Write Up: Transmission Fluid & Filter Change

I was driving home from work last week in my 95 Riv and noticed that my tranny was slipping in first gear when making left hand turns. After I got home I checked the vacuum lines from the fuel rail and throttle body that are connected to the modulator on the 4T60E and noticed that there was tranny fluid in the lines.

The tranny fluid was also low but there were no visible leaks on the floor of the garage. I also noticed over the last month grayish smoke from time to time when starting the vehicle. Is it possible that the tranny fluid in the vacuum lines was being used when starting the vehicle?

While inspecting the vacuum lines the rubber T connector on the throttle body crumbled and I was off to Advance auto parts to find some new connectors. I purchased a plastic T connector with two 3/8” and one ¼” port, a 3/8” to ¼” plastic adapter for the modulator connection, a ¼” to 3/16” plastic adapter for the fuel rail, two feet of ¼” fuel line for the modulator, one foot of 3/8 fuel line for the throttle body connection, one foot of 3/16 fuel line for the fuel rail connection, four quarts of Castrol ATF Dex III and a new Delco vacuum modulator 8662967.

I changed the vacuum lines, modulator and added tranny fluid. It appears that I lost almost 3 quarts of tranny fluid because of the leaky modulator. Is this possible?

I have been driving for a week now with no problems and better acceleration.

There should not be tranny fluid in the vacuum lines. Sounds like a bad vacuum modulator.

If the diaphragm in the modulator went bad, then ATF could pass through it. I would imagine it would happen mostly at idle since vacuum is highest and that would explain your smoke. It wasn't bad enough to effect transmission operation much so it was probably kind of bad for a while but never totally failed.

Edit: Scroll down to the 11th post by Mr.Riviera to find the write up.

Hey could one of you guys and your infinate wisdom write up a tranny fluid and filter change for me? I've never done one before and I want to be sure not to kill anything when I do it. I tried having it done at my local "quick lube" and they said they couldn't. Needless to say, I don't go there anymore. Any pics you guys have of this operation would be awesome. Thanks.

There should be a write up on the website in my sig.

That has a good write up but the pictures have been moved or deleted. Thanks for the link though.

I know this is late, but I got the pictures and I will hopefully get it updated and working some time tomorrow.

I'm going to get a trans pan gasket from GMpartsdirect.com, do I need to put some RTV on it or no? Also, what O-Rings will I need?

If it's a GM trans pan gasket, no RTV needed, it's a 'dry' gasket. Mine is this way and doesn't leak a drop.

Awesome, thanks Derek. I read on another thread about warnings of a cork gasket (no RTV) that's why I want the GM one. Any word about the O-Rings?

O-rings for what?

There is an annoying tip end thing on the filter that will ruin the whole job for you, but no O-rings that I'm aware of.

Do not use RTV, if any of it makes contact with the fluid it will dissolve and end up in the transmission.

Bert

I just did this last night on my '96 and I went to the stealer and paid up for and original gasket. Torqued the pan gasket bolts 12-13ft lbs and put it 6.5 qts of valvoline dex111/merc. The worst part of the job is getting that goddamm seal out of the tranny where the filter plugs into!

Just finished changing my transmission filter and fluid for the second time since i got my riv. I try to do it every 30k, and my fluid was loosing its red color. It's a simple job, but i figured there still should be a write-up on here.

I used 6.5qts of the new dexron VI fluid and a napa filter which comes with a new oem style gasket (beware of the cork ones). expect to pay around $80 in oil and a filter to do this yourself. i DO NOT recommend having your transmission flushed. Simply changing the filter and half the fluid will be safer and still keep your trans happy and alive.

A big thanks to TType_Riviera for making this write-up!

Servicing filter and fluid in your trans is pretty simple, a little time
consuming considering there's no drain plug in the pan, however there is a drain
plug above the pan, up near the passenger side cv joint, but that wont get all
your fluid out.

If your trans seems sluggish, shifts funny, fluid smells burnt, and is a dingy
brown color, chances are a filter and fluid change is in order. Your torque
converter probably holds a good 5 quarts by itself, which you cant drain. If your
fluid is really burnt, I would recommend doing it again soon. By doing this service,
your increasing the life of your trans a great deal.

Tools and Misc things needed.

Jack and jack stands
drain pan
rags
few cans of brake clean
1/4" drive ratchet, extension and a 10MM socket
7 quarts of new trans fluid (Dexcron/Mercon ONLY)
new filter, gasket and filter seal (comes as a kit)



Start by putting the car on your jack stands. Slide the drain pan under the
corner of the pan shown below. Start removing the bolts on that corner, once you
have about 5 of them out, only loosen the next few, and you should start seeing
fluid drip out of that corner, loosen a few more untill there's a pretty good
stream, and let it completely drain.



Once it is drained, start removing more bolts, when you come to the last 6 or 7
support the pan tight against the trans while removing the rest of the bolts, as
there still some fluid in the pan, once removed carefully lower the pan down an
dump the rest of the fluid in the pan.


Next remove the old filter, and filter seal. The filter is easily removed, just
simply pull an turn it a little an is should slide right out. Now the filter
seal is probably going to be a slight pain, and you'll probably ruin it before you
get it out. Use a flat head screw driver, to cave the side of it in, then just
simply grab it with some pliers an work it out, doing your best not to score the
inside surface.



Next clean your pan really good with brake clean, cleaning all dirt off the
gasket surface, and the magnet in the far corner, then let dry. Then take the new
filter seal from the filter kit, and push it into the port, you will probably need
to tap it very softly with something to push it in completely. I used a socket
the same diameter as the seal, and it went right it. Next slide in the new
filter, it may take some force but it will go, tap it until it stops, it should
fit in the area nicely.



Next take the pan and the new gasket and fit it to the shape of the pan. Take 4
pan bolts and push them through the holes and through the gasket, they should fit
very tightly in the gasket, thus keeping the gasket aligned for an easy
reinstallation. Be sure to spread the bolts evenly, as shown in the picture. The
filter kit will come with either a rubber or cork gasket. They say the rubber
gaskets can be reused, and are usually installed from the factory. I was a little
weary about reusing the gasket, and just used the new one. You don't need any kind
of sealer on this application, and NEVER use sealer on a cork gasket, it WILL
leak.


Now clean the gasket surface of the trans with some brake clean or paint thinner
will work, by wetting a rag. Then lift the pan and gasket in to place an start
each of the 4 bolts, and lightly snug them, and then install the rest of the
bolts. Once all of them are snug start in the center of the pan an moderately
tighten the bolts, crossing back and forth working your way to each end. After
that go back through an give each bolt a light tweak assuring there all
tightened fairly even.

Drop the car back down on the wheels, pull the trans dip stick, set it aside,
grab
a small funnel, and proceed to dump in at least 5 quarts for now. after all 5
quarts are in, start the car and let the trans get warm, then run it through each
gear 3-5 times. This will pump the fluid around where it needs to be so you can
get an accurate reading on the dip stick. It took about 7 quarts to completely
fill mine, but id suggest adding fluid a little at a time so you don't over fill
it just in case yours doesn't need 7. Once the right oil level is reached, check
for leaks, an easily drive around the block, come back an give it one more
check, you may have to add a touch. Check for leaks again. After a few hundred
miles I would check the pan bolts again most likely they will need a small turn.


This should fix your sluggishness an problems with shifting, if not you have
bigger problems, and should see a professional trans shop.

If done correctly, you should have the end results of a smooth running, smooth
shifting, and cooler running trans and a better responding trans as well. Good
Luck to whom ever gives this a go there self, Remember All of us here on the
board are always here to help!!!!

Forgot to mention, always check the magnet for metal particles. it is a good indicator as to how well your transmission is holding up.
Here is mine after 40k pretty hard miles. Just a thin layer of metallic sludge.



Oh, and i have a spare oem gasket if anyone needs it. i wasnt sure what shape it was in so i got a new one, but they are reusable and mine looks good still.

Anyone have torque specs for the pan bolts? My shop manuals are hiding from me!

will post them when i get home unless someone beats me to it. the numbers i have are for the 4t60 though.

I used 11 lb-ft. Seemed to feel right. I'll re-torque to spec in a couple weeks, when I have the real spec.

AA wrote:

Anyone have torque specs for the pan bolts? My shop manuals are hiding from me!

97 INCH lbs.

Or... 8 lb-ft, thanks. However, I didn't twist any off!

I just remembered that for a 10mm size bolt I generally go with max of 100 in. lbs. as a general rule.
Only if I really feel the need to torque something that is delicate.
Otherwise I use my calibrated arm. Always have just used my feel on things like the trans pan or oil pan, valve covers, etc.

AA wrote:

I used 11 lb-ft. Seemed to feel right. I'll re-torque to spec in a couple weeks, when I have the real spec.

be careful. Over tightening will easily strip the threads out of the transmission.

Yeah, I was trying to be careful by posting the question, but the response just didn't come in time, and it was getting dark, and cold, so I had to guess. Turns out my wife hid my shop manuals in one of 72 plastic containers in our basement, so I had no idea which one to look in (she was out of town).

What actually happened (in my case a long time ago) is the heads of the bolts will twist off, leaving the shanks embedded in the holes. I did this with a large torque wrench set to 13 lb-ft. Of the 15 or so bolts, 3 heads came off. I think I misread the manual, which actually said 13 newton-meters (9.59 lb-ft, or 115 lb-in). Being that 13 lb-ft was on the bottom of the range, I'm sure it was off by 10% or so.

I'm guessing GM used softer bolts for this reason.

Yesterday I used a smaller torque wrench set to 132 lb-in (11 lb-ft) with no issues, although next time I'll check the manual. 13 lb-ft was too much from experience, that much I remembered. So I used 11 lb-ft. I'll re-torque in a week or so, as they like to loosen up a little bit.

I don't like trusting my arm to tighten, because I always under tighten. I've tried it before, then checked with a torque wrench - I'm usually under by 25% or so. You have to be REALLY GOOD with tools to know exact torque just by feel.

I use a 1/4" drive ratchet on those bolts, no problem so far.

Bert

Haven't posted here in a long time, but I've been lurking. I would post more, but everyone here already knows more than me anyways. Much as the first time, I come asking for guidance. My transmission has an odd shift, I suspect it's because of the scam artists who rebuilt it didn't do a good job, but I've got this additive (I know, I know, snake oil and all that. This brand is usually pretty good), thing is, it's potent stuff, I can't put it in in concentrations greater than 1%. I doubt it will fix the problem, which is probably a mechanical issue, but it might help some.

I've found a source that said 13.4 quarts, but I've no idea how reliable there are, and many other sources seem ambiguous to whether the amount they list is the actual capacity, or simply what needs to be added back in after dropping the pan. But, I trust you guys, so I'm asking for help, again. I wish I could give something back, but I honestly just don't know that much about our cars.