Transmission fluid and filter/Spark plugs ect

[DRW1000]

I need to do some maintenance on my Wife’s 99 Venture. I have a couple of questions:

Transmission Fluid
1) bought an ACDelco brand and an aftermarket (Pro-King). I think I may stick to the Delco ($30 vs $20). The after market came with a rubber gasket. The guy at GM told me the factory one is re-usable. Has anyone done theirs and found the gasket to be re-usable?
2) What is the torque spec for the transmission pan screws? (I only have a chiltons that I do not fully trust)
3) Is there a procedure to change all of the fluid? Dropping the pan will only change about ½ I think.
4) I am just using run of the mill Dextron 111. Any opinions?
5) Any potential surprises I should be aware of?

Spark Plugs
1) Is there anything special about the plugs? I know I have to rotate the engine to get to the rear ones.
Are the plugs platinum or double platinum? Are the Delco brand at my Walmart the same as the factory installed ones?
2) Does one use anti-seize? What is the torque setting?

Blower Motor Resistor
1) My front HVAC only works on high speed. I assume the blower resistors are fried. They seem to have been redesigned which makes me think they had a problem to begin with. (Of course no questions here)

Battery Tray
1) My battery tray is cracked from when I had to drill out the clamp bolt when I had to replace the original battery. A factory tray is $58. A universal is less than $10. I don’t think a universal will fit in this instance due to all of the cabling and fuse box attached or right above this battery. Has anyone used a universal battery tray?

I guess that was more than a couple. Thank you very much.

[DRW1000]

Well I managed to replace the resistor pack easily enough.

I changed the oil, oil filter and air filter. Is there an easy way to change the air filter? There just does not seem to be enough room. I disconnected the accordian hose from the MAF but even then it was tough to get the filter out and back in again.

I couldn't get the battery tray (only tried one dealer) and the plugs at my local canadian tire did not carry the ACdelco number listed in my manual.

Is there anything overly special about these plugs? I assume they are platinum but are they platinum on both the centre and side electrodes? On my Windstar the plugs have to be platinum on both electrodes because 1/2 of the plugs fire from centre to side and the other half from side to centre. This is why Bosch platinums, Bosch 2s or Bosch 4's cannot be used. In fact only Motorcraft and Autolite make a true double platinum for the Windstar. I was wondering if there is a similar issue with the Ventures.

It was way too nice on the weekend to do the tranny fluid. I may atempt it tomorrow.

[GregA]

Originally Posted by DRW1000

Is there an easy way to change the air filter? There just does not seem to be enough room. I disconnected the accordian hose from the MAF but even then it was tough to get the filter out and back in again.

My son (in Auto-Tech class) just changed the air filter on my 2001. The instructions from the factory manual said to do what you did, but it was still a pain. To make it easier, he disconnected the hoses ALL THE WAY TO THE THROTTLE BODY.

Once that was done, the Air Cleaner housing was EASY to get to and changing the filter was simple. It was kind of hard to get both ends of the hoses back on, but with a little twisting & pushing, it got done. Oh yeah, he reconnected the hose to the air filter housing FIRST, then the throttle body.

Originally Posted by DRW1000

I couldn't get the battery tray (only tried one dealer) and the plugs at my local canadian tire did not carry the ACdelco number listed in my manual.

Is there anything overly special about these plugs?

I would try a salvage yard, or one of the online stores for the battery tray.

For the spark plugs, I see AC Delco 41-940 listed in my manual. They should be the same plugs, regardless of where you get them (Walmart, parts store, etc.). I believe these are platinum, but I am not sure.

[DRW1000]

Originally Posted by GregA

My son (in Auto-Tech class) just changed the air filter on my 2001. The instructions from the factory manual said to do what you did, but it was still a pain. To make it easier, he disconnected the hoses ALL THE WAY TO THE THROTTLE BODY.

I disconnected a couple of things too. An inch would have made all the difference.

Originally Posted by GregA

Once that was done, the Air Cleaner housing was EASY to get to and changing the filter was simple. It was kind of hard to get both ends of the hoses back on, but with a little twisting & pushing, it got done. Oh yeah, he reconnected the hose to the air filter housing FIRST, then the throttle body.

I would try a salvage yard, or one of the online stores for the battery tray.

Tried Rock-auto and a couple of other on-lines. I thought of salavge yards but with gas and my time I would rather just get it quickly and close by.

Originally Posted by GregA

For the spark plugs, I see AC Delco 41-940 listed in my manual. They should be the same plugs, regardless of where you get them (Walmart, parts store, etc.). I believe these are platinum, but I am not sure.

Yeah the Canadian Tire had a lot of Delco but not that particular number. No apparent spot for it either. Wal-mart's selection is less. I was actually just asking if anyone had found these numbers at their neighbourhood Walmarts etc. Again I will just go to GM if the close majors don't have them.

[DRW1000]

I changed the transmission fluid:

-I siphoned out about 6 litres before removing the pan. This made the job a lot less messy.
-The torque for the bolts is 120 in-lbs according to my Haynes.
-The factory gasket re-usable.