krisk
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
For anyone who has thought about checking the transmission fluid in their 10r80, I’ll let you know it is not fun. I changed out my transmission pan for one that has a plug so I can regularly change my fluid since I am tracking my car. I have the shop manual which says the initial fill after dropping the pan is 5 quarts, but just to be safe and possibly keep from having to add any extra fluid, I measured what I drained out of the car. In total, I measured 7.5 quarts drained. There may have been another 1/2 quart that dripped on the floor, stayed in my drain pan, etc., but likely less than that. So in total it was under 8 quarts drained from the car. As an initial fill I added 7.5 quarts. None of the work up to this point was too terrible.
The fun part is getting the transmission up to 206-216 degrees, getting underneath the car, unscrewing the dipstick cap, which is right next to the catalytic converter, then reinserting and removing the dipstick to read the level. Fortunately, I was prepared as I had two heat resistant Kevlar gloves/sleeves, a flexible head extra long ratchet wrench, a fluid pump and an extra long pair of needle nose pliers. Plus, I have a lift, so at least I wasn’t crawling on my back under the car. Even so, it was a pain.
In my case, even after the 7.5 quart fill, the fluid wasn’t even registering on the dipstick. I ended up adding another 1.5 quarts to get it between the 4 & 5 mark. I’m glad I measured what came out and refilled it with 7.5 quarts initially, because if i had followed the service manual I would have been 4 quarts low when driving it around to warm up.
A couple of comments for anyone who is planning to check their fluid. 1. The service manual shows using a socket, universal joint, and extra long socket extension bar stuck from the bottom of the car up through the engine bay and then using a socket wrench from the top to loosen the dipstick cap. That was my intention until I looked up from the bottom of the transmission and couldn’t even see daylight through the engine bay. It would have been a nightmare to do it the way they suggested. Fortunately I had an extra long flexible head 19mm ratchet wrench, which made it fairly easy to loosen from underneath the car. 2. Get some heat resistant gloves/sleeves. I was able to use the wrench to loosen the cap and the needle nose pliers to grab and remove it, but I still had to get my hand up in there to loosen it fully.
Overall, it’s not a fun experience, but is doable. Now that I’ve done it once it won’t be quite so bad next time, but it’s not something I’m looking forward to.
The fun part is getting the transmission up to 206-216 degrees, getting underneath the car, unscrewing the dipstick cap, which is right next to the catalytic converter, then reinserting and removing the dipstick to read the level. Fortunately, I was prepared as I had two heat resistant Kevlar gloves/sleeves, a flexible head extra long ratchet wrench, a fluid pump and an extra long pair of needle nose pliers. Plus, I have a lift, so at least I wasn’t crawling on my back under the car. Even so, it was a pain.
In my case, even after the 7.5 quart fill, the fluid wasn’t even registering on the dipstick. I ended up adding another 1.5 quarts to get it between the 4 & 5 mark. I’m glad I measured what came out and refilled it with 7.5 quarts initially, because if i had followed the service manual I would have been 4 quarts low when driving it around to warm up.
A couple of comments for anyone who is planning to check their fluid. 1. The service manual shows using a socket, universal joint, and extra long socket extension bar stuck from the bottom of the car up through the engine bay and then using a socket wrench from the top to loosen the dipstick cap. That was my intention until I looked up from the bottom of the transmission and couldn’t even see daylight through the engine bay. It would have been a nightmare to do it the way they suggested. Fortunately I had an extra long flexible head 19mm ratchet wrench, which made it fairly easy to loosen from underneath the car. 2. Get some heat resistant gloves/sleeves. I was able to use the wrench to loosen the cap and the needle nose pliers to grab and remove it, but I still had to get my hand up in there to loosen it fully.
Overall, it’s not a fun experience, but is doable. Now that I’ve done it once it won’t be quite so bad next time, but it’s not something I’m looking forward to.
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