Transmission question

[Alexlind123]

With 109.5k miles, should i be worried about changing the fluid? I dont know if it has ever been done before and i dont want to ruin anything by changing it now if it hasnt ever been changed before.

[Incantation]

have you tried doing a search?

[Kalevera]

Pull the dipstick, dabble a little bit of the fluid on a sheet of white computer paper and post a picture of it on the forum. Make sure the color correction is good.

best, whit

[Alexlind123]

This is after the oil has soaked in and dried but it looks much the same as when it was wet, this is the best pic i could get, i fiddled around with the white balance but i am really not a veyr good photographer. Let me know if it needs to be better or wetter.

[Kalevera]

Looks normal to me. The idea is for it to be red. Brown or brackish red are bad.

But it looks fine for a fluid flush. I would pull the pan, inspect it, clean the magnets and replace the filter. The fluid looks clean enough that there shouldn't be any chunks of metal in the pan (just filings on the magnets --- perfectly normal).

I guess the white sheet of paper idea didn't work out as well as I thought it would. Next time around, I guess a petri dish or the like would do the trick.

best, whit

[Alexlind123]

Well it was kind of brown when i first dabbed it on the paper but there is a shade of red in it.

[Alexlind123]

I really have no idea how to flush the transmission. When you say pull the pan, im assuming that there is a drain plug on it to let the fluid out first? And what about the fluid in the TQ, will that just drain out too or should i just replace whatever fluid come out when cleaning the magnets, inspecting the pan and replacing the filter. Btw, where is the filter?

[Kalevera]

I really have no idea how to flush the transmission. When you say pull the pan, im assuming that there is a drain plug on it to let the fluid out first? And what about the fluid in the TQ, will that just drain out too or should i just replace whatever fluid come out when cleaning the magnets, inspecting the pan and replacing the filter. Btw, where is the filter?

Ah, if it was "kind of brown," it might be wise to post a pic of a drop of the fluid in something clear so we can get a better look at it.

Yes, the car has a drain plug. Been a while since I've done one. I think it's a hex key -- 6 or 7 mm. Drain the fluid out. What sits in the pan and subsequently drains from the valve body is ~ 50% of what's in the trans. The torque converter, valve body, and other fluid passages retain a lot of it. Leaving the trans open overnight to drain may get more out, which may or may not be a good idea. The pan is secured by, really, two things: a bunch of torx bolts around the lip of the pan and the dipstick tube. As a DIYer, I could never loosen the dipstick/pan nut (it's a 32 or 36mm, I forget), so I would pull the entire thing out (dipstick tube held in place with a tappet hex screw up by the engine block) and go from there.

Have a good set of torx bits around to do this job. The filter is secured by three or four T27/T30 (something like that) bolts, to the bottom of the valve body -- picks fluid up from the pan. When it comes off, the inlet to the valve body will dump a bit of fluid on you, so watch out. Be sure to remove the o ring if, by some chance, it stays up in the inlet. And use a new rubber o ring, usually included in the OEM filter kit, when installing the new filter. Change the pan gasket, as well -- it takes two seconds and the part is cheap.

When refilling, use the dipstick tube. Guestimate how much came out and put about that much back in, less is alright. Drive the car and get it warm, then park it and check the fluid level while running, fill as necessary.

best, whit

[Alexlind123]

Never mind, the haynes service manual i downloaded outlines it fairly nicely.

[Alexlind123]

Here are some pictures, much better quality.