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- Location
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I did a fluid drain and fill today. I chose not to do a full flush in part as I just wanted to try this out and see the contents of the pan and the state of the old fluid myself. A drain and refill replaces about 5 quarts of fluid and I believe the transmission holds as many as 11 quarts. (Total capacity is unverified by me; working from memory).
Tools:
14mm socket for transmission pan bolts
11mm socket for prop shaft bolts
Pry bar to hold prop shaft when loosening/tightening bolts
Scraper to remove old gasket
Narrow neck funnel for refilling transmission fluid through the dipstick
Torque:
12 ft/lbs for transmission pan
18 ft/lbs for prop shaft bolts
You do have to move the prop shaft as several of the pan's bolts are not otherwise accessible
Remove UCP if present
Remove the four 11 mm bolts that hold prop shaft to yoke
Tie prop shaft to torsion bar
Remove the transmission pan bolts in an alternating pattern so that you slowly release the pressure on the thin metal pan. (It is steel, not aluminum, but it is thin walled). GM recommends leaving two bolts in the rear and undoing those about four turns each so that you can dump some of the contents of the pan slowly by tilting it before doing the full drop.
Wiggle the pan out of place. It may need some coaxing with the pry bar
Get at least 80% of the fluid in the drain pan. With the remaining 20%, about 15% goes on the floor and 5% should drip on your arms, shirt, shoes and hair.
Wiggle out the filter. There's a ring gasket that holds the filter but I did not replace it as it was pliable and I couldn't figure out how to get it out.
Inspect the contents of the pan. Here I had some metal shavings on the magnet and the fluid was reddish brown - it wasn't burnt or black. There are also three small rocks in my transmission pan. I have no idea how those got there. That's exactly how I found them.
The gasket was extremely hard and brittle and took nearly 30 minutes to fully remove and clean the surface for the gasket. I fully cleaned the pan with brake cleaner, including removing the magnet and cleaning off all residue.
I then popped in the new filter, put the new gasket on the pan and put the pan back onto the transmission. I alternated the tightening of the bolts and went around twice to make sure I got them all but did not over-torque them.
The H3 requires Dexron VI. I won't go into the politics of fluids but this is what I went with
Another tool to consider is a cut down broomstick. Because, in my instance, the hood struts apparently blew in the last day or two and would not support my hood.
GM recommends checking the fluid when the engine has reached normal operating temperature and to do it while the engine is running. Normal operating temp for the transmission is 180-200 degrees per the owner's manual.
Aside from stubborn UCP and skid plates the job took about an hour.
Tools:
14mm socket for transmission pan bolts
11mm socket for prop shaft bolts
Pry bar to hold prop shaft when loosening/tightening bolts
Scraper to remove old gasket
Narrow neck funnel for refilling transmission fluid through the dipstick
Torque:
12 ft/lbs for transmission pan
18 ft/lbs for prop shaft bolts
You do have to move the prop shaft as several of the pan's bolts are not otherwise accessible
Remove UCP if present
Remove the four 11 mm bolts that hold prop shaft to yoke
Tie prop shaft to torsion bar
Remove the transmission pan bolts in an alternating pattern so that you slowly release the pressure on the thin metal pan. (It is steel, not aluminum, but it is thin walled). GM recommends leaving two bolts in the rear and undoing those about four turns each so that you can dump some of the contents of the pan slowly by tilting it before doing the full drop.
Wiggle the pan out of place. It may need some coaxing with the pry bar
Get at least 80% of the fluid in the drain pan. With the remaining 20%, about 15% goes on the floor and 5% should drip on your arms, shirt, shoes and hair.
Wiggle out the filter. There's a ring gasket that holds the filter but I did not replace it as it was pliable and I couldn't figure out how to get it out.
Inspect the contents of the pan. Here I had some metal shavings on the magnet and the fluid was reddish brown - it wasn't burnt or black. There are also three small rocks in my transmission pan. I have no idea how those got there. That's exactly how I found them.
The gasket was extremely hard and brittle and took nearly 30 minutes to fully remove and clean the surface for the gasket. I fully cleaned the pan with brake cleaner, including removing the magnet and cleaning off all residue.
I then popped in the new filter, put the new gasket on the pan and put the pan back onto the transmission. I alternated the tightening of the bolts and went around twice to make sure I got them all but did not over-torque them.
The H3 requires Dexron VI. I won't go into the politics of fluids but this is what I went with
Another tool to consider is a cut down broomstick. Because, in my instance, the hood struts apparently blew in the last day or two and would not support my hood.
GM recommends checking the fluid when the engine has reached normal operating temperature and to do it while the engine is running. Normal operating temp for the transmission is 180-200 degrees per the owner's manual.
Aside from stubborn UCP and skid plates the job took about an hour.