I was just looking over my service records and It appears it's been about 20k miles since my last tranny service. Since I'm outta work until the end of the month I might as well get some things done. ...or so says the wife :)

Anyways, I have a couple of quick questions.

What's the best service kit? (AC DELCO, FRAM, ETC)
What's the best (and right) transmission fluid?
How much Tranny fluid will I need?
Should I change it when it's still cold or should I drive it around and get it hot 1st?
Is the pan going to unbolt right off or is there going to be something in the way that needs to be removed 1st?
Anything else I should do while I've got the pan off?

Thanks in advance.

 

I would be curious to know the answer to this also.

 

What's the best service kit? (AC DELCO, FRAM, ETC)

I would go with the AC Delco parts. There are some filters out there that have a longer neck on them and when you put them in they won't seat right and when you put the pan back on will cause it to rock on the filter and possibly crack the neck of the filter.


What's the best (and right) transmission fluid?

I think I heard on the forum here that the B&B Trick Shift was the best but I used Valvoline's best fluid for car's with higher mileage. I can't remember the exact name but you will know it when you see it. Your manual will tell you the type if your not sure.

How much Tranny fluid will I need?

On my 85' ( the 700R4 ) it took about 4.5 US quarts with the filter change.

Should I change it when it's still cold or should I drive it around and get it hot 1st?

I would get it at least warm first but not hot. If it's hot and it get's on you.....well you know.

Is the pan going to unbolt right off or is there going to be something in the way that needs to be removed 1st?

On mine there wasn't anything in the way. You just take out the front and side pan bolts and loosen the back approx. 4 turns and let it drain a little from the front. Then while hold it up, take the back bolts off and remove the pan.

Anything else I should do while I've got the pan off?

Yes, you definetly need to clean the pan, inside and out, while you've got it off, taking note of anything metal in the pan( which may indicate something bad). Make sure you clean the gasket off both mating surfaces really well before you put it back together. Also when you put the pan back on make sure you use some sort of alternating pattern when tightening the bolts. Add fluid about a half a quart shy of the reccomended amount, run it until it gets up to normal operating temperature, then check for additions. I don't know if your manual goes into detail about how to check the level but I have a haynes manual and it goes into much detail about what the level should be on the dipstick for cool, warm and hot.

Anyway that's the best I can tell you and as always take your time and have plenty of frosty beverages available.

:cheers:

 

The only thing I can add is that a transmission mechanic advised me not to have the reverse transmission flush done. It can cause problems if the fluid and filter have not been changed often.

 

all i can add is to check the pan about a week after you do it , as sometimes they develop a drip .

 

did it yesterday with an ac delco kit.

The one problem that i thought i had was with the filter. the neck of the filter was much shorter than the stock neck and the filter was a different shape than the original so i thought that they had sent me the wrong kit - but i called and they did send me the right kit.The stock filter only had an o-ring to seal it (if this ring does not come out when you remove the filter then you must manualy remove it - i washed my hands then used my fingers to remove it). Any way the seal on the new filter is muck bigger and appears to be threaded - but its not. Put a little bit of all purpose grease (and i mean a little) around the seal. When you insert the filter it may not seem like it is going in - you will need to use a little pressure and you may need to tap on it with a rubber mallet (just below the stem) or in my case the palm of my hand. You'll know when it correnctly inserted because it will firmly in place, rather than just dangling like it will fall out.

Other things to watch for - make sure you have a wide enough drip pan - if not steal a roasting pan from your wife like i did and use that :reddevil

After the car was off the ground it took me about 1 hour - make sure you lightly scrape all of the gasket from the two surfaces that will mate. Also i pre-threaded all of the bolts through the pan and gasket before installing the pan. The gasket seemed to hold them all in place. I used a floor jack to hold the pan in place while i threaded the bolts (and i used the floor jack to let the pan down when i removed it because their will be lots of fluid left in the pan when you fully remove it.) Good luck!

:cheers:


[Modified by luck38, 4:58 PM 7/13/2002]