Sup forum,

I took on the project of a transmission fluid change. The truck developed a leak at the front of the pan just sitting in my driveway (i don't drive it right now, just sink money and time into it.....go figure) so I finally got tired of it staining up the pavement and my friend and I took on the change.

We started by running down to the auto zonez to pickup the filter/gasket kit and 4 quarts of ATF+4 transmission fluid. spent about 39 with tax, got my point (one more til i get 20 more dollars on that card) and headed out.

We started by pulling the dip stick out as to keep it from getting in the way of dropping the pan. Then down we went and each taking a side used a ratchet to loosen the bolts holding the pan up. It's a little tight around the exhaust pipe but we didn't have to do anything fancy other than rock a long thin extension. Of course we made a huge mess with ATF ALL OVER (and i was concerned about drive way stains....) The cardboard we threw down didn't help much because there was a label on the side of it and wouldn't absorb much fluid. I keep a 30lb thing of kitty litter around just for such occasions (and now i need to buy more..... it wasn't full, lol)

Got the pan drained and down. transferred the fluid to a bucket while i cleaned the pan of gasket material and such. heres a few photos.\



I tried to capture the color here. it has that shiny murky look so it. its still red tho, not black


the inside of the pan after i got it down


Sludge on the magnet, pulled that out and cleaned it up good with brake cleaner.

After cleaning everything up nice w break cleaner my buddy pulled the filter out. 3 torx bolts hold this in. I mention it just in case anyone is looking to do the filter on a transmission and cant see what the bolts are. the FSM and such doesn't tell you what they are, just that it's 3 screws. they are torx heads.

Filter came out, no issues. New filter screwed in. I rigged some old wire fence i have over my bucket to drain the filter. It is holding the filter up right to allow the fluid to drip easier.

Once the filter was installed i set the new gasket. I first checked it vs the old gasket to make sure it lined up. Good thing I did because the kit came with 2 gaskets. then i put a bit of new ATF+4 along the lip of the pan, coated the bottom of the gasket lightly in ATF, placed it, coated the top lightly and moved the pan back under. we threaded a few of the bolts thru the pan/gasket to hold the gasket in place. Next we positioned the pan back in it's respective location and bolted it all back up.

After I filled the trans with 1.5 qts of ATF+4 to start. This is there it gets hairy and I will have to finish this write up later. I went to start the truck to cycle everything and check levels and such (as per the FSM) and the thing wont start. I have another post running in regards to this issue (t is a fuel deliver issue) so I will save discussion for that thread.

So this project is on hold, and right at the end of it too! :-( I will finish the write up when I finish the job, lol.

I hope this was informative, and thanks for reading!

 

Sounds like it should be running better. Good Job!

 

Issakar, nice write up. When we do ours we are thinking of adding a drain plug into the pan. It sure makes for easier pan removal the next time cause there is no way of getting the pan down without spilling the fluid all over. Good luck getting your truck started.

 

A drain plug would make this type of job much easier. I recommend to anyone doing the job to add a drain plug. I didn't and in retrospect it would have been a nice addition. Then again I hope I don't have to drain my transmission that often :-o! lol

None the less, a drain plug would be a great addition and make future service a lot easier. Also helps avoid taking a trans fluid shower

Thanks for the positive feedback, this is actually the first write up style post I've done. I just wish I could finish it lol

 

how did you get it out between the crossmember and the exaust i can't get it to twist or slide enough to get it down

 

Skip,

This might seem silly and obvious, but did you remove the transmission dip stick? that goes down into the pan and can cause it to hang up. Also, I don't know if yours is different, but the service was performed on a 46RE transmission. I do not know if things differ between other units.
I had an assistant on this and we pulled all the bolts on the pan after we had drained a decent amount of the fluid. Once all the bolts were out we were able to slide the pan backward (rear of truck) to clear the exhaust; it required a bit of patience and finesse, but not very hard at all. We did spill more fluid bringing it down so be sure to have a pan or cardboard under it.

Hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions you have!

 

i dont know what trans. it is but yes i took out the dipstick all bolts are out i can move it side to side but i can't get the corner out from the exaust i even tried to lift the trans.with a jack it gave me room where i didn't need it.

 

what are the specs on your truck? year, engine, etc? it is an auto i assume?

 

i have a 95 dakota with a 5.2 auto trans it.s just stuck and i realy don't want to drop the exaust it's never came off and it's a old truck

 

I have a 1992 Dakota with a 5.2 4wd auto trans..was able to remove all bolts from trans pan, but running into a big problem trying to get it off got it where it came off but no why to get it out with the exhaust being so tight against it..is there a simple way that I just don't know? Any suggestions? Would help thanks just trying to avoid taking the exhaust off .