Bruticus Posted June 28, 2004 Report Share Posted June 28, 2004 Has anyone changed their own Tranny Fluid and if so is it easy to do ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joey b Posted June 28, 2004 Report Share Posted June 28, 2004 relatively easy, but getting that filter out is a major PITA. And I would plan on putting a drain plug in so that it will be a much less messy job next time. That is my intent when I do it again. I think you can get a tool from auto zone to make pulling the filter much easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THe_DeTAiL3R Posted June 28, 2004 Report Share Posted June 28, 2004 The filter isn't that hard if it's been changed at some point. Just SLOWLY twist while you pull GENTLY so you don't break the plastic fucker off. Other than that it's real messy so lay down some plastic under the car and wear old clothes. They have a good description of how to do it in Haynes manual. last thing: Don't use a CORK gasket!!!! I about a month ago I replaced mine with a NAPA one (rubber) and it seems to be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heza Posted June 28, 2004 Report Share Posted June 28, 2004 dropping the pan is the best way. a plug is a horrible idea because the pan is flat and doesnt slope off anywhere like the oil pan does. either way, its messy. pan has to come off either way and continues to drip at the edges when off. the filter...pull and twist. if you break the filter stem off, dont sweat it. its happened to me every time ive changed the tranny fluid/filter. just grab the broken piece with a pliers and pull and twist. HOWEVER, if it decides to piss you off, it will break everywhere you try and grab it from. in that case, pry it out with a flathead and needlenose pliers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteOut Posted June 28, 2004 Report Share Posted June 28, 2004 Its not hard at all. Its just time consuming. Expect to spend about 2-3 hours or so if you've never done it before. There's a lot of bolts to undo which is the main pain here. Just loosen them all and then continue to loosen the bolts on the lowest side of the pan untill the fluid starts coming out. Its as simple as waiting for the fluid to come out at this point. Once thats done simply remove the rest of the bolts from the transmission pan. Clean out the pan itself paying special attention to the magnet attached to it. A flat head screw driver and some patience will work for removing the filter, when the filter comes off make sure to remove the old plastic grommet as well and use the new one that came with the filter. Once you've got the new filter in just clean the gasket surfaces well with a paper towel and bolt the pan back into position, make sure you've put the magnet back in the pan, and that its in about the same spot, nothing sucks worse than tightening 17 billion bolts and realizing you forgot to put the magnet back in. After you've got it bolted back together add about 7 quarts of fluid. At this point start the car and move it through the gears one at a time slowly. Put the car in neutral and check the fluid level, add as needed, and repeat going through the gears each time. I think I ended up using 8-9 quarts of transmission fluid both times I've done it on the 4T60e/4T65HD. Oh, and this may be a supersticial tip, but don't mix any sort of synthetic fluid with your old fluid. I used Valvoline Durablend fluid on my car after I got it and two weeks later a perfectly good transmission with no noticable faults blew itself up. It may have just have been a bad experience, but I for one will no longer be mixing old fluid and synthetic fluid of any kind in my transmission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THe_DeTAiL3R Posted June 29, 2004 Report Share Posted June 29, 2004 Each time I've dropped the pan the magnet on mine has a thick grease on it.. is this normal? I clean it off though.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo231 Posted June 29, 2004 Report Share Posted June 29, 2004 That's not grease, it's actually fine metal shavings that have been magnetized by the magnet. They're so small, they actually feel like a paste. Some amount is normal. It's just the way of the beast. You'd find some in your filter too if you cut it open and looked at it. As your transmission gets older, you'll probably find more and more as time goes on. I've got a 93 3.4L DOHC and 4T60e. My Napa guy told me I've got a reusable pan gasket and sure enough, it's the beefiest gasket I've seen. I've been using it now for the past 3 changes....just wondering if I'm alone in this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby1870 Posted June 29, 2004 Report Share Posted June 29, 2004 Ive never reused the "reusable" gasket. Not that using it is bad, Im just cant trust things that have been used once. Im sure many guys use them over and over Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteOut Posted June 29, 2004 Report Share Posted June 29, 2004 I've reused the OEM gasket everytime I've changed the fluid. No leaks yet, and the oldest one is a 92' Trofeo with almost 200k on it thats been through 3 fluid changes since its been in the family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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