(Had this in 3rd gen but thought there might be a few more here that may be able to help)

A few questions.
Since I do not see the twist on cooling filter I assume there is not one for this tranny. Second...I assume it is not too terribly difficult adjust the bands on the tranny. Any thing I should watch out for? Any suggestions on a good drain plug to put into the pan...welded or other. (I think if I had one I would do a partial change of the fluid every season.)
Is this tranny reliable I've read some things but nobody really writes about good things just the bad.

Thanks everyone

 

I've got 93k miles on my tranny without a problem. I've been driving it hard as hell since day 1 (Red light raced a Silverado yesterday). Haven't even changed the fluid ... ever. I don't know if it's really well built or if I'm just lucky ... probably lucky.

The reason there's no drain plug on tranny oil pans is they want you to change the filter along with any fluid. Tough to do without pulling the pan. If you DO put a plug on it, you might want to install an aftermarket spin-on filter.

Any reason you want to adjust the bands?

 

My Haynes manual and others recommend to adjust the bands. I will change the filter but no spin on in the pan. Can I reuse the gasket? It is plastic with o-ring type rubber beads on it.

They use ATF+4 and recommend changing at 100K unless you pull frequently them 30K. I want the plug to make it easier pull the pan without a mess.

Thanks

 

I think the drain bolt is a good idea, but proceed with caution. I tried to put one in my pan and no matter what I did, I couldn't get the nylon washers to seal up right. It always had a mild leak until just today I replaced the pan altogether. If you do get a drain bolt and decide to put it in, make sure to get one that has a taperlock thread drain bolt. The one I bought was the HELP! one from Murray's and it was a standard thread and just had an o-ring to seal it. Well, I started tightening this plug down and before I even had an torque on it, the o-ring snapped and had to be replaced.

Overall I would say they are a good addition if you can get it to work right for you. However, if you do go this route, make sure you use it to just lighten the load on the trans pan before you drop it to change the filter rather than just draining the fluid and re-filling.

 

Thanks, I plan on maybe dropping fluid every 15K but filter every 30K. That often should keep things running smooth. I was even thinking of adding a temp sensor also, any thoughts?

I do pull a 30' TT and have 3.55 gears... wish I had higher ones but as long as I take it easy it works good.

 

I haven't gotten around to installing a trans temp gauge, but I think it is a great idea. There is no harm in allowing yourself to track your trans temp!