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I have been advised to do as much of the work that my Corvette needs myself. My 2007 A6 3LT Base is really very easy to work on, so far. Oil changes, Brake Rotors & Pads, Vararam CAI install, and servicing minor electrical problems. I have now decided to order a set of QuickJacks for work in my hangar. The hangar has a large work area, smooth flat floor and a Large array of tools ... I mean, outfitted for Building Airplanes from scratch. Full-on, especially after inheriting a whole second set from my Father-In-Law.
After Tracking, I want to change the Fluids. ALL of Them. The Auto Trans Fluid seems to be the most daunting job. There is a good YouTube video regarding this. Car had 51,700 mi when I bought it a year ago. Now has 67,000 mi. Tracked once.
Do you folks who do your own work usually also do this job?
In my area the Chevy and GM dealerships are not really equipped/trained to work on Corvettes, and the Corvette-Only Specialty Shop is way over in Denver (Corvette Connection - https://www.facebook.com/CorvetteConnection/ - not convenient.)
You can definitely change your own trans fluid. While my car is a manual, change the auto trans fluid won't be much more difficult.
Typically, for an auto, you need to drop the pan to drain the fluid as most autos don't have a drain plug. Not sure about the auto trans in your vette. But you do need to drop the pan regardless to change the filter.
The refill is not difficult. There will be a fill port usually on the side of the trans. You just use a hand pump to pump in fluid until it starts to spill out of the port; that's how you know it is at the proper level. On some auto transmissions, the refill is a little different but still very similar. Some autos have a pseudo tran plug that extends up above the pan. You then fill the trans as normal with a certain amount of fluid, then run the car while on jack stands on a level surface until the trans is at a certain temp. Then the plug is removed and any excess drains out.
Just follow the procedure for your trans and it will be fine. All the other fluids (powersteering, brake fluid, coolant) are also easy to change.
I wrote this up a few years ago, because there was too much wrong info being passed around by people who had never done their own work and some really poor Youtube videos. https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...tructions.html
I made a simple tool to remove and install the filter seal and a couple other members improved on it and offered their solutions for the hard to reach pan bolts.
The last time I did a fluid change, I used a ratcheting combination wrench with a swivel on the box end for the PITA bolts. ($20 for set of 5 at HF)
While still able and only 73, I prefer to do all of the maintenaace on any of my vehicles for what I consider excellent reasons. Beyond the obvious economy, you know for a fact the work has been done. With you tube, virtually every procedure is available to you and even allows one to sort out the good from the bad. You end up with a better understanding of your vehicle and can soon learn to see something in time to head it off from bad endings. All of this is simple maintenance because the dealers have to do it. Convince yourself that your fluids and filters were actually changed and changed properly the next time the dealer does it for you. Spend your money for uncertainty if you care to. I still have mine.
I have an auto 07 that I track as well. While I did drop the pan to replace the filter when I bought the car, It's a pain. When tracking your car you'll get the tranny really hot and I personally want to change that ATF more often than perhaps normal. I'd recommend two tricks.
First, with the car off you'll get a few quarts out of the tranny just by removing the overflow plug. So if you want to replace a little at a time, it's possible. But if you want to get fluid back into the tranny you need a pump... so stick that hose inside the fill hole and pump out all the oil you can. This will remove as much oil as dropping the pan (except you cant clean the magnet) and save you a few hours. I do this after 3 or 4 track days to make sure there's always some fresh fluid in there.
BTW, wait until your fuel senders die. You won't think "this car is easy" at any point of that repair....
Last edited by SkittlesRgood; Jul 11, 2019 at 09:29 PM.
I have an auto 07 that I track as well. While I did drop the pan to replace the filter when I bought the car, It's a pain. When tracking your car you'll get the tranny really hot and I personally want to change that ATF more often than perhaps normal. I'd recommend two tricks.
First, with the car off you'll get a few quarts out of the tranny just by removing the overflow plug. So if you want to replace a little at a time, it's possible. But if you want to get fluid back into the tranny you need a pump... so stick that hose inside the fill hole and pump out all the oil you can. This will remove as much oil as dropping the pan (except you cant clean the magnet) and save you a few hours. I do this after 3 or 4 track days to make sure there's always some fresh fluid in there.
BTW, wait until your fuel senders die. You won't think "this car is easy" at any point of that repair....
If you choose to do what you propose, at least run the engine enough to get the fluid warmed a little bit, but less than 104 F and pull the bottom plug. If the previous fill and check was done correctly, there won't be but a trickle when the plug is removed. Then you can shut off the engine and the fluid will drain out without creating a mess or having to be under the car when it drains. The catch bucket can be tight up to the pan to avoid any spill.
You don't need a pump to get fluid back in, if you have enough guts to follow the easy method I linked in post #3. You also might consider modding the tool I showed with a link in the same post to save you time and effort around the hot exhaust pipe to remove and replace the fill plug.
It's a lot easier to siphon fluid out of the pan vs pump it out. But either way you will still have at least 1/2 quart remaining in the pan because of the pan design directly below the fill port.
To avoid having to go through the check process to get the correct amount of fluid back in (after not dropping the pan) just let what you drained get back to room temperature and measure it. Then simply add the same amount of new fluid.
Since you seem to be having a problem getting the fluid too hot on the track, try going to two coolers plumbed with a manual valve between them, so only one cooler is used for normal street driving by just turning the valve.
Doing All your own Maintenance
