan and change the filter? I've never done this before. What tools am I going to need? Approximate cost? Am I gonna make a horrid mess?

[Robby1870]

Just take the 14? tranny pan nuts loose, drop the pan. When you drop the pan a lot of fluid is going to come out (~6quarts) so be ready. Take the filter out, and put the new one in. Check the magnet in the pan and clean it off (it collects metal shavings). Then take the old gasket off the pan/tranny and put the new one on, bolt it back up, put in about 6quarts of Dexron III fluid and you're good to go

[PaPaPooh]

Just take the 14? tranny pan nuts loose, drop the pan. When you drop the pan a lot of fluid is going to come out (~6quarts) so be ready. Take the filter out, and put the new one in. Check the magnet in the pan and clean it off (it collects metal shavings). Then take the old gasket off the pan/tranny and put the new one on, bolt it back up, put in about 6quarts of Dexron III fluid and you're good to go

 

i put 6 in mine and it is over full

 

becareful about how much you put in

[Robby1870]

I say 6 cuz its about 6. It was 6 the last time I did mine. But yeah, check it often after about 4 quarts.

[PaPaPooh]

you have a cooler right rob?

 

if so thats about an extra qt. over the ones w/o coolers i think IIRC

 

IIRC (iwould have to look in the ol service manual but mine is 6 qts. bone dry

[Intimidatorz34]

check it when its warm

[manitcor]

when dropping the pan lossen the bolts first and then take out a couple bolts on one corner so most of the fluid comes out one side and is easier to catch, other than that its pretty simple but kinda messy, have fun

[93CutlassSupreme]

the gasket on my 93 Cutty 4T-60E was reuseable

 

if the gasket is rubber with metal inserts, it is reusable

 

brake cleaner works good for cleaning the old brake fluid off the pan and the gasket mating surface

even though brake cleaner evaporates, wipe the pan when you are done anyway

 

don't just dump 6 quarts of fluid in the trans

add about 4, and then check it and fill as necessary with the engine running

[musthavemuzk]

when dropping the pan lossen the bolts first and then take out a couple bolts on one corner so most of the fluid comes out one side and is easier to catch, other than that its pretty simple but kinda messy, have fun

 

yes this is a verry good tip. th guy who has helped me on my last two cars told me to just start taking them out. he must have caught the look of concern and then explained how to do it with less mess as explained above. i was good after that.

 

Monty

[quaddriver]

How hard of a process is it to drop the tranny pan and change the filter? I've never done this before. What tools am I going to need? Approximate cost? Am I gonna make a horrid mess?

 

30 mins or less. 10mm pan bolts. clean the pan well, look for metal on the magnet. good time to add a drain plug.

 

when u yank the filter make sure the old seal comes out, else you gotta GENTLY pry it out of the aluminum case.lube up the new seal and put it in, make sure u get it in all the way.

 

you can overfill the 125c (3t40) and the 440t4 (4t60) by 2 qts with no worries.

[PaPaPooh]

How hard of a process is it to drop the tranny pan and change the filter? I've never done this before. What tools am I going to need? Approximate cost? Am I gonna make a horrid mess?

 

30 mins or less. 10mm pan bolts. clean the pan well, look for metal on the magnet. good time to add a drain plug.

 

when u yank the filter make sure the old seal comes out, else you gotta GENTLY pry it out of the aluminum case.lube up the new seal and put it in, make sure u get it in all the way.

 

you can overfill the 125c (3t40) and the 440t4 (4t60) by 2 qts with no worries.

 

haha yea i over filled mine and a week later it was burnt

 

and every shop (including the one i was r&r worker at) has said no more that 1/2 qt. because as i said above it will burn the fluid because of cavitation (you know the bubbles you get when over filled)

[joey b]

don't add a drain plug. It will just add another spot for it to leak.

[93CutlassSupreme]

you can overfill the 125c (3t40) and the 440t4 (4t60) by 2 qts with no worries.

 

why take the chance? the GM service manual, the GM owners manual, and the Haynes and Chilton manuals all do not recommend overfilling the 4T60E, so why do it?

 

it isn't that hard to just check the trans dipstick and put in the right amount of fluid

 

if anything, a little low on fluid is better than high

[quaddriver]

[

haha yea i over filled mine and a week later it was burnt

 

and every shop (including the one i was r&r worker at) has said no more that 1/2 qt. because as i said above it will burn the fluid because of cavitation (you know the bubbles you get when over filled)

 

I have never met a tranny shop that has not OK'd adding a little extra fluid. Im not talkin a shop that changes tranny fluid and perhaps trannys, but ones that actually take them apart. call 814 643 0616 tomorrow after 8am and the owner with 40 years experience will repeat exactly what I am about to tell you:

 

the thing to avoid is getting oil into the gear train. the larger the case, the more you can go until this is hit. There is technically no pan to geartrain difference between a 440t4, 4t60, 4t60E.

 

If you are low, you can and will suck air - if you do this at rpm and you lose pressure on any clutch: $1300+ rebuild due tomorrow. If you overfill a tranny, it will get rid of what it does not want - any cavitation will not be THAT bad unless you filled it to the top.

 

and point of order: GM had some problems with the filter boss on the 125c/3t40 case, where it would crack up in the filter pipe bore and suck air. The fix? add up to 3 more qts of oil and give the customer a different dipstick with moved hashmarks.

 

as for the drainplug issue....if you like valdezing the floor, dont bother, but a drain plug makes the change sooooooooooooooo much simpler. Properly installed, the drain plug will never leak (but the pan gaskets will. ) $4 from autozone &c and 10 mins extra time while the pan is off.

[93CutlassSupreme]

 

or, we could all just check the trans dipstick properly and use the correct amount of trans fluid, and not worry about over or underfilling

[dkorinko]

 

or, we could all just check the trans dipstick properly and use the correct amount of trans fluid, and not worry about over or underfilling

 

Good call!

[quaddriver]

 

or, we could all just check the trans dipstick properly and use the correct amount of trans fluid, and not worry about over or underfilling

 

heh heh I was waiting for someone to say that...on the E models, the cooling circuit has a thermo controlled switch. the cooling circuit can take an easy 1/2qt on the stock cooler. you have to check fluid hot, idling, in park, level. so if the dipstick reads full is the thermo open or closed?

 

moral: it is not an emergency that you have to sell the car or goto church if the dipstick reads high.

[GP1138]

If it makes anyone else feel better, my left axle seal is leaking, and I lose all my tranny fluid very slowly, and if I neglect to fill it, the car becomes more and more sluggish until I refill. It's very interesting to be on the highway and the car refusing to shift into OD, and then put ~4 quarts of fluid in and be squealing the tires again. It's almost like a constant fluid drain/flush and fill.

 

For those worried, I have the seal and will be replacing it on the first WARM day we have here. It only leaks when the car is sitting idling, not when it is off.

[93CutlassSupreme]

 

or, we could all just check the trans dipstick properly and use the correct amount of trans fluid, and not worry about over or underfilling

 

Good call!

 

you know, that's what i do

 

i drive the car for a while, then i park it on a level surface, my driveway, and then i check the fluid when the car is idling......and you know what? i don't have to worry about whether the trans fluid is low or high, and i don't have to argue with other people about whether it is okay to overfill the trans......i still don't understand why people tell others to overfill their trans, when it is a very simple procedure to check and add the right amount of fluid, as recommended by General Motors, the company that actually built the car, not some mom and pop trans shop.

[PaPaPooh]

 

you know, that's what i do

 

i drive the car for a while, then i park it on a level surface, my driveway, and then i check the fluid when the car is idling......and you know what? i don't have to worry about whether the trans fluid is low or high, and i don't have to argue with other people about whether it is okay to overfill the trans......i still don't understand why people tell others to overfill their trans, when it is a very simple procedure to check and add the right amount of fluid, as recommended by General Motors, the company that actually built the car, not some mom and pop trans shop.

 

true very true

 

but would you take your blown up trans to a shop that said to do that?

 

i know i wouldn't and if i had a trans rebuilt and found it messing up 2 weeks later and checked it and it was over filled i would be mad about having the car down and out of commission for a second time because i had to take it back

 

good call though!! :!:

[93CutlassSupreme]

true very true

 

but would you take your blown up trans to a shop that said to do that?

 

i know i wouldn't and if i had a trans rebuilt and found it messing up 2 weeks later and checked it and it was over filled i would be mad about having the car down and out of commission for a second time because i had to take it back

 

good call though!! :!:

 

i wouldn't overfill my trans if a shop told me to

 

its common sense really. when the fluid is at the full mark on the dipstick, don't add more fluid. somehow, others have a problem understanding that

 

i wonder if these same people overfill their oil by 2 quarts, and add coolant until it is at the brim of the surge tank...

[93CutlassSupreme]

This is the way my OWNERS MANUAL tells me to check the tranny fluid, and its the way I do it, and I never have any problems..

 

1. start car and let idle for 5 min

2. with brake applied shift through each gear

3. Check tranny fluid in park

 

easy shit 8)

 

the GM SERVICE MANUAL, and the HAYNES AND CHILTON'S REPAIR MANUALS also list the same procedure for checking the trans fluid

 

once again, i don't understand why people are obsessed with overfilling their transmissions

[quaddriver]

, and i don't have to argue with other people about whether it is okay to overfill the trans......i still don't understand why people tell others to overfill their trans, .

 

point of order, I never once said TO overfill the trans, I said you COULD overfill it and followed that up more than once that you do not have to panic if the dipstick ends up being a little high.

 

More than one poster in this thread has said, not suggested, but said that it was better to be low than high. Nothing could be further from the truth.

[PaPaPooh]

More than one poster in this thread has said, not suggested, but said that it was better to be low than high. Nothing could be further from the truth.

 

i guess you still can't read because not once did i see someone say it is better to have the fluid low than high

 

please point this out to me i would to see where it says low is better than high

[MaroonRegal]

/me thrusts arms.

 

I'll overfill your tranny. And not just with half of my shaft, either.