Stupid transmission fluid change ?

[BKunic]

I have an '04 with the 5 speed manual transmission and it is time to once again change the fluid. I did it once before, and I recall removing the plates that are on BOTH sides of the transmission housing. Everyone said to do it. Stupid question, but being naturally lazy I have to ask... is it really necessary to remove the plates from BOTH sides of the transmission? Can't I just remove the plate on the one side, let it all drain out, and sort of reach in and swab down the decks? Just seems like alot less work, plus I'm always paranoid going down the road that maybe I didn't tighten things up well enough.



Bryan

 

[nickleinonen]

all you really need to do is pull the bottom bolt off the pto cover on one side and it will drain. you won't get every drop out, but 90% of what is in there. when i service my 5600, i pull just the drivers side cover, but i may pull the pass. side cover off and reseal it [oem silicone is starting to weep a bit]

 

[MMeier]

Just pull the bottom bolt, for a little extra drainage, park the truck on a curb or something so its tilted to one side. Just make sure it is level or tilted to the other side when filling. Some people like to stuff a little extra in there.

 

[BKunic]

Hey I like that idea! Okay, so if I only loosen the bottom bolt on the PTO cover on the left side, do I need to put some new sealant around the bolt so it doesn't leak, or will the stuff that is already there still do the job when I tighten it back up?



B

 

[MMeier]

Hey I like that idea! Okay, so if I only loosen the bottom bolt on the PTO cover on the left side, do I need to put some new sealant around the bolt so it doesn't leak, or will the stuff that is already there still do the job when I tighten it back up?



B

I just clean it up and put a dab of whatever I happen to reach for, silicone, pipe thread sealant, it's all good!

 

[Briman]

I use a little dab of pipe dope on the bolt threads. No leaks or seeps yet. When I drain the old lube I drain some of it into a glass jar for inspection. If I were to see any sparkles/metal flake I would pull the PTO cover and look further. So far I've not had to do that.

 

[klenger]

So, why is the transmission stupid.

 

[gsbrockman]

So, why is the transmission stupid.

Maybe because he has the 5 speed as opposed to the six shooter. :-laf :-laf :-laf

Greg

 

[klenger]

My wife has a crock pot dish she calls "Jan's lazy chicken". I have to keep remindiing her that the chicken isn't lazy.

 

[BKunic]

MMeier & Nickleinonen,



Thanks for that tip on just removing the bottom bolt on the PTO cover and draining the fluid through that. THat makes the job a whole lot easier and faster.



Bryan

 

[jelag]

We always pull the cover on our trucks... . clean out the bottom of the transmission with a rag dipped in solvent... . we also take a magnet and run it in the bottom of the transmission... this last time on our 04 we got half a tooth... don't know what gear its off of..... but we got it... it runs fine, shifts fine... ... but it now has 203K miles...



BTW - we only change the oil every 50-60K miles... ...

 

[HPetrat]

I always pull both covers and clean out the transmission base, inspect the internals, then button everything back up and fill (usually twice a year depending on miles).

I tow fairly often and just like the piece of mind.



HP.

 

[BKunic]

I do alot of towing, so I do it every 30-35K miles. Next time I'll pull the cover and see what's in there. I think I'll pull the cover on every other change it it looks good in there next time. The stuff I drained out really didn't look that bad.



Bryan