Reusable trans pan gasket?

[DEEPEE]

1999 '88, 3.8 liter. Does the transmission pan have the reusable gasket or do you replace it every time you drop the pan?

[BNaylor]

How many miles do you have?

The tranny pan gasket is reusable on all 4T65E autotransaxles. However, inspect the ribs and make sure none are damaged. Be sure to properly torque the 20 M6 pan bolts to 10 lb-ft or 120 in-lb.

[DEEPEE]

77,000 miles

[dhspring]

I have 157,000 miles on my 95 Olds LSS and still using the original pan gasket, the oil pan gasket wore out long ago and was leaking like a sieve, but the tranny gasket is a beast and still good. But why drop the pan? I learned on this forum a great trick. If ur just changing the tranny oil and filter, I wouldn't worry about the "filter" because it's only a screen really, not like an oil filter, and there's no combustion going on in the tranny so here's a very simple and easy way to change the tranny oil.

Take off the top cooling line going into the radiator and plumb in a similar line with exact threads as the trans line, I got a steel brake line with the same threads from O'Reilly's. That's the one on the right side of the engine by the battery on the 95 88's. Tranny fluid returns to the transmission on that line so fluid is coming out of that fitting. Cut the line off of the line you buy at about 6 inches and put a snugly fitting rubber hose - like vacuum hose - on the end so that you can flow it into a bucket or can for disposal. Once you have the line plumbed in, start the car and it will slowly flow dirty trans oil out, let it pump about 1 gallon out and shut the car off. Refill the trans with 1 gallon of clean fluid. Do this 2 more times and you will have 3 gallons of dirty oil out and clean oil in and you're done. No mess no hassle, replace the line and youre done for 40k miles. Oh, and don't do this when the oil is hot obviously.