First off, I apologize if this issue was addressed earlier in this forum, though when I conducted a search, nothing came up, so here goes. I have a 04 Cavalier LS, auto, 2.2 ecotec with about 51k on the motor and tranny. This is the closest to a new car I've owned in my 26 years of existence, so I've been anal about keeping up with the maintenance and retaining records. I went to 4 different shops in my area to replace the tranny fluid (the manual says to do this every 50k), 3 of these shops told me right off the bat that they wouldn't touch it due to the fact that many of the later model gm and ford vehicles have whats called a closed system, which makes doing a conventional tranny fluid change impossible... The fourth said that they could do it, but it wouldnt be a true flush because they wont be able to drain all of the old fluid out... they said at best i could expect to get 40% replaced...

I want to know if there is a way to do this without the special $400 pump or paying nearly that much to get raped at the local GM dealer (who has a really spotty record with customer service and fraud). Is there someone in the Hudson Valley area of NY who can do this? I dont have the money to get screwed around at the dealership, nor do I want to pay full price for a half fluid change.

Unless you disconnect the fluid lines at the rad cooler, and run new fluid in while the old fluid comes out... there's no real way to do it. And that doesn't guarantee you get it all either!

I changed my fluid myself many times. It's not hard, just messy. Go to the dealer and get a new filter. Jack up the car, put it on jackstands front and rear so the car is relatively level but up in the air. (Easier on a hoist, but I suspect you don't have access to one..?) Take off all the pan bolts, pull out the old filter, then let the fluid drain out for an hour or so til it stops. Pour some new fluid in the cap at the top. You still won't get all the fluid out of the torque converter, but what can you do? Not much. Put the new filter in, pan back on, fill it up. Don't overfill.

Here's the fluid level check procedure in the FAQ: http://www.j-body.org/faq//123/

John.