Just finished changing my transmission oil....
11-04-2001, 12:45 PM
#1
Drifting
Thread Starter
Just finished changing my transmission oil....
and it was pretty easy and my shifting action is much smoother.. It also gives me more peace of mind. There aren't any filters in the trans! Really the hardest part was jacking up the car onto 4 jack stands.
I used 4 quarts of Amsoil 75W90 syntethic oil. Interestingly, it was pretty difficult to find Mobil 1 gear oil, which was my first choice. I found mostly Amsoil and Redline in shops. This oil wins the more colorful prize. It was a light blue color.
The manufacturer recommends doing this change at 30K, but at 19K miles, my trans oil was pretty dark and murky. There were a few shavings on the magnetic plug, which I cleaned off. ( See pic below. )
Thanks to Robin for a wonderful DIY. It helped me tremendously. Here are a few tips for the first time DIY'er that would be helpful.
a) You may need to put blocks under the rear wheels while jacking up the front of the car. With the front already on jack stands, the jack has less clearance to get under the tail of the car. My car isn't lowered, but I needed the cinder blocks in the picture to get the jack under there. I used the rear engine jacking point without problem. The hockey puck trick worked great!
b) Definately use a 10 MM allen key socket. I had to purchase a 3/8" to 1/2" drive adapter to use a bigger ratchet handle. Those bolts are on pretty tight.
c) Robin's DIY recommends that you remove the filler plug first, which is a good idea. However, it makes more sense to just make sure that you can loosen both the filler and drain plugs. You don't have to remove them right there, otherwise, trans oil will start to flow out of the filler.
d) If you wait about 1/2 an hour for all the old transmission fluid to drain out, it will take all 4 quarts of the new fluid without spilling out of the filler tube. Just keeps things a bit cleaner. I liked the "oil bong" technique. It worked great. I used 7/8" tubing and shaved down the end a bit. I then screwed it into the filler plug. If I were to do it again, I would have purchased an extra quart of AMsOIL to run through the transmission case to flush out any extra impurities.
e) Also, you will have to take off the driver rear wheel. I ended up taking off both rear wheels, becuase I couldn't tell in Robin's picture which one to do.
Here are some pics:
Lifting the front of the car ( Hey, there's Suwipin in the background with his new C4s! )
Me working the jack:
Up on all 4 wheels:
Condition of the Transmission Drain Plug:
Another shot of the transmission drain plug:
Some oil traces:
Transmission oil ( this stuff is blue ):
Oil Bong:
Now that I have all the tools, if anybody in the Menlo Park area wants to change their transmission fluid, or do other DIY projects, you are welcome to use my house and tools.
The next step for me is to do an oil change and bleed the brakes!
Jeff
I used 4 quarts of Amsoil 75W90 syntethic oil. Interestingly, it was pretty difficult to find Mobil 1 gear oil, which was my first choice. I found mostly Amsoil and Redline in shops. This oil wins the more colorful prize. It was a light blue color.
The manufacturer recommends doing this change at 30K, but at 19K miles, my trans oil was pretty dark and murky. There were a few shavings on the magnetic plug, which I cleaned off. ( See pic below. )
Thanks to Robin for a wonderful DIY. It helped me tremendously. Here are a few tips for the first time DIY'er that would be helpful.
a) You may need to put blocks under the rear wheels while jacking up the front of the car. With the front already on jack stands, the jack has less clearance to get under the tail of the car. My car isn't lowered, but I needed the cinder blocks in the picture to get the jack under there. I used the rear engine jacking point without problem. The hockey puck trick worked great!
b) Definately use a 10 MM allen key socket. I had to purchase a 3/8" to 1/2" drive adapter to use a bigger ratchet handle. Those bolts are on pretty tight.
c) Robin's DIY recommends that you remove the filler plug first, which is a good idea. However, it makes more sense to just make sure that you can loosen both the filler and drain plugs. You don't have to remove them right there, otherwise, trans oil will start to flow out of the filler.
d) If you wait about 1/2 an hour for all the old transmission fluid to drain out, it will take all 4 quarts of the new fluid without spilling out of the filler tube. Just keeps things a bit cleaner. I liked the "oil bong" technique. It worked great. I used 7/8" tubing and shaved down the end a bit. I then screwed it into the filler plug. If I were to do it again, I would have purchased an extra quart of AMsOIL to run through the transmission case to flush out any extra impurities.
e) Also, you will have to take off the driver rear wheel. I ended up taking off both rear wheels, becuase I couldn't tell in Robin's picture which one to do.
Here are some pics:
Lifting the front of the car ( Hey, there's Suwipin in the background with his new C4s! )
Me working the jack:
Up on all 4 wheels:
Condition of the Transmission Drain Plug:
Another shot of the transmission drain plug:
Some oil traces:
Transmission oil ( this stuff is blue ):
Oil Bong:
Now that I have all the tools, if anybody in the Menlo Park area wants to change their transmission fluid, or do other DIY projects, you are welcome to use my house and tools.
The next step for me is to do an oil change and bleed the brakes!
Jeff
11-04-2001, 08:18 PM
#2
Racer
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Hilton Head Isl, SC
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Jeff,
Thanks for the tips and photos on the transmission oil change. I will be doing this DIY project sometime this winter so they will add to my knowledge base. I would take you up on your offer of the use of your tools but unfortunately I'm on the other coast.
Thanks for the tips and photos on the transmission oil change. I will be doing this DIY project sometime this winter so they will add to my knowledge base. I would take you up on your offer of the use of your tools but unfortunately I'm on the other coast.
11-05-2001, 02:50 PM
#5
Drifting
Thread Starter
Hi All..
Just an update on this.. I took my car out on a cold california morning ( ie 55 degrees ) and the shifting was much, much smoother. Usually, I need to push pretty hard to get the car in gear, but today, it was easier. A joy to shift!
Jeff
Just an update on this.. I took my car out on a cold california morning ( ie 55 degrees ) and the shifting was much, much smoother. Usually, I need to push pretty hard to get the car in gear, but today, it was easier. A joy to shift!
Jeff
