As the photo attempts to show, my latest maintenance project was not without challenges. The goal was to change the transmission fluid and filter. According to the service manual, it's a once every 30K service. There are differing opinions on this and some say it can go forever, or until there is an obvious issue while driving (herky-jerky shifting is the most common symptom of something wrong). I look at it this way: The transmission is probably one of the most complicated systems in the car. There is a variety of spinning gears, valves, shafts and other components that make it work. Any car that is 26 years old that has seen limited use will probably benefit at least a little from the maintenance. So, we're giving it a whirl. Again, I got the parts online and fluid at the local store. All told, about 45 bucks.
As I mentioned in my previous post, there are three shields that protect the chassis from heat, noise and who knows what. There are two small shields between the body and the exhaust pipes (which run along either site of the transmission pan, my ultimate target). Once those were off, there is another shield that covers exactly 1/2 of the pan and needs to come off too. It's held on by 8 13-mm bolts. I got 5 of them out pretty easily. The other three are directly above the exhaust pipe on the driver's side. A socket won't fit, and this is about the time I discovered that my open-ended wrench set does not have a 13-mm size. Well, I figured, 1/2 inch is real close to 13 mm, right? This got me two more bolts, and bleeding knuckles.
I was able to rotate the shield (held now by one bolt) and undo the drain plug (the shield normally covers it up). That got the fluid going, and gave me a chance to run out and pick up that 13-mm wrench while the draining progressed. I did read in the procedure that the longer you drain, the better off you are, because it can take forever for the fluid to completely run out. Once I returned, the last bolt came off pretty easily.
Lesson #1 learned: Never, ever feel guilty about purchasing the correct tool.
The next step is to remove the pan, which is the large metal bucket that covers the bottom of the transmission and holds fluid when not in use. The removal was easy, but there are two hoses or wires that are cable tied to the pan itself. Not wanting to disrupt those wires (I don't know what they were - vacuum? fuel? electrical? who knows!!) I got the pan off and let it hang down enough to get access to the fluid filter. Making it more challenging, once the pan was removed, the transmission started spewing forth anew more fluid (so much for the extra drain time). It looks like red wine vinegar, but has the consistency of olive oil, and I ended up with about a pint of it on the garage floor (see picture above). The filter came off easy, but resulted in a repeat dousing of the same fluid I had just cleaned up.
Once disassembled, I replaced the filter and the pan gasket. Since I like to post pictures of my projects in the furthest state of disrepair, here goes:
The section on the left is where the filter attaches, and the portion on the right is the valve body. The pan is hanging down at the bottom of the picture. The valve body is a very sensitive component of the transmission, so I was careful to keep my fingers away. (The procedure I used as a guide admonishes the mechanic from wiping away excess fluid for fear of ruining the component completely). According to the manual, you are supposed to go so far as to check the fluid level with a leather cloth or chamois, because any lint will destroy a valve body and screw up your tranny for good. Yikes.
Lesson #2 - This job is easier for someone with a lift. Not me.
Once I got the pan back on, I put some fluid in, drove it off the ramps and exercised the gear selector (P-R-N-D-N-R-P, etc.). I checked the level. Good. Exercised the selector again. No problems. I replaced the shields and went on the post-maintenance test drive. No problems there either.
Well, it looks like I managed to get this one done without messing up anything too badly. The work was done on Saturday, and I had a bunch of running around today as well. Everything ran great, and I do think it's shifting a little better. It could be my imagination or my own psyche justifying the work, but I definitely know more about cars than I did a few months ago.
Did some more minor repairs today, but it's getting late. Will post some more good stuff in the next day or so.
Happy Father's Day.
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