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Manual trans fluid change

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Old Sep 4, 2018 | 01:31 AM
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Default Manual trans fluid change

i was checking the maintenance schedule in the manual of my ‘14 z51. it said to change the fluid in the manual tranny at 75k miles or four years. i only have 13k miles but going on five years. when i checked about the fluid and amount needed the manual just says see dealer. what’s up with that? what are people using and how much is needed for a simple drain and refill on a maual tranny?
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Old Sep 4, 2018 | 02:50 AM
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Originally Posted by mmorse
i was checking the maintenance schedule in the manual of my ‘14 z51. it said to change the fluid in the manual tranny at 75k miles or four years. i only have 13k miles but going on five years. when i checked about the fluid and amount needed the manual just says see dealer. what’s up with that? what are people using and how much is needed for a simple drain and refill on a maual tranny?
just changed my fluid in my z51 ‘15 vette at 23k miles.

i bought 4 qts of GM/AC-Delco OEM Transmission Fluid 88861800. I believe it took 3.25 quarts before it starting pouring out of the fill hole.
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Old Sep 4, 2018 | 08:56 AM
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Here's a good thread. I just did mine on my '15 with 20k miles and used the Redline synthetic.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...d-service.html
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Old Sep 4, 2018 | 09:59 AM
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I just changed the M7 fluid with Mobil-1 Synthetic ATF. I used a 1 gallon pump spray bottle (garden dept , $5 at Walmart), and just unscrewed the spray tip. Much easier and less messy than using the plunger pumps that screw onto each bottle. With the 1 gallon spray bottle, you add all 4 qts of ATF, pump it up, and then hold the trigger on the spray wand to inject into the fill port.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/RL-Flo-Ma...rayer/13376324

I also added a high-power rare-earth disc magnet to the fill and drain plugs.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/MASTER-M...45HD/202526363

You should also change the gear-oil in the differential. I used the GM fluid. You need 3 qts.

Last edited by ersatz928; Sep 4, 2018 at 10:07 AM.
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Old Sep 4, 2018 | 10:23 AM
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With all my cars when they were new,I changed the manual trans fluid at 1000 miles.In the C7,the fluid had a silvery sheen which to me means the new gears were breaking in ( so to speak).It was also about 1/2 qt low.Did the diff soon after and it too had the silvery look and it too was low.

After the change,shifting was smoother.

Fluids are cheap......

\db2


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Old Sep 4, 2018 | 11:32 AM
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Here's a DIY thread I put together: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...d-service.html

You'll want 4 quarts/1 gallon of fluid. Redline D4 ATF is my choice, and feels great compared to the OEM stuff. Not sure what the deal is, but OEM manual transmission fluids outside of Honda's all feel like garbage to me and leave a lot of room for improvement on the table.

Last edited by Kracka; Sep 4, 2018 at 11:35 AM.
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Old Sep 4, 2018 | 12:26 PM
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thx everyone. looks like i need a gallon of fluid. i have already done the diff change but held off on the tranny. have had 5 other vettes with manuals and never changed the fluid in any of them. never had an issue and a friend of mine that had a business that serviced only corvettes and cadillacs, told me unless there was an issue, no need to change the fluid. having said that, my c7 is the first corvette i’ve had that the manual says to change the fluid after four years so that’s what i’m going to do.
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Old Sep 4, 2018 | 04:51 PM
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You can change it for peace of mind.Other than that no.
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Old Sep 5, 2018 | 08:22 AM
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It vastly improves shift quality. I do mine annually and you don't realize how badly its been worn until you get fresh fluid in there each time.
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Old Sep 5, 2018 | 10:00 AM
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Originally Posted by ersatz928
I just changed the M7 fluid with Mobil-1 Synthetic ATF. I used a 1 gallon pump spray bottle (garden dept , $5 at Walmart), and just unscrewed the spray tip. Much easier and less messy than using the plunger pumps that screw onto each bottle. With the 1 gallon spray bottle, you add all 4 qts of ATF, pump it up, and then hold the trigger on the spray wand to inject into the fill port.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/RL-Flo-Ma...rayer/13376324

I also added a high-power rare-earth disc magnet to the fill and drain plugs.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/MASTER-M...45HD/202526363

You should also change the gear-oil in the differential. I used the GM fluid. You need 3 qts.
Neodymium metal boron magnets have a tendency of losing strength under conditions above 200 degrees over time, and loose all if I remember right around 250ish. Although we should never get to that temp.
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