"Clever" way I plan to my change Transmission Fluid
MrCreosote
08-09-2007, 10:45 PM
I've been thinking how to do this and there is no doubt the best way is to:
drain the pan or suck it try,
fill to over full by a couple quarts,
disconnect the fluid line under the radiator, and
replace the fluid as it is pumped out.NOTE: The Ford service manual method overfills the trans by over 5 quarts so overfilling while doing this is no problem.
Posts indicate that it takes a while to get a quart pumped out, maybe 45-60 seconds. So you can put a quart in a lot faster than the time it takes to pump one out.
So when do you put the quart in?
Here's the gimmick:
Empty pan by any method,
Disconnect line under radiator and run a hose out from under car to an oil drain pan*,
Use a nice big tapered funnel on the fill tube,
Fill to 2 quarts over full,
PUT EMPTY QUARTS IN OIL DRAIN PAN!
Put hose in first empty,
Start engine,
When the quart is filled, move hose to next empty quart,
Dump another quart in funnel,
REPEAT the steps 8 and 9 until you have used all your new fluid,
Stop Engine, check level,
Pump required fluid out to get down to FULL.* - Determine which side to put the hose on by following fluid lines. The top line coming out of the transmission is the Fluid Out port.
When done, all the old fluid will be in the quarts you just bot!
drain the pan or suck it try,
fill to over full by a couple quarts,
disconnect the fluid line under the radiator, and
replace the fluid as it is pumped out.NOTE: The Ford service manual method overfills the trans by over 5 quarts so overfilling while doing this is no problem.
Posts indicate that it takes a while to get a quart pumped out, maybe 45-60 seconds. So you can put a quart in a lot faster than the time it takes to pump one out.
So when do you put the quart in?
Here's the gimmick:
Empty pan by any method,
Disconnect line under radiator and run a hose out from under car to an oil drain pan*,
Use a nice big tapered funnel on the fill tube,
Fill to 2 quarts over full,
PUT EMPTY QUARTS IN OIL DRAIN PAN!
Put hose in first empty,
Start engine,
When the quart is filled, move hose to next empty quart,
Dump another quart in funnel,
REPEAT the steps 8 and 9 until you have used all your new fluid,
Stop Engine, check level,
Pump required fluid out to get down to FULL.* - Determine which side to put the hose on by following fluid lines. The top line coming out of the transmission is the Fluid Out port.
When done, all the old fluid will be in the quarts you just bot!
rodeo02
08-10-2007, 08:27 PM
I'm not sure how 7 thru 10 will work out for you.:uhoh: Different vehicle, but the most recent pump out and refill I did was on the 4L60E in my 2005 trailblazer. That baby would pump a GALLON of ATF through the cooler circuit in approx 10sec. I made a heck of a mess with the first gallon. I couldn't get out from under the truck fast enough to kill the ignition, the hose blew out of the overflowing gallon jug... You can picture the rest! :banghead: For the next gallon, I had the Missus man the wheel. I'm not sure how much/fast the AX4S/4N pumps, but use gallon jugs at a minimum and have a helper. I've only done suck outs and refills on my 2001 AX4N. I use a homemade setup with a 5gal pail w/ lid, some 3/8" poly tubing and a shop vac. The dealer has done 2 pan drops and filter changes on it.
Joel
Joel
MrCreosote
08-11-2007, 11:17 AM
I'm starting to have second "thoughts" (haha).
Well, people have posted how slow it pumps out - I hope that is correct.
You should see the front pump in this transmission - it looks like a glorified fuel pump. Very pathetic.
Flaw with my method is that it is going to be near impossible to see when a quart container is nearly full - there simply isn't enough room to look in the top.
I need some containers that have the clear view stripe down the side like those 5 quart Mobil 1 jugs.
I'm going to check the routing of the fluid tubes/hoses and if correct, I'm going to disconnect the tube going into the top of the radiator cooler if it is the correct one. Then there will be no need to get under the van whatsoever.
I'm going to do it today so we shall see...
Well, people have posted how slow it pumps out - I hope that is correct.
You should see the front pump in this transmission - it looks like a glorified fuel pump. Very pathetic.
Flaw with my method is that it is going to be near impossible to see when a quart container is nearly full - there simply isn't enough room to look in the top.
I need some containers that have the clear view stripe down the side like those 5 quart Mobil 1 jugs.
I'm going to check the routing of the fluid tubes/hoses and if correct, I'm going to disconnect the tube going into the top of the radiator cooler if it is the correct one. Then there will be no need to get under the van whatsoever.
I'm going to do it today so we shall see...
12Ounce
08-11-2007, 12:10 PM
I think the Winnie trans pumps slow enough so that your proposed method would work.
But I would also suggest you have an assistant for starting and shuting down the engine. You will not want to get into your vehicle once your hands (arms, face, etc) are covered in fluid ... and you'll be a bit frantic if you try to take time to clean-up.
But I would also suggest you have an assistant for starting and shuting down the engine. You will not want to get into your vehicle once your hands (arms, face, etc) are covered in fluid ... and you'll be a bit frantic if you try to take time to clean-up.
12Ounce
08-11-2007, 01:19 PM
I also strongly suggest, at some point, you drop the pan for a wipe-out, look-see ... and filter changeout unless you find it very clean.
MrCreosote
08-11-2007, 04:21 PM
Someone said it pumps out like 45 seconds per quart. Mine was more like 15 seconds, so that is pretty quick.
I ended up using a 3 qt. clear plastic bucket container some candy came in. I marked 1 and 2 qt. levels.
I put the bucket on top of the battery so I could see it.
I removed the top line from the radiator cooler.
I removed the clip and then used the traditional "sleeve" tool to release whatever was or wasn't holding the tube in. (I know people say, remove clip, remove tube, but I was not going to bull it out and find later I needed the sleeve tool.)
One tip, if you plan on sucking or pumping it out of the pan, make sure it is warmed up a bit. My Stewart Warner gasoline diaphragm pump was not up to the task with cold fluid. Running engine in park for about 15 min hardly warmed the fluid but it was enough to make the pump work.
I was only able to pump 4-5 quarts using 1/4" vinyl tubing. I don't know where people are coming up with 6-7 quarts.
Everything went as expected and hose only shot out of bucket once but just laying it between stuff was all that was needed to stabilize it.
Cleanup with the former Castrol Super Clean degreaser was a snap.
I ended up using a 3 qt. clear plastic bucket container some candy came in. I marked 1 and 2 qt. levels.
I put the bucket on top of the battery so I could see it.
I removed the top line from the radiator cooler.
I removed the clip and then used the traditional "sleeve" tool to release whatever was or wasn't holding the tube in. (I know people say, remove clip, remove tube, but I was not going to bull it out and find later I needed the sleeve tool.)
One tip, if you plan on sucking or pumping it out of the pan, make sure it is warmed up a bit. My Stewart Warner gasoline diaphragm pump was not up to the task with cold fluid. Running engine in park for about 15 min hardly warmed the fluid but it was enough to make the pump work.
I was only able to pump 4-5 quarts using 1/4" vinyl tubing. I don't know where people are coming up with 6-7 quarts.
Everything went as expected and hose only shot out of bucket once but just laying it between stuff was all that was needed to stabilize it.
Cleanup with the former Castrol Super Clean degreaser was a snap.
rodeo02
08-12-2007, 11:19 AM
Thanks for the follow up MrC! Good info. Man.. it's no wonder why these transaxles can have heat related issues if they only pump ~1qt/15sec. It's also been my experience to get 3-4qts out of a dipstick tube vacuuming. I'll do one, drive it for a day or 10, then do another. FWIW, I do the same thing with the coolant bottle. My coolant is as green and purdy as new.
Joel
Joel
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