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Well I dropped the tranny pan and changed the filter and some of the fluid today. It was certainly due and I wanted to share some pictures with you.
This a 2000 T/A with 66k on her and I believe this was the first time the filter and fluid have been changed. See the Old and New fluid side by side.
You will also see a couple of pictures of the pan before and after I cleaned it up. The magnet did it's job very well and I had great ease and success removing the old gasket with a razor blade and Brillo steel wool pads for the final cleanup.
The filter is AC Delco and the ATF is Valvoline MaxLife. I replaced 3.5 quarts.
Comments are always welcome and encouraged!
Last edited by bgw70; 07-31-2014 at 05:25 PM.
Reason: add pics
Take it somewhere and get the rest of that crap fluid flushed out of it, or you'll be in tranny land fairly soon.
Good idea! What I plan to do is install a drain plug at my next oil change, then I will drain the pan at each oil change until the fluid is the same color as the new.
I have never understood why American cars do not come with a drain plug. Most if not all of the Asian cars have them...but they also squeak when you punch the pedal!
Doing it like that will probably guarantee that you'll need to replace the tranny....soon. That fluid is burnt up, and is providing next to zero lubrication. You're faced with the classic choice...you can pay to have it done now, or you can pay a lot more to have it done later. Getting it flushed might cost you $100. A transmission will be a grand. Your choice.
Doing it like that will probably guarantee that you'll need to replace the tranny....soon. That fluid is burnt up, and is providing next to zero lubrication. You're faced with the classic choice...you can pay to have it done now, or you can pay a lot more to have it done later. Getting it flushed might cost you $100. A transmission will be a grand. Your choice.
Thank you for the information and I agree with you to get my transmission flushed right away. What type of place would you suggest because I am a do it yourself type person? I rarely use any service type companies other than tires and alignment places.
Should I use the dealer or go to a tire place or something else? You have concerned me greatly so please provide the type of place that will do the job correctly without stripping bolts, over tightening bolts etc.
Thank you for the information and I agree with you to get my transmission flushed right away. What type of place would you suggest because I am a do it yourself type person? I rarely use any service type companies other than tires and alignment places.
Should I use the dealer or go to a tire place or something else? You have concerned me greatly so please provide the type of place that will do the job correctly without stripping bolts, over tightening bolts etc.
Thank you again fleet mgr!
Some quick-oil-change stores, some transmissions shops and some dealers will have the $2000 machine that will suck in the old fluid while it provides new fluid to the trans via the cooling lines.
I would suggest a local-owned trans shop where you likely will be dealing with an experienced mechanic instead of a time-pressed kid at the quick-oil-change store.
My vote would be the dealership with the right equipment, and not all dealerships will have it. Most locally owned private shops won't have the equipment. You'll need to make some phone calls. Don't go near someplace like AAMCO.
My vote would be the dealership with the right equipment, and not all dealerships will have it. Most locally owned private shops won't have the equipment. You'll need to make some phone calls. Don't go near someplace like AAMCO.
A lot of shops have flush and fill systems like the BG which is popular around here, locally based. We did a flush on our old Montana at my buddy's shop with that system. Here's the story ...
I completely neglected the car until shudder and other problems developed. We found the tranny fluid was black goo. So we did the flush, added some Lucas snake oil and crossed our fingers that the car would move when put into gear. Well, it did, and my assistant is still driving the thing many miles later with none of the previous symptoms. In my experience, a good flush and fill works!
I wanted to share my new tranny fluid pan with you...I purchased the pan off of ebay for next to nothing, along with an O2 bung. I then purchased a drain plug from Honda. I sure hope it doesn't destroy my T/A! LoL
Anyway, the plug has a nice magnet, a sealing washer and the thread size is 18mm with a 1.5 thread pitch. The whole operation was about $50 which included the TIG welding from a local machine shop. The machine shop cut a small area out of the bung to allow all of the fluid drain.
I plan to seal the pan with a clear coat of Rustoleum, unless someone has a better idea.
That is an innovative solution!
You might want to still add some flat plastic magnets; I have seen a high mileage but still working trans have more than a teaspoon of crap stuck to the factory magnets.
I assume you mean to clearcoat only the outside of the pan.
That is an innovative solution!
You might want to still add some flat plastic magnets; I have seen a high mileage but still working trans have more than a teaspoon of crap stuck to the factory magnets.
I assume you mean to clearcoat only the outside of the pan.
Thank you for your reply!
I am only going to clear coat the outside of the pan because the weld area will rust.
I really did not want to reuse the internal magnet because the drain plug has a magnet and should catch everything now.
The plan is to drain and refill the tranny every other engine oil change.
I am only going to clear coat the outside of the pan because the weld area will rust.
I really did not want to reuse the internal magnet because the drain plug has a magnet and should catch everything now.
The plan is to drain and refill the tranny every other engine oil change.
I still would use the mag... its a lot bigger than the one on drain plug.
I still would use the mag... its a lot bigger than the one on drain plug.
Thanks for your reply!
But how do I clean the internal magnet if I do not plan to open it up for another 40k miles? I plan is to drain the 4-5qts every other engine oil change. When I change the tranny fluid I will wipe the plug magnet.
Ok so if your draining your trans every other oil change (every 6k miles) your not really doing anything but wasting money. What I've done in the past is pull one of your transmission cooler lines, and put a hose on the end of it. With your car up on some jack stands, I put the hose into a 5 gallon bucket and start the car (helps if you have some one else sit in the car and do that) and wait until your transmission is no longer pumping fluid out (about 15-20 seconds) and have your helper shut the car off. Pull your pan, drain the rest of the fluid and change out your filter. Put your pan back on, hook your transmission cooler line back up, put 4 quarts in start it up, let it run for about 20 seconds, check your fluid level and add accordingly. That's what I've always done on my trucks and I've never had a problem. And almost all the old fluid is out.
This will work much better than just changing a few qts every 6k miles.
Ok so if your draining your trans every other oil change (every 6k miles) your not really doing anything but wasting money. What I've done in the past is pull one of your transmission cooler lines, and put a hose on the end of it. With your car up on some jack stands, I put the hose into a 5 gallon bucket and start the car (helps if you have some one else sit in the car and do that) and wait until your transmission is no longer pumping fluid out (about 15-20 seconds) and have your helper shut the car off. Pull your pan, drain the rest of the fluid and change out your filter. Put your pan back on, hook your transmission cooler line back up, put 4 quarts in start it up, let it run for about 20 seconds, check your fluid level and add accordingly. That's what I've always done on my trucks and I've never had a problem. And almost all the old fluid is out.
This will work much better than just changing a few qts every 6k miles.
Thank you for your reply and detailed information!
It sounds like both of our methods remove around 4qts which means all I need to do is remove the drain plug, wipe the magnet and refill the transmission. A jug of tranny fluid is aprox $17. This car is a toy with 66k miles and only driven on the weekends. I dropped the pan a short time ago and changed the filter. That was when I decided I would install the drain plug that includes a magnet.
$17 every few months is cheap insurance and realistically, the fluid change ratio will be more like every 10-12k miles.
I gotta agree with the poster saying you're wasting money. If you look in the owners manual, you'll see that the recommended service interval for the tranny is somewhere around 30k miles. There's a good reason for that, it's because the oil in the tranny doesn't get diluted with fuel like engine oil, and it's not subject to the acid buildup that engine oil is. Seriously, all you're doing is throwing money away. Save that, and put a REAL tranny cooler on the car. You'll have done something worth while, then. Every 10 degrees over 150 that the tranny sees halves the service life.
I gotta agree with the poster saying you're wasting money. If you look in the owners manual, you'll see that the recommended service interval for the tranny is somewhere around 30k miles. There's a good reason for that, it's because the oil in the tranny doesn't get diluted with fuel like engine oil, and it's not subject to the acid buildup that engine oil is. Seriously, all you're doing is throwing money away. Save that, and put a REAL tranny cooler on the car. You'll have done something worth while, then. Every 10 degrees over 150 that the tranny sees halves the service life.
Thank you for your reply. I am aware of the recommended service interval but I like to change the 4-5 qts every 12-15k miles. $20 every year is cheap insurance. This was the second fluid change in just a short period of time. The first change included the filter and that was when I decided to add a drain plug.
As you know, most failures happen because most people do not service their vehicles.
I always perform service to my cars more frequently than the OEM recommends and I sold a car a few years ago that had 217k miles. it used no oil and the auto transmission still functioned like it was brand new!
Good idea! What I plan to do is install a drain plug at my next oil change, then I will drain the pan at each oil change until the fluid is the same color as the new.
I have never understood why American cars do not come with a drain plug. Most if not all of the Asian cars have them...but they also squeak when you punch the pedal!
I have nothing worth adding that hasn't already been covered by someone else, but many American cars do include a drain plug on the trans pan, including later model 4L80Es and many 4L60Es.
I have nothing worth adding that hasn't already been covered by someone else, but many American cars do include a drain plug on the trans pan, including later model 4L80Es and many 4L60Es.
I stand corrected, my 2000 T/A is the newest American automobile I have ever owned.
It is nice to know they have finally added drain plugs to the newer transmission pans.
As you probably know, performing service will typically make your vehicle trouble free much longer...
07-31-2014, 05:06 PM
4L60E Fluid and Filter Refresh 
I sure hope it doesn't destroy my T/A! LoL 
