Thanks for the info Mazz.
I thought the transmission would just pump itself out, if you disconected the correct hose and kept topping it up.
This way, by doing it yourself, you could be certain that the filters etc had been changed and the torque convertor flushed.
I like to do things myself so I know they're done and don't have to rely on pure trust in the stealership.
Thanks for the help.
Al.

 

I'll be changing my tranny fluid this weekend...previous owner didn't and now it's overdue. One thing I haven't seen addressed: do I need to put anything on the pan bolts at reassembly, loctite or antiseize?

 

thats the crappy thing with a warranty, you need receipts or they try to weasel out if it, that and who they hell ever follows their maint sched, good lord, if everyone did what the manual says and as often as it says the dealers service area would have more vehicles waiting for service than the sales lot.

 

one last thing about dealerships, i took my truck in around 10k miles, was leaking oil, before they even lifted the truck they were giving me crap about me changing my God Dm own oil, one guy assumed i left the old seal on and put the new one on top of it. well much to their shock when they raised it up, the rear main seal was leaking like the exxon valdez. Needless to say i made them put full syn at no cost.

 

ummm i am not sure where to disconnect the return line at. only place i found was the line that enters the passenger side near the top of the tranny. it may have been the right line but holy hell started the truck and was fine for 2 seconds then the tranny fluid was shooting everywhere. pictures or a detailed description of where to disconnect the line or how to do it would be very helpful please. i did learn some things from this, expect the unexpected, tranny fluid in the eye burns, tranny fluid also numbs your lips if come in contact with (at least i had my mouth closed).

 

I've been changing the fluid in a different way for the past few years.

The first thing I do is drop the pan and change the filter. Then I drill the pan and install a drain plug. Then every other time I change the oil, I drain the transmission pan and refill it with fresh fluid. Over time it changes most of the fluid. If you don't think it does, think of it like this:

If draining the pan gets half the fluid out, then the first time you have 1/2 old fluid and 1/2 new fluid, or 50% changed.

The next time the fluid drained out is 1/2 old and 1/2 new, but you're putting all new back in, so now it's 75% changed.

The third time it's 87.5%

The fourth time it's 93.75%.

The fifth time it's 96.875%.

If you change the oil every 3000 miles, that means the trans fluid is better than 95% new after you change the oil at 30,000 miles. At 30,000 you have to put new filters in anyway, so go ahead and drop the pan that time and change 'em while the pan is empty.

If you think that doesn't work, my 99 GMC went 283,000 miles on the original 4L60E transmission, and is still going strong as far as I know. My 2003 Sport Trac is still fine at 145,000 miles.

 

In 30 years of changing transmission filters, I haven't ever put anything on the pan bolts except a wrench! Just don't overtighten. Put all the bolts in, tighten them all just snug, and then slowly work your way around, tightening a little more each time. Keep going until the pan gasket just starts to squeeze out slightly.

Man, I need to check the dates on these posts before answering! Hopefully you've changed your trans. fluid by now!