changing auto transmission fluid.. need some help

[ph00_]

im going to be changing the auto trans fluid in my friends 2001 escort zx2.. does anyone have a procedure on this.. sounds like i just need to drain it.. remove the pan.. change the filter and gasket and then fill it up and run it till its warm and top it off.. sounds good? any special tools needed?

[GTP Dad]

You already know how to do the job. Except you will need to loosen the pan to drain it as most transmissions do not have a drain plug. When you are loosening the pan do not remove all the bolts, just loosen them and pry the pan, gently from the tranny. Have a fluid pan ready as it will start to drain. Once you drain as much out as possible drop the pan, clean it out, replace the filter, put the new gasket on the pan and replace. Make sure you clean the mating surface for the gasket. Top off with the proper fluid and away you go. No special tools needed to do this job, just a little time and a quite a few rags.

[ph00_]

cool.. how much fluid is normal for an escort.. like 2qts? so i guess fill it till its low on the hash marks on the dip stick.. start the car let it warm up to normal temp and then top it off till its at the normal level? and im guessing i fill through the dipstick tube with a large funnel or something

[chevyn0va1]

Originally Posted by ph00_

cool.. how much fluid is normal for an escort.. like 2qts? so i guess fill it till its low on the hash marks on the dip stick.. start the car let it warm up to normal temp and then top it off till its at the normal level? and im guessing i fill through the dipstick tube with a large funnel or something

Going to need more then 2 qts. (TRANSMISSION (CAPACITY) 4 1/10 QUARTS)Yes fill through dipstick let it warm go through some gears while your foot is on brake and then recheck level.

[dlbdata]

Yours is a 2001 so hopefully you shouldn't have the kind of problem I had on my 95 Excort 1.9 LX. I tried to drop the auto trans pan to change the fluid/filter. 2 of the bolts that hold the pan on were so corroded they just snapped right off. Couldn't get them out with an extractor, so I just brought the fluid/filter back for a credit, and ended up getting the tranny flushed instead.

[ph00_]

yeah pb blaster works great if you ever have anything coroded

[chevyn0va1]

Originally Posted by ph00_

yeah pb blaster works great if you ever have anything coroded

anytime I take any bolt or nut off I always hit it with anti-size you never know when you'll have to go back in. Also every car I own I own till it dont move anymore and im always the one to fix it so I look at it as a helper for later on.

[dlbdata]

Originally Posted by ph00_

yeah pb blaster works great if you ever have anything coroded

Did you find this product significantly better than anything else. I've always just used CRC556 or WD40?

[ph00_]

Originally Posted by dlbdata

Did you find this product significantly better than anything else. I've always just used CRC556 or WD40?

oh yeah pbblaster like eats through the rust... you can see it bubbling works much better than anything ive used

[ph00_]

well i did the job tonight and eveything went well.. except there is a crossmember in the way of getting to like 3 of the bolts that hold the pan on, which was a b*tch. but other than that the job was cake.. thanks for all the help

[chevyn0va1]

Originally Posted by ph00_

well i did the job tonight and eveything went well.. except there is a crossmember in the way of getting to like 3 of the bolts that hold the pan on, which was a b*tch. but other than that the job was cake.. thanks for all the help

was the car problematic or was this just a preventive maintainance?

[ph00_]

just a 30k mile service