So can someone verify a couple of things for me. I have been searching this website and the entire internet for years for this information and finally found ONE video that shows that I need.



But it conflicts with almost everything on the subject that has been posted on this forum. I have found the fill plug, and from what I can tell it must be a 5/16" hex because my 3/8 is just a little too big. So first - can someone verify that both the drain and fill are 5/16"?

Then, more importantly - can someone verify that the CHECK plug is on the BACK of the transmission, facing the firewall (facing "south" towards the rear of the vehicle). I do not plan on seeing, touching or messing with this plug.
And can someone verify that the DRAIN plug is facing the driver's side wheel (facing "west") and is at the very lowest point on the transmission. My main concern is that the hex I am going to buy for this one thing will not fit in that narrow space shown in the video.

I am not raising the car to do this. I crawled under the front yesterday and can reach the drain and see what I'm doing with my head sideways on the ground. The fluid has been in this car forever and never been touched so I am just going to see what kind of stuff comes out and then put 1.8 quarts in the top.

Don't know why the link didn't show up.
here it is

Drain plug is the one on the bottom of the differential housing. The red cap on top is where you fill; it unscrews. Put in 1.8-2qrts of syncromesh and call it a day. I can't comment on the plug head sizes, I can't remember.



"In Oldskool we trust"

So I bought the 5/16 hex key, 2 quarts of dexron and crawl under there ready to go ........neither the fill nor the drain will move. Totally stuck frozen won't come off. I had already completed drenched both with WD40 twice in the past week in preparation for this.

Any suggestions about how to get these two hex bolts off? I cannot take a chance on stripping or damaging them in any way, so if someone has had success with a penetrating oil - let me know which you recommend.

Make sure you have the snuggest fitting allen wrench possible. Slide the box end of a standard wrench over the long end. Stick long end of allen wrench into the plug and tap the end of it with a hammer to make sure its as far in as it can go. Hold the end of the allen wrench straight while using the standard wrench that you slid over the allen wrench for leverage to turn. Hook 2 standard wrenches together if necessary.

Or, buy the correct sized allen wrench socket and hammer that in before using a ratchet on it.



"In Oldskool we trust"

Thank you for the replies. Not just to this thread but for those few people who still read this forum and own / try to maintain their cavaliers and Sunfires. Between being one of the few people who still plans on keeping my 17-year-old Cavalier, and being mind-bogglingly poor and having nobody to help me with repairs, any help I can get is nice.

I decided to go spend another $5 on a bottle of this "PB Blaster" stuff that seems to be what everyone says is the best for loosening stuck bolts. On top of that, I found a metal hammer that has a handle that unscrews - and the result is basically a small pipe that just fits over/around the hex key to extend my leverage. I doused the bolts in the Walmart parking lot and figure I will crawl under the car later on to see what the results are.

I am worried about any catastrophically expensive mechanical problem - like my transmission or engine - and don't even know what I would do or how I would go about dealing with such a situation if and when it happens. I'm getting a lot of noise - like the same rattle I've had with this transmission forever - except a lot louder and more constant - as well as having trouble shifting gears. For the last few years, the only way to get it into 1st has been to shift into 2nd then go straight up from there, but now I'm having a little trouble with the others as well. I am hoping a fresh flushing of new fluid will help. I am even thinking about just letting these 2 quarts have a month or so so slosh around then repeating it to clear out any junk floating around in there.