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I got a 2006 with the 6-speed automatic. I've been watching some videos online about how to change the fluid and the filter. Some people are saying to put a block of wood and a jack underneath the differential and then bust loose the four large nuts that hold the cradle in place to allow that to come down enough to access the three or four bolts on the rearward side of the transmission pan. As you know there's three or four bolts that are slightly blocked by the aluminum cradle. I was wondering what the torque spec would be when I go to retighten those four large nuts and also what the torque spec is on the transmission fluid pan. And I've also heard that if the previous gasket wasn't leaking then don't bother to replace it but my filter kit came with a new gasket and I figured maybe I should just change it anyway, does anybody have any suggestions there? Thanks
Don't jack or support the car on the differential. It's aluminum and you can damage or crack the case.
If you need to lower the cradle to get to the bolts, just jack the car up using the cradle. Then put some jack stands on each side of the car at the jack points on the frame rails. You will need some jack pucks for this.
Then with the car supported that way, you can loosen the cradle bolts and lower the cradle.
Rear cradle bolt torque is 81 lb-ft. Trans pan bolt torque is 97 lb-in.
And if you have a new gasket, no reason not to use it.
Don't jack or support the car on the differential. It's aluminum and you can damage or crack the case.
If you need to lower the cradle to get to the bolts, just jack the car up using the cradle. Then put some jack stands on each side of the car at the jack points on the frame rails. You will need some jack pucks for this.
Then with the car supported that way, you can loosen the cradle bolts and lower the cradle.
Rear cradle bolt torque is 81 lb-ft. Trans pan bolt torque is 97 lb-in.
And if you have a new gasket, no reason not to use it.
Thanks for the torque specs. But I'm not understanding. If I have the rear of the car set up on the aluminum cradle itself, how could I lower it with the weight of the car on top of it? The jack under the differential wouldn't be supporting the whole weight of the car. The front wheels on ramps, and the rear body on jack stands was my plan, and then roll the rolling jack under the diff and apply a slight upward pressure to take the weight off the aluminum cradle and allow it to drop easier. Basically using the jack to hold the weight of the diff itself, not the whole car
Thanks for the torque specs. But I'm not understanding. If I have the rear of the car set up on the aluminum cradle itself, how could I lower it with the weight of the car on top of it? The jack under the differential wouldn't be supporting the whole weight of the car. The front wheels on ramps, and the rear body on jack stands was my plan, and then roll the rolling jack under the diff and apply a slight upward pressure to take the weight off the aluminum cradle and allow it to drop easier. Basically using the jack to hold the weight of the diff itself, not the whole car
There are jack points on the frame rails of the car just in front of the rear wheels and just in back of the front wheels. It is recommended to invest in a set of jack pucks that will fit in those four locations and allows you to safely jack up or support the car and not damage anything. You would not put the jack stands under the cradle; only use the cradle to jack the car up as it is designed to support the weight of the car.
The differential is not made to support the weight of the car and I would not risk damaging it.
Do a search on google for C6 Corvette Lift points or jack points. Tons of images of the proper jack, lift, and jack stand points to use.
Since this operation is on my summer schedule a while back I grabbed this pic off the web. Seems you can remove the 4 rear cradle nuts and jack the trans/diff up slightly with a board (2x10?) just aft of the leaf spring and gain access to the difficult pan bolts. I imagine a swivel socket helps too. With this method you probably can still have your stands under the cradle.
There are jack points on the frame rails of the car just in front of the rear wheels and just in back of the front wheels. It is recommended to invest in a set of jack pucks that will fit in those four locations and allows you to safely jack up or support the car and not damage anything. You would not put the jack stands under the cradle; only use the cradle to jack the car up as it is designed to support the weight of the car.
The differential is not made to support the weight of the car and I would not risk damaging it.
Do a search on google for C6 Corvette Lift points or jack points. Tons of images of the proper jack, lift, and jack stand points to use.
You're not understanding what I'm saying. The front wheels will be on ramps so the whole front of the car is supported. The rear is going to be on jack stands with the plastic pucks on the rearward body lifting points. So the entire car is going to be lifted in the air, the only thing the jack is doing on the differential is preventing it from dropping down too far it's not actually lifting the car up in the air
Since this operation is on my summer schedule a while back I grabbed this pic off the web. Seems you can remove the 4 rear cradle nuts and jack the trans/diff up slightly with a board (2x10?) just aft of the leaf spring and gain access to the difficult pan bolts. I imagine a swivel socket helps too. With this method you probably can still have your stands under the cradle.
I would not use the 2X12 method. Alternatively I would support the car frame at their locations and use the jack to control the cradle assembly. There should still be enough room to remove the oil pan bolts. It is a pita, its a shame the engineers didn't design this a bit better. One alternative going forward is using an aftermarket pan from LG Motorsports. What I like is increased capacity and easy to remove transmission oil through a drain plug. There is still a standpipe and center plug for getting the quantity correct. It is a bit expensive but for those of us that track our A-6's, it helps.
Transmission fluid change and torque specs
