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So I have 125k on my car and decided it was probably time to drop the pan. I've always had regular change-outs done on it but the magent in the bottom of the pan collects grit and needs to be cleaned and the filter has to be replaced. Here are a few thoughts on it.
First, most of the write-ups have this shown to be a pain. It wasn't that bad at all! Here's what I did. First order a Fram replacement AT filter kit. It comes with an IMPROVED filter and the gasket you'll need. Pick up 5 quarts of Royal Purple Max ATF from Pep Boys or the like. Also pickup some RTV and some Loctite for the bolts (I still don't get why people use RTV on their bolts. Loctite is made for bolt threads. RTV isn't.) Also get a large oil changing drain pan and a nice sized funnel with a small spout. The oil change pan will need to hold at least 5 quarts. I found a nice large one at Wal-Mart for a few bucks.
Don't just start yanking bolts out. Lift the car on one side and secure it. Chock the wheels, use the e-brake, put stuff under the wheels on that side, whatever you feel safe doing. Pull the transmission dipstick out to allow for extra airflow on top. Then whichever side is downhill take the bolts loose on that corner first. You'll get a nice stream of fluid and you can capture it all. The to get it flowing better loosen the other bolts but DON'T take them out yet. Once it has stopped draining into the pan, take the rest of the bolts loose and set them aside.
Take the pan off SLOWLY! It holds about 2 quarts of fluid and it'll make a HUGE mess if you just let it drop. Leave one bolt in and slowly take it loose, making sure to support the pan with your free hand. Lower it all into the drain pan. My gasket wasn't sealed or anything so it practically came right off. I used a sharp chisel to remove the rest but the pan has a ridge on it to help secure the gasket. Don't chip through this ridge! Go slowly. I then used a clean piece of steel wool to smooth down any minor nicks in the aluminium. Now clean the remaining fluid off this surface with a rag and apply some RTV to it. Stick the gasket down on it and clean excess RTV out of the holes. Set the pan aside to dry for a bit but first push the gasket down firmly all the way around to make sure there aren't any air pockets left between the mating surface and the gasket.
Now take out the old transmission filter. Oddly enough it's just sitting there, lightly shoved into the hole. Slowly wiggle the filter back and forth and apply slight pressure downward and it'll fall right out. Reverse this process to put the new one in and remember to use the small sealing piece of plastic that came with the kit. Now clean the excess fluid off the transmission mating surface. Apply RTV to the clean gasket side on the pan that we set aside earlier. Make sure to get it on the inside of the bolt holes because that'll provide a nice inner seal. Outside the bolts will allow fluid to leak out at the bolt holes. I first noticed this as a possibility when I went to take the bolts out and when they loosened, fluid started running out of the bolt holes!
Make sure you've cleaned the magnet in the bottom of the pan. That catches the extra grit from the transmission over time and it needs to be clean to do its job. Now push the transmission pan back into place and be sure not to wiggle it around. You don't want RTV coming loose and going into the transmission. That would be bad. Put some Loctite on each bolt and put a few bolts back into place at different points to hold it all into place. At this point you can just Loctite and torque the bolts back down normally. See the manual for torque specs. After this I left the car sit for a few hours to let the RTV harden before I poured oil based fluid onto it (in case of any oversplatter when I put the pan back on).
Now comes the fun part. I decided not to worry with the fill hole on the bottom of the transmission. I used the funnel to pour the fluid right down into the transmission dipstick hole. All 5 quarts went right in. Then I waited for awhile for the fluid to run down into the car to get an accurate reading on the fluid in the transmission. Royal Purple tech support told me all I'd need was 5 quarts. They were right. It was right on the money. Then I stick the dipstick back in and took it for a drive. Now check the fluid again once it gets warm and make sure the level is correct. Check for leaks.
Worked perfectly for me and only took a few hours. And since I used RTV on the gasket and Loctite on the bolts I don't expect any more leaks. The bolts originally must have had NOTHING on them because when I went to take the pan down the bolts were only FINGER TIGHT and I was lucky it hadn't developed into a huge leak on a long trip and burned my transmission up.
Not sure if this helps anyone. I just wanted to write it down so I'd have it handy next time I decided to do this. :)
First, most of the write-ups have this shown to be a pain. It wasn't that bad at all! Here's what I did. First order a Fram replacement AT filter kit. It comes with an IMPROVED filter and the gasket you'll need. Pick up 5 quarts of Royal Purple Max ATF from Pep Boys or the like. Also pickup some RTV and some Loctite for the bolts (I still don't get why people use RTV on their bolts. Loctite is made for bolt threads. RTV isn't.) Also get a large oil changing drain pan and a nice sized funnel with a small spout. The oil change pan will need to hold at least 5 quarts. I found a nice large one at Wal-Mart for a few bucks.
Don't just start yanking bolts out. Lift the car on one side and secure it. Chock the wheels, use the e-brake, put stuff under the wheels on that side, whatever you feel safe doing. Pull the transmission dipstick out to allow for extra airflow on top. Then whichever side is downhill take the bolts loose on that corner first. You'll get a nice stream of fluid and you can capture it all. The to get it flowing better loosen the other bolts but DON'T take them out yet. Once it has stopped draining into the pan, take the rest of the bolts loose and set them aside.
Take the pan off SLOWLY! It holds about 2 quarts of fluid and it'll make a HUGE mess if you just let it drop. Leave one bolt in and slowly take it loose, making sure to support the pan with your free hand. Lower it all into the drain pan. My gasket wasn't sealed or anything so it practically came right off. I used a sharp chisel to remove the rest but the pan has a ridge on it to help secure the gasket. Don't chip through this ridge! Go slowly. I then used a clean piece of steel wool to smooth down any minor nicks in the aluminium. Now clean the remaining fluid off this surface with a rag and apply some RTV to it. Stick the gasket down on it and clean excess RTV out of the holes. Set the pan aside to dry for a bit but first push the gasket down firmly all the way around to make sure there aren't any air pockets left between the mating surface and the gasket.
Now take out the old transmission filter. Oddly enough it's just sitting there, lightly shoved into the hole. Slowly wiggle the filter back and forth and apply slight pressure downward and it'll fall right out. Reverse this process to put the new one in and remember to use the small sealing piece of plastic that came with the kit. Now clean the excess fluid off the transmission mating surface. Apply RTV to the clean gasket side on the pan that we set aside earlier. Make sure to get it on the inside of the bolt holes because that'll provide a nice inner seal. Outside the bolts will allow fluid to leak out at the bolt holes. I first noticed this as a possibility when I went to take the bolts out and when they loosened, fluid started running out of the bolt holes!
Make sure you've cleaned the magnet in the bottom of the pan. That catches the extra grit from the transmission over time and it needs to be clean to do its job. Now push the transmission pan back into place and be sure not to wiggle it around. You don't want RTV coming loose and going into the transmission. That would be bad. Put some Loctite on each bolt and put a few bolts back into place at different points to hold it all into place. At this point you can just Loctite and torque the bolts back down normally. See the manual for torque specs. After this I left the car sit for a few hours to let the RTV harden before I poured oil based fluid onto it (in case of any oversplatter when I put the pan back on).
Now comes the fun part. I decided not to worry with the fill hole on the bottom of the transmission. I used the funnel to pour the fluid right down into the transmission dipstick hole. All 5 quarts went right in. Then I waited for awhile for the fluid to run down into the car to get an accurate reading on the fluid in the transmission. Royal Purple tech support told me all I'd need was 5 quarts. They were right. It was right on the money. Then I stick the dipstick back in and took it for a drive. Now check the fluid again once it gets warm and make sure the level is correct. Check for leaks.
Worked perfectly for me and only took a few hours. And since I used RTV on the gasket and Loctite on the bolts I don't expect any more leaks. The bolts originally must have had NOTHING on them because when I went to take the pan down the bolts were only FINGER TIGHT and I was lucky it hadn't developed into a huge leak on a long trip and burned my transmission up.
Not sure if this helps anyone. I just wanted to write it down so I'd have it handy next time I decided to do this. :)
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