Hello,

Has anyone performed a transmission flush and fill on their j-body vehicle? I have a 2000 Sunfire 4cyl 2.2L with 80K miles on it and I am thinking of doing this sometime soon. I just would like to know if it's worth it, or what hiccups I should expect.

I plan on keeping the vehicle until it dies, so I think it's a good idea to get this done.

How difficult is this job? I broke a lug nut on the front once and it took me a couple of days to figure out get the hub off the spindle, but I managed to get it all fixed and put back together solo. So, comparativly speaking is the tranny flush and fill easier or harder? Should I have a friend stop by to help?

Thanks,

Chris

The search feature on j-body.org can be done using

subject, author, date, etc..


I believe it was in 2003 when Ferrite posted a detailed

description on 4 speed auto fluid changing.


Put 'ferrite' into the search engine, and you'll probably

find his excellent article.

I couldn't find the article by "Ferrite" you mentioned. I did find some advice on when to change it, but nothing in terms of technical difficulty or how to.

Chris

Its actually really easy. You need the following tools:

8mm socket
10mm socket
2 jackstands
1 jack
1 level

Go to a parts store and get a filter and gasket kit. Make sure you get a good rubber gasket and not some cheap cork gasket.

Step 1: Raise front of vehicle and place on jackstands.
Step 2: Place a big catch can under the transmission and loosen the 8mm bolts on the rear of the pan. Work your way towards the front of the transmission untill the fluid is drained out.
Step 3: Drop the pan and remove the filter (black thing). It should just pop right out.
Step 4: Remove the seal that went around the filter's inlet
Step 5: Install the new seal that came in the kit
Step 6: Install the new filter
Step 7: Place gasket around pan and reinstall pan. Start in the middle and work your way out towards the front and rear of the car. The torque specs (off the top of my head) are like 10ft lbs, which isn't very tight at all.
Step 8: Place your jack under the rear axle and have a friend hold the level on the bottom of the transmission pan and jack the rear up untill the transmission pan is sitting level.
Step 9: Fill the transmission with about 5 quarts of fluid.
Step 10: Start the car and run the transmission though all the gears and then put it back in park and leave the car running. Remove the check plug that is located just beneath the housing where the passenger side axle goes in (its a 10mm bolt). Add fluid to the transmission untill you see fluid come out of that hole. Put the bolt back in and you should be good to go.
Step 11: After road testing the vehicle check for any leaks around your gasket. Do this again after driving on it for a few days.

Oh, you will probably need anywhere between 5-7 quarts of fluid. I would just pick up a couple 1 gallon jugs. Having a nice long funnel helps as well.

Thanks, that's the answer I was looking for.

Chris

My 2.4L auto tranny took 9.5 quarts before it was full.

Old Wolf, a question....

Was about half of that 9 1/2 quarts poured and

then you started the engine ?

(It's got to be 'circulating' to do the fill.)

Yes, the total fill was 9.5 qts with the engine running and the 10mm bolt hole weeping with just a slight amount of fluid.