Im so frustrated right now. Dont konw if this has been posted before, dont care so mods delete as necessary. *edit* All ways use JACK-STANDS! I did use them, just forgot to post it, sorry. F-bods are heavy sons o guns.

For you noobs do it your selfers like me. Changing you t-56 fluid can be stupid simple if you know what you are doing.
1. on a 2002 use your supplied jack or other. Jack the car up on the driver side get a cathc can of some sort. Unpulg the fill plug. At that angle fluid sould not come spewing out.
2. When removing the drain plug, Located On The Passanger Side, the fluid will come rushing out like you wont believe. If you are not prepaired you will get fluid everywhere! Just like me. I couldent belive how much and fast it shot out the bottom hole. When its done draining remember to reinstall the drain plug.
3. You should already have 4qts of dexron 2 or 3 atf, thats right atf fluid and NOT the synthetic stuff either. Also buy a pump from you local auto parts store. Wroks like a shampoo pump. It will save you a ton of heart ach, and time. Believe me.
4.Fill until it dribbles out the fill hole. Plug it up. Drive around check for leaks and done. It orignally took me over 6hr to change this crap. Hopefully someone will learn from my mistakes and get it done in less than 30. Thanks for reading, and good luck.

 

I just did this myself on a '02 MM6. It does come flying out. So look out folks! What I don't like about these plugs is that they are NOT magnetic. Don't know why. I used a little over 4 quarts of Valvoline MaxLife Dextron III. The pump is the only way to go and worth the 6 bucks. The trans shifts very nice. This is an easy job and like you mentioned should only take about 30 minutes.

 

wow... that sounds a bit dangerous using the car jack alone...

I usually have mine changed in around 45 mins with little to no mess.

First I take care and jack up my car at four points and support it with 4 jack stands so the car will promote drainage to the rear passenger side.

I have a large drain pan that more than covers the distance that the fluid will shoot out.

I remove the drain plug.

As it's draining, I go into the car and take apart the console. (www.installuniversity.com). The only tricky part is the handbrake, you need to take a flat screwdriver and manipulate it so the handbrake comes completely up. Around 19-20 bolts later (7mm, 13mm, 10mm) I have the console apart with the shifter removed.

The transmission should be drained now down to a light drip if at all. I close it up, go back into the car and pour in 4 bottles of Dexron III oil, as long as it's Dexron III ATF, be it synthetic or not as long as it adheres to this standard and your transmission isn't already on it's way out, IT WILL BE FINE. I'll be switching to Amsoil ATF from Mobil 1 ATF, but I have more than 10k miles on the fluid and about 30 track passes on it this season with a lot of stop/go daily driving and occasional rips.

Once full, I clean up the shifter of the gasket material, put on a new bead of gasket material, and place it back on the transmission with bolts in but not tightened up. While I let that dry a little I remove the drain pan, lower the car off the jacks, pour the old fluid into a disposal can/bottle and do whatever miscellaneous clean up I feel like.

I tighten up all the bolts now, reassemble the console and see that it shifts smooth. I start it up, and try it out.

I'd like to emphasize SAFETY first to anyone doing this. Using the car jack alone is not recommended, I've had one buckle and bend under weight before, so I do not trust those in car, car jacks at all.

Second is on the matter of synthetic transmission fluid, the original story of synthetics destroying blocker rings came from a story of Redline synthetic trashing a vette t-56 and GM not honouring the warranty. This is because Redline is NOT a API approved oil. As it does NOT conform to API standards (which even the cheapest of dino ATF does) there's no telling what is in it that may be harmful to your transmission parts.

 

Damn, I just removed the center console & shifter to fill mine. I drained it then left the fill plug out & had a buddy watch for it to start to run out the hole. When it did he put the plug in & we reassembled everything & were done in about 30-45 minutes.

This included time to open & drink a beer while working too.

I can't believe it took you 6hrs. You could have put in a new clutch in that time.

 

I don't really understand why people bother taking out the shifter and console. I just drained it (it does come out fast). I punched 2 tubes through the cap of the new oil container, one goes into the fluid from the bottom of the bottle up through the cap and into the transmission. The other tube is just into the cap. I use my air nozzle to pressurize the oil container. I just wait while the oil flows uphill and into the transmission. When it starts to dribble I put the fill cap back in. 30 minutes total.

 

It's the filling part that's a pain in the ***. The console method is by far the easiest and cleanest way to get fluid in. No lying on your back, punching holes in bottles, pressurizing crap, just fill as simply as you to your oil. I'm actually tempted to do a small mod to my shifter for a fill bolt...

 

I guess I am fortunate... I have a buddy with a lift. Filling the trans is definitley easy with a cheap manual pump.

 

My bad, I forgot to mention the jack stand(s). I do use those every time, I was in a bad mood when posting this info up. Allways Use Jackstands. Hell, Im so paranoid Ill use my ramps, jack on the back and 4 jack stands. Im home alone doing all of this stuff and never want to be in hell sayin "damn, my TA fell on me, ain't that a bitch". I dont think they make asbestos-soled shoes in hell either.

 

I tried to use a shiphon pump to push the fluid into the tranny. It worked, but very slow and stupid messy. I about lost a quart when filling the thing. I needed 5 qts in all. Im a de de deeeee.....