steering

on my 2001 impala 3.8l the steering seems weird. when turing you get sudden clicks or jolts on the steering wheel, sometimes you can hear it. can anyone help me with what this is?

Intermediate steering shaft lube needed. The dealer will know what it is. I had mine done under warranty. There is a TSB on it, so you could squawk until they take care of it gratis if you handle yourself right.
~Dan

hey thanks, that was the exact problem...has yours come back yet or is it good to go you think?

I think the problem is solved. You can get a lot of information by browsing the web. One thing I have been reading is transmission problems. It caused me to quarrantine my 2000 until I can change my tranny oil. In addition, I bought a transmission pan with a drain plug for $170 so I can drain it a couple of times a year without having to pull the pan or the filter.

...In addition, I bought a transmission pan with a drain plug for $170 so I can drain it a couple of times a year without having to pull the pan or the filter.

Where did you get your tranny pan with drain? Is it steel or aluminum? I also assume it's for the 4T65E? I just bought a 04 Impala and would like to flush and fill the tranny with Mobil-1 ATF. I would also like to add the drain plug. I have a plug that I purchased from Summit that requires drilling a hole in the pan but a custom pan with the plug installed would be even better.

Also your post about the intermediate shaft seal lube on the Impala is interesting. I have the same problem (as do many others ) with my 03 2500HD Silverado (dmax/alli CC). The fix on the 2500HD's is the same - lube the intermediate shaft. Thanks! :)

I got mine from "3800 Performance", you can find them on the web. Yes, the 4T65E. I am satisfied with it, but if I had to do it all over again, I would use that $10 plug you bought and have it welded into the pan. Essentially the one I bought is just that, a modified stock pan, except they add half a dozen cooling tubes which only lower the tx oil temperature by about 10 degrees F. You could do that yourself too. There is another post somewhere talking about flushing the tx. I only drained about 7qt out of the pan, but there is something like another 7qt still in the torque converter. If you have it flushed, then it all gets replaced. As it is, I only replaced about half of the fluid. However, since I will do just about anything I have to before taking it to the shop, I'm going to do it like someone else did: drain the tx again, this time through the plug and get 6 or more qt out. Now I'll have roughly 75% new fluid in there. Another two times and I'll have 94% new fluid. After that, I'll probably drain it once from the plug every time I change the oil, and then do the whole pan and filter again in a year or two. Kind of expensive but I think it's good transmission insurance, and overall keeps my oil much cleaner at all times instead of just once per year or two when the tx would be freshly flushed. Actually, getting the flush is kind of expensive too, so it's probably not much more to do it my way. Environmentalists will probably not like me, but since they're riding their bicycles anyway, I'm using their allotment of tx fluid.

Autoforum,

Thanks for the reply. I think I’ll probably just install the plug I have from summit. I have used your method of just draining the pan instead of the flush for many years on my cars. I usually change the fluid and filter every 30kmiles. I also did a complete flush fill on my last two trucks using synthetic ATF. It’s not hard to do the flush yourself. First I drain the pan and refill tranny with 2-4 extra quarts of fluid. I then disconnect tranny cooler return line and start the engine to pump out the old fluid in the torque converter adding more as needed. Once the color of the fluid coming out changes from dark red to bright red you have flushed the majority of the old fluid. Once I get 100% ATF in the tranny I just drain the pan and refill every second or third oil change to keep the fluid fresh. The only time I redo the flush is if I’ve done a lot of towing. I‘ll also use the same method with the new Impala. (Nice thing about my 03 Silverado with the Duramax Diesel and Allison Automatic is that the Alli has a spin on filter – no need to drop the pan for filter changes)

Bill :)

WGP, Thank you. I'll be giving that a try once I identify the cooler return line and how to disconnect it. The other end, do you then just leave that open as the one is draining or do you have to plug it? Is this method as good as what the shops can do?

Thanks,

~Dan

Dan,

I haven't looked closely at my Impala trannny cooler lines yet but disconnecting the inlet line to the radiator may be the easiest location to access. You can just slip a length of hose over the line for the flush. However, using the inlet line will leave a little old fluid in the cooler but it's not that much. The other option is to disconnect the return line at the transmission and slip a piece of hose over the end as this will flush the cooler too. I'll take a look at my car and see if I can determine what might be the best method to use. Also you don't have to plug the other end of the connection. The transmission pumps fluid from the pan and eventually through the cooler (it wont' "suck" fluid from the cooler ). I also use clear vinyl tubing I can see the fluid flowing and when it changes color from dark to bright red. The main thing with this method is to NOT run the transmission dry. The tranny will pump a large volume of fluid in a short time - as much as a gal in 15-20 seconds. I'm not too familiar with the flushing machines that some shops use but from what I've read I believe there are two types. One method flushes by connecting into the cooler lines without removing the pan. I personally wouldn't use this method as the filter isn't checked or changed. The other method requires the pan to be removed and the flushing machine is connected in place of the tranny filter. The machine then pumps fluid thought the transmission and collects the old fluid.

In summary the method myself and many others have used is as follows:

1. Drop pan, drain and measure amount of old fluid, replace filter and reinstall pan.
2. Refill transmission with the amount of fluid drained plus 2-3 quarts.
3. Remove the cooler return line at the transmission (or inlet to the cooler which ever is more convenient).
4. Connect a length of clear vinyl hose to the cooler line and feed into a bucket. (I use a clear bucket that is marked off in quarts)
5. Start the engine and pump out the extra fluid added into the bucket - tranny will pump about gal in 15-20 seconds.
6. Shut the engine off, add more fluid and repeat until the color of the fluid coming out changes from dark red to bight red, or until the total amount of new fluid you have added is approximately is equal to the capacity of the transmission. (If you have a helper you can ad fluid while the engine is running.)
7. Carefully check and re-check fluid level -add/remove as necessary. I find that by carefully keeping track of how much fluid I add and pump out, I end up with the correct fluid level at the end. However if I'm under I just top off as needed. If I'm over I pump the excess fluid out the fill tube with a hand pump (same type thats used to empty a differential).

Hope this helps… :)
Bill

Thanks much Bill.