child_of_fire

i decided to change out my differential and trans fluid in my 09 mn6 today. with only 12k miles on the car the differential fluid was muddy and dark. glad to have changed it. got just about 2 quarts in. and about the same amount out.

as for the trans though, as soon as i removed the FILL plug the fluid started pouring out. i would estimate about a half quart perhaps that came out just from removing the fill plug. keeping in mind the car was level. i probably drained about 4 quarts total but was only able to get back in roughly 3.5 quarts. is this acceptable? did the factory over fill? it must have been filled past the fill line if it came out of that plug right? or is it possible that the fluid expanded because it was warm and i put it back in cold? would that account for that inaccuracy?

i also started the car, put it in gear, and let the wheels spin for a few moments to circulate the fluid and then when i rechecked the level it was still at the fill plug hole level. but then i noticed that the "Service active handling" and the ABS malfunction light came on after spinning the wheels in the air. The error message has since gone off after driving it normally on the road.

did i do anything wrong?

VET4LES

Sounds like you did a good job. Does it shift any different? What oil did you use?

child_of_fire

went with royal purple.. not sure if i notice a difference.

JJC5

The active handling will come on and you will get warning lights but did you turn traction control off before you ran it up in the air? You did not hurt anything.
Everything you did was correct, by the way and I would say that the trans was over filled slightly. I would rather have it that way than too low though.

child_of_fire

no i forgot to turn traction off. did nt even think of it. do i have to reset anything or will the error code correct itself?

also, how would i fill it more than the fill hole if it just come out? how did the factory do it?

Rocketmanwpb

Same thing happened to me when I drained my tranny. If the car had been driven prior to the fluid change it was warm and had expanded.

Kvothe

JJC5

It will reset..you're good. In fact, it resets immediately.
I agree with the other poster too that the fluid was warm and had expanded. You filled yours cold so it would do the same thing once you warmed it up and drained it.

SSMOKE

My 07' has 11K miles and I just did the change yesterday. The owner's manual says that my car (Z06 w/T56 trans) takes 4.5 quarts. Many responses to the DIY thread indicate that the trans generally takes only 3.25 to 3.75 quarts to bring it to the fill plug. That leads me to believe that 1.25 to .75 quart(s) of the old fluid does not drain? I drove the car around a long block to warm up the trans fluid thinking that more fluid would drain if it was warm.

Like the OP, I opened the FILL plug first and fluid shot out all over my face. (Luckily the fluid temp was just above ambient.) Ultimately, FIVE (5) quarts came out!

Then it only took 3.75 quarts of fresh AMSOIL Torque Drive Synthetic ATF. Like the OP I was puzzled. My guess is that, it was a little bit over filled and the fluid volume changed due to the slight heat? It is still sort of a mystery and a pretty common mystery. Also, like the OP, I started the car and cycled through some gears while it was in the air and rechecked.

Either way, the fluid was milky and I am glad to have it changed. What I don't want is leftover old OEM fluid mixed with the new AMSOIL.

truckplay

the light came on because only 2 wheels were turning. don't forget to do @ 5-10 figure 8's to let the fluid get into the clutches in the diff or it will make NOISE

child_of_fire

i may have gotten squirted in the eye with royal purple but i did remember to do the figure 8's.

Steel Curtain

I hope you thoroughly flushed your eye with cool water.

LPT2011

OK ... but why would you change the transmission fluid on a manual It's not listed in any of the maintenance schedules in the manual :
Manual Transmission Fluid
It is not necessary to check the manual transmission fluid level. A transmission fluid leak is the only reason for fluid loss. If a leak occurs,
take the vehicle to the dealership service department and have it repaired as soon as possible. See Recommended Fluids and Lubricants on page 443 for the proper fluid to use.

Auto trannies ... yes every 50K miles, but not necessary on a M6

not08crmanymore

That's what I was gonna say.Isn't it a sealed unit therefore no change necessary??

unixcorn

There are a host of reasons to change the fluid in a manual transmission. Besides normal wear and tear on the fluid, usually fresh fluid provides a smoother shift. If I had the means (place to work, tools), I would change my fluid early as well.
The unit is sealed only in the sense that it has seals and should never lose any fluid. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't maintain it if you choose to.

child_of_fire

i was just going to change the differential only but figured why not do the trans as well since it was up in the air and it was simple enough. trying to improve shift quality.

seamus2154

Because unlike some German cars that micro polish their gears our gears mesh and break in together. The break in produces some metal and there is no filter. Do you want any metallic fluid meshing in your trans? Will it cause issues.. maybe? will it blow up..doubt it. But I would think once broken in fresh fluid is better for the rest of it's life. If you have ever replaced differential gears they explain to drive a certain speeds for certain times, cool down and the after 50 miles replace the fluid. Why? The meshing causes metal from the two mating gears. The diffs fluid looks worse but the trans needs it also. I do all of my vettes but only once did the trans fluid look nasty and so I continue my maintenance. It cost so little for less possible issues.

LPT2011

GM specs and full warranty are covered if you NEVER change it

I really would believe that shift "smoothness" has infinitely more to do with your clutch mechanism than the transmission fluid

beepster

C66 Racing

You didn't do anything wrong on either count.

I suspect the tranny was a combination of the factors you mention. The tranny will take about 3.5ish qts, so you are fine.

I forget the exact parameters that cause either service active handling or active handling warming up messages, but when the front and rear wheels spin at different rates, that is one of them. As long as the warning doesn't come back on the street, you should be fine.