I have a 98 Chevy S10 4.3L and its time for the tranny fuild and filter to be changed. I'm curious is there a drain plug, should I attempt to take the tranny fuild pan off the bottom of the tranny and change the fuild and filter that way, or take it in and have it done?

There Is No Drain Plug. You Have To Remove 1 Side Of The Pans Bolts And Loosen The Other Side Of The Pans Bolts And The Fluid Should Start Draining. When It Stops Then You Can Remove The Remaining Bolts. Beware The Pan Is Still Full So Have A Drain Pan And Plenty Of Rags Available Cause Your Going To Spill Some. After The Pan Is Off And Out Of The Way The Filter Just Pulls Off. Becarefull There Is A Seal At The Top Of The Filter. Make Sure You Remove The Old Seal Before You Attempt To Put The New Filter And Seal On. Most Of The Time It Doesnt Come Out With The Old Filter You Will Have To Use A Pocket Hook Tool And Remove It. If You Dont Have A Hook Tool Bend A Peice Of Metal Such As A Cloths Hanger. Good Luck!

Honestly, this is worth getting done by a shop.

I did and it wasn't that bad.

Doing a tranny fluid replacement can be ver very messy.

alright and what about those tranny pans you can buy that allow it to hold more tranny fuild as well as its also is designed to cool the fuild better... worth it or no?

There Are Some Nice Kits Out There. I Would Recommend The Deeper Pan With Cooler Kit. This Is Definetly Worth It If You Tow Alot. If You Change The Oil And Filter Yourself It Will Take Roughly 1-2 Hours Depnding On You Skill Level. If You Do Change It Yourself Make Sure You Check The Trans Fluid Level When The Engine Is Warm And Running At Idle. Before You Do That Go Through Each Gear To Make Sure All The Fluid Is Circulated Throughout The Tranny Before You Check The Level.

yes, good point.

well i dont do any towing, just city driving

well, you will be fine then, just use the stock pan with no cooler.

A simpler system will break down less.

Trust me, I own a 1995 Blazer LT 4x4 with a transmission cooler, remote oil filter assembly, skip plates, etc....

yeesh

Did you know that changing your tranny fluid and filter is only half the job.By doing it this way your not getting all of the fluid drained.I would take it to a shop and get a tranny flush and filter change.This way the fluid is 100% new.

Yes, But At A 100.00 Price Tag Its Not Woth It.

But Your Absolutley Right.

i'm in canada so its more like $200

Yes, But At A 100.00 Price Tag Its Not Woth It.

What's not worth it?

$100 is well worth the money. I just put a new 4L60-E trans in my S-10. Over $2000 with labor. You Do the math.
When only changing the filter, you are only adding about 5 1/2 quarts. The trans and convertor hold almost 13.
13 Qts @2.25 each= $29.25
Filter is around-------$15.00
Thats roughly $50 with tax.
It's worth the extra 50 to avoid the aggravation, the mess and the disposal!

$100 is well worth the money. I just put a new 4L60-E trans in my S-10. Over $2000 with labor. You Do the math.
When only changing the filter, you are only adding about 5 1/2 quarts. The trans and convertor hold almost 13.
13 Qts @2.25 each= $29.25
Filter is around-------$15.00
Thats roughly $50 with tax.
It's worth the extra 50 to avoid the aggravation, the mess and the disposal!

Amen brotha!

i change my tranny fluid and filter every 20k. here i am a 1998 s10 4.3l auto with 150k miles on it and no tranny problems at all, and i tow alot. change your fluid more often and you wont have to worry about the $2000 for a long time. the biggest killer of trannies is heat. the more heat your tranny fluid sees the less life the fluid has.

20k is fine for someone that tows a lot but is way to close for an everyday driver with no towing at all.

alright, what about those bigger tranny pans, they hold more tranny fuild.. and it has fins on it to improve cooling, but its nothing more then just changing the pan..

If you have a tranny cooler already, you dno't need that.

but i dont, my vechical is pretty much stock right now

If yours is a 4x4, it has one.

If you don't tow, you don't need one.