transmission oil fill

[RRoller123]

Don't forget the second, small (7mm square I think) drain plug at the rear of the transmission. About a pint will come out of there, trapped by a baffle inside the unit.

[btoran]

for anyone stumbling upon this thread in the future.....

- the stock transmission drain plug requires a 12mm allen key to remove, as does the stock oil drain plug.
- many hardware stores, even big named stores, only carry allen keys up to 10mm.
- autoricambi sells 12mm allen keys, as does sears.
- autoricambi (and perhaps other vendors) also sells a 17mm hex head bolt that can be used to replace the stock drain plugs (transmission and oil).
- the autoricambi 17mm bolt should be easier to remove and install (think oily hands with a 12mm allen head key vs a 17mm socket driver). of course, if you plan on changing the stock drain plugs, you'll need a 12mm allen key to remove them in the first place.

[djape1977]

12mm allen key has it's benefits.
when very tight, you can put a pipe on it to increase force, and it just needs to be 1/2" dia.
when scraping your cars underside on a pavement you don't damage the bolt's head, at least not the part that needs to be undamaged in order to remove it someday. i suspect that this is the reason they decided to use allen key bolt on the first place

[btoran]

well, i changed the transmission fluid last night and it wasn't too bad.

i had picked up the 17mm allen key at sears, a gallon jug of the napa gear oil, and this pump from harborfreight:

http://www.harborfreight.com/sta-lube-g ... 40714.html

The pump worked very well. It screws onto the top of a gallon or quart jug and has two lengths of pickup tube, depending on the size of the jug. The dispensing tube has a clip thingy on the end that holds it nicely in the fill hole.

i used a floor jack to lift the front end of the car and then jack stands to keep it in the air. i had just enough room to slide under the car, but i had an issue locating some of the bolts/plugs.

several pictures in previous threads show it perfectly, but none of the pictures have an exhaust system attached. the exhaust pipe conceals the rear 7mm plug and the fill tube. however, i was able to work wrenches around the pipe. I removed the rear drain first and let it drain completely and then did the front (main one). a total of 1.5 quarts came out, so it seems it was a little low. i also found some fine metal shavings on the end of the main plug. This will bear watching in the future.

i then put the main and rear plugs back in. i had already removed the fill plug, so i pumped in oil until it started dribbling out the fill hole. i put the fill plug back in, lowered the car and took it for a test drive.

it seemed to shift smoother than before. whether this was because it was low before or it likes the napa fluid better, i'm not sure, but i was pleased with the results.

I then jacked the car up again, removed the fill plug, and tried to pump in some extra fluid but it immediately started coming back out, so i put the fill plug back in and called it a night.

note to self (and anyone else reading this)....if the front of the car is up higher than the back when the transmission is filled (on jack stands or ramps instead of a level garage lift), there's no need to try to top it off after a test drive.

thanks to everyone who helped along the way.

[4uall]

Glad to hear it all worked out

[Jimb]

But you need to be sure you don't over fill it with the front up in the air.
The car needs to be level and then not overflowing the fill plug.
Jim

[narfire]

Jim, the car all sorted?
If the weather is good, I'll be down the long weekend with the Fiat. If not, I doubt it. $$$ to get across on the boat for crap weather is not in the books.
I have a radio for Bruce up in Courtenay to deliver if I come over.
Chris

[Jimb]

Jim, the car all sorted?
If the weather is good, I'll be down the long weekend with the Fiat. If not, I doubt it. $$$ to get across on the boat for crap weather is not in the books.
I have a radio for Bruce up in Courtenay to deliver if I come over.
Chris

I just came in from drive into town...top down of course.
I took it down to show the guys at the transmission shop because they had never seen the car. They loved it.
She runs like a dream. let me know if you come down and hopefully we can get together.
Cheers,
Jim