Replacing tranny fluid

[wesjones]

thinking about replacing my tranny fluid this weekend...This may sound dumb, but how in the hell do you get to the fill port to refill? I snooped around as best I could and can't seem to figure this out. One other thing...i found instructions on another site that talked about disconnecting the cooling line, hooking up a clear hose, and running the engine to purge out air...What's this all about?

[lancer]

On auto tranny's you put the fluid in down the dipstick tube! Not sure about the air in the line thing. Maybe they mean to leave the return line off and run the truck until new tranny fluid is coming through the cooler to get rid of the old. After that reconnect the line and top up the tranny. You should be fine after that!! Good luck!

[wesjones]

thanks for the advice...i wound up having it changed by my mechanic at the tire place...i figured having it done with a fluid evacuator was worth it

[wiwaniuk]

I agree with you, wesjones. The best way to really change the fluid is to replace all of it. You cannot do this at home very easily, but the local garages have that fluid displacement contraption that in my opinion does a great job. I probably, however, will follow the owner's manual recommendation and just drain the fluid from the pan every 30k.