RubyRedCuttySup Posted July 4, 2004 Report Share Posted July 4, 2004 Hi, I've got a well-kept-up 1989 Old Cutlass Supreme coupe, with the 2.8 V6 and the hydramatic 4 speed. I've noticed that my owner's manual says nothing about ever changing the fluid/filter for my tranny. However, the previous owner got a flush/fluid change at 90,000 miles. The car now has close to 160,000 miles. The tranny is still running flawlessly, but i'm thinking about changing the fluid and filter. Will this prolong my transmission life? Could it mess it up? Most of all, is it worth it for about $85? Thanks dudes and dudetts, James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 4, 2004 Report Share Posted July 4, 2004 It will prolong the life of the tranny. But don't pay that much. Do it yourself. The tranny fluid will be around $10 and the filter and new gasket will be around $10 - $15. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby1870 Posted July 4, 2004 Report Share Posted July 4, 2004 yes, it will prolong the life of the tranny. No, its not worth $85.....do it yourself......very easy 3d1t: Geez, turbs, same time as my post, LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 4, 2004 Report Share Posted July 4, 2004 http://www.w-body.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17744&highlight=transmission+filter http://www.w-body.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16265&highlight=transmission+filter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteOut Posted July 4, 2004 Report Share Posted July 4, 2004 Hmm...I'd like to know where I can get a filter and gasket for $15, it cost me $26 whether I get it from NAPA, or GM. And last I looked transmission fluid was like $1.75-3.00 a qt. depending on which kind you get, and since you need 9 qts. thats at least another $15. Any ways, everytime I've done it the the job has cost me at least $40 in parts plus an hour of time. $85 doesn't sound too bad since GM charges $100 to have the service done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 4, 2004 Report Share Posted July 4, 2004 His 89 CS only takes 6 qts. @ $1.38 qt. =$8.28 + tax. Advance Auto has the filter and gasket for $12.88 + tax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyRedCuttySup Posted July 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2004 I'm no mechanic, I just fix simple accessory parts, belts, hoses, all that crap....kind of intimidated by even messing with the tranny. BUT I work at a GM dealership....hmmm.....let's say I buy the filter/gasket/whatever it is, and the fluid. I put the car up on the lift. Then exactly what? Seriously. That's how little I know about transmissions. I'll check my Chilton's manual, but If anyone can give me some basics, I'd appreciate it. Thanks for all the replies James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THe_DeTAiL3R Posted July 4, 2004 Report Share Posted July 4, 2004 I'm no mechanic, I just fix simple accessory parts, belts, hoses, all that crap....kind of intimidated by even messing with the tranny. BUT I work at a GM dealership....hmmm.....let's say I buy the filter/gasket/whatever it is, and the fluid. I put the car up on the lift. Then exactly what? Seriously. That's how little I know about transmissions. I'll check my Chilton's manual, but If anyone can give me some basics, I'd appreciate it. Thanks for all the replies James I don't know jack about transmissions either, they are complicated things with gears and stuff- I doubt many people here know much about the internal guts of them. Anyways.. kit comes with 1. Filter w/ a plastic sleave thing 2. Gasket (MAKE SURE ITS RUBBER, NOT CORK!!! (I bought NAPA kit) If you hadn't read any of those threads posted above, its quite simple and it should be in your Chiltons manual. If its NOT in your Chiltons throw it in the trash and buy a Haynes manual 1. Raise car 2. Slowly losen the screws one at a time on the transmission pan, so that you are able to have the part of the pan facing the back of the car drain the fluid first. Take out the screws slowly and let it drain as not to make a big mess. Remove all the screws and take the pan off. 3. Wipe out the pan and clean it good. There will be a small round magnet with a hole (like a donut) that should be on the pan. Remove it and clean off any goop. The goopy stuff is Very fine metal particles as I understand (just if you are wondering, I find it interesting). Clean the pan good especially the gasket surface. Don't forget to put the magnet back on the pan! 4. The filter is on the bottem of the tranny, you'll know what it looks like cause it will look the same as the one with the kit. Slowly twist and pull down to remove it (there are no screws or anything). Also replace the plastic thing on it that comes with the kit. Carefully put the new filter on. 5. Inspect the gasket you had on the car.. if it was a GM replacement it might be reusable, however I'd use the new one anyways to avoid leaks. 6. Put the pan and filter back on, tighten the bolts to 10-12ft/lbs or so (nice and snug if you don't have a torque wrench.. you can always tighten them up later) 7. Put in tranny fluid (check that first post for amount..) 8. Check tranny fluid level by running it for 5 min, shift through each gear and check in park with the engine running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutlsp Posted July 4, 2004 Report Share Posted July 4, 2004 aww shit another guy named james with a cutlass oh well at least his is a year newer then mine but mine is better i'll dig the tranny fluid swap up for my 88 cutlass since they are basically the same car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gp crazy Posted July 4, 2004 Report Share Posted July 4, 2004 Also you should use a cross pattern to tighten the bolts start in the middle and work your way out . i found out this work's well on any type of work like this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
god910 Posted July 4, 2004 Report Share Posted July 4, 2004 Don't know if it's been mentioned or not, but if the gasket that comes off is a rigid plastic like material, it's RE-USEABLE. And KEEP it, it's far better than cork or even rubber. Just make sure it's not broken or anything. Ask a fellow tech. they'll know if it's the good one or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canada Posted July 5, 2004 Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 I work at a GM dealership.....the only time we replace the filter is if the current ATF is seriously smoked.........99% of time trucks are the only thing bad enough to get a filter replaced. Every other time, its just a flush (we use Wynn's stuff...seems to work well, I've done it to my car...125k miles)......you end up replacing about 80-85% of the fluid verses only 4-5 quarts (25-30%) with pan removal and filter replacement. Between the detergant in ATF and the fact that you don't have to deal with combustion and all the depoists as you do with an engine....the filter simply isn't that big of a factor. The Wynn's flush kit includes a bottle of stuff to dump into the trans to help clean it out......put that in, and run the vechile for a few minutes. Then hit flush on the machine (this machine gets connected in paraelell with the transmission cooler) and wait for all the new ATF to be pumped in as the old is being pumped out. Wynn's also has a bottle of what they call shudder gaurd.......not exactly sure what it does....or even if its effective.....but its supposed to firm shifts up. Granted, this flush doesn't replace 100% of the fluid in a trans, but its better than just removing the pan and replacing what drained out. You shouldn't worry about hurting your transmission by getting a flush done either........its only going to improve things (like shifts, fuel economy, and trans life). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joey b Posted July 5, 2004 Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 can't beat the way a flush jams all those small particles back into the tranny vavles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canada Posted July 5, 2004 Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 How so? Do you know of a better way to replace as much fluid? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joey b Posted July 6, 2004 Report Share Posted July 6, 2004 do a pan drop...then a flush. But why do you need to change ALL the fluid at once? It is a completely different consistency and it is rumored that such a change in the fluid also leads to the death of the tranny. Don't know about all that, but if you feel a need to change 100% of the fluid I would do the pan drop followed by the flush. Maybe more money and effort than you would like, but worth the time and money of changing the tranny out in a couple of months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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