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changing tranny fluid, have question

C

chevy4x4boy

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this might be a dumb question but i'm just getting into the k5 thing and was wondering how you change the tranny fluid? i know i have to take off all the bolts on the pan and drain the fluid but where do i go from there? how many quartz of fluid do i put in and is there and procedure to do after i put the fluid in? i have a 700 r4 tranny and it desperatly needs its life blood changed. thanx for any help that you can give me.
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If the fluid is in real bad shape, you might wanna think about taking it somewhere to have it flushed. You don't come close to changing ALL the fluid by dropping the pan.
Just a thought /forums/images/graemlins/k5.gif /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
Like stated above, there will be a lot of "old" tranny fluid in there even after dropping the pan. (ie, the lines to the radiator cooler, in the cooler, in the many passages and ports of the valvebody, and the torque converter). So, these can be flushed out at the shop. (Not sure if they flush the torque converter /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif)

Anyway...when I did mine (twice) I just dropped the pan and collected all of the fluid in a large pan. Then, I dumped the fluid from the drain pan into an empty gallon jug of milk (that's what I keep oil and tranny fluid in until I can get over to the dump tank). I think each time I did it I ended up with right around a gallon and some change. It's a messy job...next time I do it I'm installing a drain plug.

Oh, and make sure you get a new cork gasket from a parts store...and while you're at it, replace the filter too. On 700's, it just pulls out (no screws holding it in). And, make sure your old seal comes out, if not, you'll have to fish it out with a pick. That might not make sense right now, but when you see a new filter and seal, you'll know what I'm saying.
 
if your tranny has a lot of miles on it and the fluid hasn't been changed for a long time it could actually hurt the performance of your tranny by changing the fluid. i would take angrysnowplow's advice and take it in. a good shop will know if it will hurt to change the fluid or not.

rick
 
a danger related with putting in new fluid to replace really old fluid is the high-detergent new fluid, when it initially hits your cooling lines and such, can dislodge some build up that remained undisturbed by the old fluid. You might install a magnetic filter in the cooling lines to help keep from clogging your valve body. Best advice, if its been a long time....take it into somebody who knows.
 
as for just changing the fluid, just take off all the bolts and loosen the last one. pry one end of the pan down, let some of the fluid pour out, then support the pan (hold it up w/ your other hand), and take out the last screw, and pour the rest of the fluid out. spray it with solvent, rinse it out with water, let it dry, replace the filter and gasket, and bolt the pan back up. Then you fill the tranny through the dipstick tube. It depends on what kind of tranny you have, but with a pan drainage it'll prolly be around a gallon or so of Dextron III.

I actually just did this, if you encounter any problems pm me. Don't forget to change the filter either, and if the fluid's black and burnt smelling you've got problems!
 
Good advice on taking it to shop for initial flushing. Let me repeat, GOOD ADVICE ON TAKING IT TO SHOP FOR INITIAL FLUSHING.
I bought a 1991 blzr this december and when I got it I started off with changing oil and trans fluid. Well after changing those I drove it about 150 miles and noticed that she started shifting harder than previously and occasionaly not shifting at all. My fatherinlaw said I screwed up by changing it b/c trash probably got dislogded and stuck somewhere in a valve. Thought I would run over my dad's house and see if he thougtht it was shifting too hard and or if it was my imagination. Well I let him drive it and it was doing the same and he decided to firmly depress the accelerator and it wouldn't shift at all after that. He really fixed it then. Well after dropping the pan again to be sure the filter didn't fall off or something I took the dust cover off the governor and replaced the governor(small plastic turbine sort of screw thingy $7.00 at Gene's Transmission shop). The original one in it was a little worn but not enough to make it not shift according to the Gene the trans man. The trans man said that by changing the fluid it caused trash to become dislogded and was stuck in a valve somewhere. Seems like I had heard that before. Anyway, after replacing that governor it shifted smoother than Pamela Lee Anderson on meat pole. It was a pain in the ass ordeal that would probably never happen if I had known a trans shop could flush the system.

In all likely hood the transx probably had worked its way in to whereever the trash was and broke it loose. Also, a tip the trans man gave me was if it wasn't shifting at all and you suspect it may be trash in a valve than try popping the accelerator repeatedly. Not mashing it down and holding it winding up the engine. But short pops to try and force the trash through.
Sorry so long and hope no one's committed suicide from reading this drawn out b s.

Tom
 
If you take it to a shop, make sure you get their definination (sp) of "flush", as it varys. Dealership I worked at just did a fluid change. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
 
But the fluid has to get changed. Not changing it for fear of a clog up is short-term thinking. The only time you would not change it is if you don't plan on keeping the vehicle very long. Sure, there is probably crap in there and it could break loose and stick a valve. But running around with burnt fluid is not good for the slushbox either. Eventually it will stop working from that, too. So in the long term, the ONLY way to keep the tranny working is to change the fluid.

Yes, your odds are better doing a flush. If you can't do a flush, then drop the pan 2 or 3 times to change the fluid over the course of a few drives. I flush mine myself. You just open up the system at the cooler return line (easier if you have an extra tranny cooler with rubber hoses) and direct a rubber hose into a container. Then run the engine for about 10 seconds at a time and between running, fill the pan back up by pouring new ATF through the dipstick hole. This flushes both coolers, the torque converter and all of the lines except the return line and costs about $40 less. A 700R-4 with converter, lines and coolers holds around 3 gallons.
 
hey thanx for all the help!! i'm going to take it to a shop to get it flushed right away, or as soon as i get the money!! i didn't know a tranny could hold so much fluid!! the tranny isn't shifting like it should and i don't have the money for a rebuild right now, which it needs anyway. well time to go to work to get some dough! /forums/images/graemlins/usaflag.gif /forums/images/graemlins/k5.gif
 
There is a really easy way to flush your tranny. Take your cooler lines off at the cooler. Stick the outlet into a empty bucket and stick the inlet into a bucket of fresh fluid. Start up the truck and let her run and pump out all the old and suck in all the new. Voila! It helps to have a friend in the truck so you can watch the buckets. You dont want to run out and run your tranny dry or have it puking all over your garage.

I would recomend changing the filter then fluch everything. You just drop one side of the pan. Its pretty messy. I would recomend putting a drain plug in there while you have the pan yanked.

<font color="red">A WARNING!!</font> As was mentioned auto tranny fluid has alot of detergents in it. I wouldnt worry about doing a flush and having it knock a chunk of goo lose and cloging something. I would be concerened about the new fluid breaking down the varnish and all that stuff. Breaking down all the varnish sounds like a good thing but if that varnish is what is keeping line pressure up and helping the disks and bands and all that other nifty stuff grip its little friends then once that varnish goes bye bye you might cause a little extra slipage wich will rapidly turn into lots of slippage and nuked parts. If you have alot of miles on your tranny and it has never been serviced then I would leave it alone if it works fine. If it gets its fluid chenged then I would continue to do it. If its acting up or you got it full of water you might as well change the filter since you have nothing to lose. I had a 700 that was starting to slip a bit in OD and figured I would see if it was in need of a filter. It started to disinigrate itself in very short order after that.

Just changing the filter wont get rid of much fluid though.
 
I'm blind and missed 3/4 tons post /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Forgot to mention about blowing out the cooler with the compressor. Watch your eyeballs though!
 
i'll probrably have the thing rebuilt anyway to make sure the new performance upgrades that i'm planning won't blow the tranny up. i have a very good tranny shop that i go to and i trust the guy with my tranny. the tranny works fine in the first two gears but once it hits the third and fourth it just vibrates like anything. it stopps doing it once i let off the gas but i have to keep the rpms above or at 2,000 to get the vib to stop. i think that its the bands that are loose but i'm not sure. anyone have some insight??
/forums/images/graemlins/usaflag.gif /forums/images/graemlins/k5.gif
 
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