changing tranny oil

Hi, im about to change my tansmission fluid and wanted to know a few things, 1. how many quarst of transmition oil do i need for my 97 lumina? 2. where can i get the gasket and filter for the tranny? would kragen or autozone have it? any help would be appretiated, thanks.

1. About 7 +/- 1 quart...Buy 7

2. Any parts store.

I bought the filter and gasket set, but was so impressed by the OE silicone gasket that I took off of the pan, and unimpressed with the crappy one that came with the the set, I just re-used the OE one...no leaks...

You'll see what I mean...the OE is heavy, silicone rubber over metal carrier to preserve shape with integral torque limiters around the bolt holes...the one in the kit will be a cheap, thin fiber/rubber composite gasket that looks like an overcooked noodle...POS...

Use the original equipment for this, it may cost more but you will be glad you did. I had to redo mine after about six months when I changed fluid. There is no comparison, the OE is far superior.

As the previous poster mentioned, the oem gasket is reusable multiple times. The only reason to replace it is if it is damaged. It is far superior to the crappy gaskets that come in the aftermarket filter kits (the aftermarket filters are fine though, they just cheap you on the gasket). Any auto parts store will have the filter and fluid available.

I replaced all the ATF in my 93 Limina. I had a local trans pro do the work, took him about 1 hr. I used a Wix trans filter and synthetic ATF. Now, I had all of the fluid changed, that meant purging the cooler and the converter which was easy. What they do is, drop the pan, clean and replace the filter. Fill pan per spec's, disconnet the cooler line coming from trans to radiator. Add a section of hose and direct it to a 5 gal pail, start engine and let it pump out the old ATF while adding new to the pan.

1997 CHEVROLET LUMINA 3.1L 6-cyl Engine Code M

CAPACITIES
Engine, with filter..........4.5 quarts[1]
Automatic Transmission, 4T60E,-65E Initial Fill..........7.4 quarts
Automatic Transmission, Total Fill
4 speed 4T60E,-65E..........13.0 quarts
Wix trans filter...............58918 (Approx. retail $20+-)

Also one more thing, does any one know what type of oil to use, Mercon/Dextron or Type F? Thanks.

Type "F" is for FORDS
you want dextron/mercon

There is no "T" in Dexron but a lot of people seem to like to put one in there.

You might want to consider adding a drain plug to make draining the pan easier when the next 30,000 miles is logged.

http://72.19.213.157/files/4T60EPanIntReworked.jpg

http://72.19.213.157/files/4T60EPanPlugged.jpg

Is there a drain plug on the tranny so I don't have to drop the pan to just change the fluid? If so, where is it?

Is there a drain plug on the tranny so I don't have to drop the pan to just change the fluid? If so, where is it?

No.