Transmission Drain Plug Kit

[FISH96]

Greetings To All:

I Am Curious Of The Change Interval That Is Followed By Those Who Have Installed The Drain Plug Kit By Dorman?

I Have A 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix, 3.8 Litre, Vin 'k',
4t60e Transmission.

I Drop The Pan To Change Fluid And Filter.

She Has 167,000+ Miles Without Any Major 'headaches' Thus Far.

This Appears To Be A Less Messy Method.

By The Way Does Anyone Have The Dorman Part Number For The Aforementioned Automobile.

Regards To All And Enjoy The Balance Of The Weekend,
Fish96

[BNaylor]

You have a 4T65E autotransaxle.

The Dorman drain kit part number should be 091-04 and it is a universal design (one size fits all). Also it is packaged under the Oil-Tite label. See pic below. B&M makes one too but it is double the cost.

All the drain plug does is make it more convenient to remove the ATF with a minimal mess. Doesn't really change the interval prescribed. You still need to remove the pan, clean it out, clean the magnet and put in a new screen filter on a basic tranny service. Inspect or replace the pan gasket. GM recommends 100K miles under normal or 50K miles under severe operating conditions. It doesn't hurt to do it more frequently. I use 30K miles as the magic number but that is a matter of personal preference.

[FISH96]

Dear B,

Thank You Very Much. I Do All Those Things You Recommend And I Do Them Between 20 To 25k Miles. Perhaps That Is Why The Trans, Has Been Trouble Free.

Believe It Or Not I Am Still Using The Original O.e Reuseable Pan Gasket. No Leaks Or Seepage.

At My Next Transmission Service I Will Be Sure To Install The Drain Plug Kit.

By The Way I Use Baldwin Brand Transmission Filter And Dexron Iii Fluid. Never Have I Availed Myself Of The Transmission Flush.

Regards,
Fish96

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by FISH96

Dear B,

Thank You Very Much. I Do All Those Things You Recommend And I Do Them Between 20 To 25k Miles. Perhaps That Is Why The Trans, Has Been Trouble Free.

Believe It Or Not I Am Still Using The Original O.e Reuseable Pan Gasket. No Leaks Or Seepage.

At My Next Transmission Service I Will Be Sure To Install The Drain Plug Kit.

By The Way I Use Baldwin Brand Transmission Filter And Dexron Iii Fluid. Never Have I Availed Myself Of The Transmission Flush.

Regards,
Fish96

It sounds like you are on top of the situation.

The drain plug should come in handy so it is a good decision to go with. Baldwin screen filter? I've never heard of or used the brand before but as long as it works you. I normally use AC Delco only. The TF304, GM part # 25313825. But it turns out the the SPX/Filtran screen filter shown in the pic is the same as the AC Delco. SPX makes the screen filter for GM and the AC Delco box the filter comes in has SPX documentation.

[BNaylor]

Well, here it is installed. I had to place the drain plug in the same area as the magnet which is at the far right hand side of the pan (passenger side of car). Just drilled a 1/2" inch hole through the pan and magnet. Really no other place to put it since the accumulator, lines and screen filter take up most of the space.

At least the magnet won't be going anywhere.

[FISH96]

Dear B,
Thank You For The Photographs. I Purchased The Oil Tite Brand Plug Base On The Part Number You Supplied. Upon Opening The Package I Discovered A Dorman Part Number 091-048. Perhaps This May Assist Somone Else In Locating The Part.

Did You Receive The P.m. I Sent To You Concerning The Brand Of Filters That I Use? If You Did Not Perhaps I Did Not Use The Correct Procedure Sending Same.

Thanks Again And Regards,
Fish96

[BNaylor]

Yes I did. Thanks. Interesting and I'll keep it in mind.

You're welcome. I've got plenty of pics documenting the job. Here is one where you drill the 1/2" hole. I had to go out and purchase the 1/2" drill bit since I didn't have any that size. Black & Decker running about $10 at WallyMart. Easy job overall.

Also, I used myself as a guinea pig since I could not get any other members to volunteer and switched over to Dexron VI ATF in my Regal GS. No problems noted so far.

[FISH96]

Dear B,
Thank You For Sharing Your Experience With The Installation.
It Is Difficult To Discern From The Photographs, I Can Only Assume The Nylon Gasket Inside The Pan Is Between The Bottom Side Of The Magnet And The Interior Side Pan For The Porper Seal. Am I Correct In This Assumption?

Regards,
Fish96

[BNaylor]

Not a problem. Hard to tell by the pic since the resolution is reduced for posting. The magnet is in it's original position directly on the pan. The plastic washer with the drain kit is over the magnet so the magnet is part of the seal in this particular installation. It has a rubberized coating on it and appears to be flexible. Here is another pic below. If you need the full sized image just let me know and I can email it to you as as attachment. So far with 2 days of observation no leaks at the drain plug.

[tblake]

Shifting alright with that dexron iv?

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by tblake

Shifting alright with that dexron iv?

Hi Tim,

So far no problems noted. With performance shift off sometimes I can't tell or feel the 1-2, 2-3 and 3-4 shifts under normal driving conditions and I installed the ZZP shift kit during the install which is supposed to firm up shifts. Maybe it was a good combination.

BTW - I decided to use the WallyWorld Supertech Dexron VI. I had to go to two different Walmarts out of 4 traveling 30 miles to round up 9 quarts. 9th is for a spare. $2.97 per qt. Unless I run into any problems I'll probably keep it and not do the second drain as planned. Also, the stuff does not have that weird smell like Dex III. Probably my imagination but smelled like Ginseng to me.