[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by TJay74

Hmm, hoping that wont be an issue. Worse case is I start the car up and leave the fill port open while the car is running and I row thru the gears to allow the fluid to get thru the system.

I guess I haven't looked close enough to see where the cooler lines attach relative to the drain port. If they are higher than the drain, well...then it's likely they are draining out, too.

Not a big deal - your process is about as simple as it gets, and makes a ton of sense.

I was just curious if anyone's looked into it.

[TJay74]

I am hoping it is easy as well. I had a quick glance the other day while under the car but nothing in depth. I will report back as I will probably tackle this project this weekend since I have a 4 day weekend and it is going to be nice out.

[TJay74]

Well, that was fun...Not....lol

After fighting the hand pump for an extra hour a 1 hour job turned into a 2 hour job but I got the transmission fluid changed out. Here is all you will need.

3/8 ratchet
3/8 drive 3" extension
3/8 15mm socket
4 jack stands
floor jack
drain pan
some sort of hand pump for the new fluid

After getting the basics out of the way of getting the car up on all 4 jack stands the next part will be to put the jack under the middle of the transmission to support it and jack it up some. Not a lot, just enough to keep it from dropping due to the next step.

Next you will need to remove the 4 - 15mm outer cross member bolts and then the 2 middle transmission mount bolts. The cross member will drop down now, just move it out of the way. You have to do this in order to get to the drain plug as it is right up under the cross member.

Use the 3/8 ratchet to remove the drain plug. Be forewarned the fluid will gulp out and splash out, so be prepared with some towels or else use the plug to soften the gulps. Once it is done draining go ahead and put the drain plug back in and tighten it back up.

Now comes the fun part, filling the transmission back up. I cant stress enough how you will need a good pump for this part. Otherwise you will make a huge mess every where. Learn from my mistake, be prepared and have one ahead of time. Space is tight and there is not much room to move around.

The fill port is on the drivers side of the transmission, there is a cooler line that sits right on top of the plug. I just pulled the line from the holder to get some room and got to where I could pump the fluid back into the transmission. In the end it took almost 4qt of fluid before the fluid started to weep back out the fill hole. Once it started to weep out I pulled the hose and put the plug back in and tightened everything up.

I then fired the car up and rowed it thru the gears while easing the clutch out while up on the stands. Then I killed the car and pulled the fill port plug to make sure I was still full and I was, so I buttoned it up for the last time.

Initial drive shows a huge improvement in shift feel and how notchy the shifting felt on the OEM fluid. I went with Royal Purple MAX ATF and it seems to be a lot better so far. I will report back as the next couple of days go by.

Here are some pics that I took and the nice surprise I found in the pan when I was dumping the old fluid out.

[171LE]

Originally Posted by TJay74

Well, that was fun...Not....lol

After fighting the hand pump for an extra hour a 1 hour job turned into a 2 hour job but I got the transmission fluid changed out. Here is all you will need.

3/8 ratchet
3/8 drive 3" extension
3/8 15mm socket
4 jack stands
floor jack
drain pan
some sort of hand pump for the new fluid

After getting the basics out of the way of getting the car up on all 4 jack stands the next part will be to put the jack under the middle of the transmission to support it and jack it up some. Not a lot, just enough to keep it from dropping due to the next step.

Next you will need to remove the 4 - 15mm outer cross member bolts and then the 2 middle transmission mount bolts. The cross member will drop down now, just move it out of the way. You have to do this in order to get to the drain plug as it is right up under the cross member.

Use the 3/8 ratchet to remove the drain plug. Be forewarned the fluid will gulp out and splash out, so be prepared with some towels or else use the plug to soften the gulps. Once it is done draining go ahead and put the drain plug back in and tighten it back up.

Now comes the fun part, filling the transmission back up. I cant stress enough how you will need a good pump for this part. Otherwise you will make a huge mess every where. Learn from my mistake, be prepared and have one ahead of time. Space is tight and there is not much room to move around.

The fill port is on the drivers side of the transmission, there is a cooler line that sits right on top of the plug. I just pulled the line from the holder to get some room and got to where I could pump the fluid back into the transmission. In the end it took almost 4qt of fluid before the fluid started to weep back out the fill hole. Once it started to weep out I pulled the hose and put the plug back in and tightened everything up.

I then fired the car up and rowed it thru the gears while easing the clutch out while up on the stands. Then I killed the car and pulled the fill port plug to make sure I was still full and I was, so I buttoned it up for the last time.

Initial drive shows a huge improvement in shift feel and how notchy the shifting felt on the OEM fluid. I went with Royal Purple MAX ATF and it seems to be a lot better so far. I will report back as the next couple of days go by.

Here are some pics that I took and the nice surprise I found in the pan when I was dumping the old fluid out.

Nice write up!
That is a lot of metal, how many miles do you have?
I just took my Camaro in for the crapiest excuse for a shifter ever(when cold) and got a copy of the TSB for the 6060s and them stating everything is normal...
I can't even shift into reverse on some days...

[TJay74]

1200 miles as of this morning. This was the only chunk in the OEM fluid. The OEM fluid did have a metallic sheen to it though so I think this was a win/win to go ahead and change it out.

[171LE]

Originally Posted by TJay74

1200 miles as of this morning. This was the only chunk in the OEM fluid. The OEM fluid did have a metallic sheen to it though so I think this was a win/win to go ahead and change it out.

I think your right, the dealer even mutter fluid change to me...

I have 3k miles now and cold shifting is getting worse, I am very interested to here how yours shifts in a few thousand miles.