Transmission Filter ('95 4x4)

[JoulesWinfield]

I looked every where and I couldnt find the information here so I thought I would post what I found on my truck.

First off the filter was about $6.00 with a new gasket and ring seal.
The service fill is supposed to be 5 quarts. Make sure you only buy the GM approved ATF fluid Dexron-III.

To remove the transmission pan you must first remove the crossmember. This consists of 4 bolts and 2 nuts.

To make my life less oily I used a litle hand pump and a long hose through the dipstick tube to remove as much fluid as possible before I started taking things apart.

The next thing to do is break the two nuts on the transmission mount/vibration dampner. These are 15mm nuts.
Then remove the two bolts on the left (drivers) side. Bolts go from the bottom up with nuts and washers on top of the frame. Bolt head is 15mm and the nuts are 13mm. I used a long 3/4" breaker bar to break every thing loose and then used my air ratchet to buzz them out quickly.

Next I removed the bolts on the right side. Bolts go from the outside in. Same method of removal as the left side.
But before taking the bolts out you will need to put a jack under the transfer case and raise it up a little. Just to take the weight off of the crossmember.
Now you can pull the bolts.
All you need to do is take the nuts off the rest of the way off the mount and the crossmember will come right down.

Next on to the transmission oil pan. All but two of the bolts have a 13mm head. I think the two that hold the shift cable bracket are 10mm or 11mm I cant recall which. I just buzzed these all off with a 4" extension and a universal on the front side of the pan because the y-pipe is in the way.

I took all of the back and two side bolts completely off and had a very large drip pan and my drain pan under the trans. Then from the front of the truck I started removing the front pan bolts. It worked out well, it started draining a little as I started loosening the last bolt. If it doesnt just take a long screw driver or pry bar in my case and pry gently at the edge you want to start draining from.
Once the gasket has let loose I slowly loosened more and more until pretty much all the fluid was out of the pan.

Once thats off you will need to clean up all the gasket that got stuck here and there. Wipe out the pan as best as you can. I didnt use any solvent just clean rags and blew it out with the compressor.

The old filter will pull right off, just apply pressure in the area that is attached and pull evenly.
If the old ring seal stays in just reuse that. Cause they can be a real pain in the butt to remove.

Now pop the new filter in, place the new gasket on the pan and put all of the screws in by hand. Make sure you get the screws through each hole in the gasket before you tighten anything.
The torque on the pan bolts is 15lb/ft and the linkage bracket bolts is 18lb/ft.
Not a critical torque but if you over torque you will split the gasket.

When you fill it back up I tried to measure what I took out using an old gallon bottle. When I refilled I put in a little less than what I took out. I just made sure I could read some level on the dipstick so that I wasnt going to damage anything. After the initial fill take it for a spin to warm it up. When you get it back check for leaks and top it off.

Total cost for me was about $20.00 and about 3 hours total with clean up and everything.

Now to see if my 150,000 mile transmission falls apart cause I changed the filter.opcorn:

[BlazerBoyLT98]

Very cool

[ZL1power69]

nice instructions. ill stick this in the how to section.

[JoulesWinfield]

Originally Posted by ZL1power69

nice instructions. ill stick this in the how to section.

Thanks, btw; why cant I edit my post? I see a couple of mistakes that I would like to fix.

It should look like this:
I looked every where and I couldnt find this information, so I thought I would post what I found on my truck.

First off the filter was about $6.00 with a new gasket and ring seal.
The service fill is supposed to be 5 quarts. Make sure you only buy the GM approved ATF fluid Dexron-III.

To remove the transmission pan you must first remove the crossmember. This consists of 4 bolts and 2 nuts.

To make my life less oily I used a little hand pump and a long hose through the dipstick tube to remove as much fluid as possible before I started taking things apart.

The next thing to do is break loose the two nuts on the transmission mount/vibration dampner. These are 15mm nuts.
Then remove the two bolts on the left (drivers) side. Bolts go from the bottom up with nuts and washers on top of the cross member. Bolt head is 15mm and the nuts are 13mm. I used a long 3/4" breaker bar to break every thing loose and then used my air ratchet to buzz them out quickly.

Next I removed the bolts on the right side. Bolts go from the inside out (nuts in side the frame). Same method of removal as the left side.
But before taking the bolts out you will need to put a jack under the transfer case and raise it up a little. Just to take the weight off of the crossmember.
Now you can pull the bolts.
Take the nuts off the rest of the way off the mount and the crossmember will come right down.

Next on to the transmission oil pan. All but two of the bolts have a 13mm head. I think the two that hold the shift cable bracket are 10mm or 11mm I cant recall which. I just buzzed these all off with a 4" extension and my air ratchet. Use a universal for the bolts on the front side of the pan because the y-pipe is in the way.

I took all of the back and side bolts completely off and had a very large drip pan and my drain pan under the trans. Then from the front of the truck I started removing the front pan bolts. It worked out well, it started draining a little as I started loosening the last bolt. If it doesnt just take a long screw driver or pry bar in my case and pry gently at the edge you want to start draining from.
Once the gasket has let loose I slowly loosened more and more until pretty much all the fluid was out of the pan.

Once thats off you will need to clean up all the gasket that got stuck here and there. Wipe out the pan as best as you can. I didnt use any solvent just clean rags and blow it out with the compressor.

The old filter will pull right off, just apply pressure in the area that is attached and pull evenly.
If the old ring seal stays in just reuse that. Cause they can be a real pain in the butt to remove.

Now pop the new filter in, place the new gasket on the pan and put all of the screws in by hand. Make sure you get the screws through each hole in the gasket before you tighten anything.
The torque on the pan bolts is 15lb/ft and the linkage bracket bolts is 18lb/ft.
Not a critical torque but if you over torque you will split the gasket.

Before I filled it back up I tried to measure what I took out using an old gallon bottle. Then when I refilled it, I put in a little less than what I took out. I just made sure I could read some level on the dipstick so that I wasnt going to damage anything. After the initial fill take it for a spin to warm it up. When you get it back check for leaks and top it off.

Total cost for me was about $20.00 and about 3 hours total with clean up and everything.

Now to see if my 150,000 mile transmission falls apart cause I changed the filter.

[Railroadman]

Hello This My First Post

I have a problem with my transmission fluid and filter change. MY 1998 sonoma 2 wheel drive is due for a change. So I have removed the pan, removed the filter and seal. Now here is where the uncertainty starts. My haynes manual says to remove the filter rotate it out of the clip that secures it and pull it down and out. I put the seal on the tube and pushed it up in the hole that the old one came out of but it dosen't seem to be very secure. If I rotate it counterdclockwise it will hang there till I get the pan on but does the pan hold it up into position whre it stays? I don't won't to cause any damage to the transmission so until I get a reply I haven't replaced the fluid or started the engine. The book refers to a clip that holds the filter. Could this be some grooves in the transmission? I havent' seen a Clip? Please Help!
Thanks
Railroadman

[wafrederick]

There is no clip,the filter is held in by the ring seal in the pump which the book is 100% wrong.I have never seen a clip on any 4L60Es holding the filter on.

[Leeann94astro]

Your book covers multiple years of vehicles; the clip simply doesn't apply to your year vehicle.

[JoulesWinfield]

I now have 179,000miles and its been three years since the change.
No problems yet. I have pulled my 6x10 trailer loaded back and fourth to SC from MI a couple times with no issues at all.

So, if you have been debating changing your filter and fluid cause someone says "its too late now, just drive it till it blows up", just change it. Two wrongs dont make a right.

[viggy58]

NICE!!! thanks for the update!!!