Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Torque converter drain plug location

[SDrake]

My truck has a Dayco 700 ftlb torque converter. I am taking the plunge and switching to John Deere HyGard hydraulic fluid (takes the heat better and perhaps lubes the OD gears better). To do this I need to replace all the fluid. I have never seen a torque converter drain plug but thought it would be visible looking into the flywheel opening when you remove the sheet metal cover with the three screws.



I have turned the engine over while watching the converter housing turn but see no drain plug. I may not have a drain plug but just wondering if I need a bit of knowledge on how to find it.



Any rags on why convert to hydraulic fluid are welcome:-laf

 

[DBraunig]

If it has one it will be visible on the converter when the inspection cover is removed.



The one on my DTT converter is takes 11mm wrench, just like the pressure ports on the trans.



If you make a complete revolution on the converter and don't see it, I don't think you have one.



Dave

 

[SDrake]

Ok I don't have one

Thanks for the quick response. Oh Well #@$%!:{ Not really crying, just was going to be glad to have a drain plug in my after market converter. Maybe one of these days I can afford to buy some of the cool stuff you guys talk about, --- DTT , Gouerend, etc.



I am going to give it a day to drain. Mine often at least partially drains the converter, it takes a few seconds to pump up again. Then I will drain the cooler and pour fresh fluid in until fresh fluid comes out the return cooling line with the shift lever in neutral all the while keeping the pan full of course -- stuff I learned reading this forum. Probably will have to waste a few quarts and hope that it is purged enough.

 

[joshs93ctd]

do you have a transmission temp gauge if so how hot was she gitting? is the john deere fluid really that much better as far as cost i know how much it is just cause of its name keep us posted on how better/worts/or same it dose as to the stock atf dose

 

[TravisG]

The stock converter doesn't have a plug on it. If you loosen you valve body up that will drain some more fluid out of it I have been told.

 

[DBraunig]

You could take it to a shop that has the trans flush machine and just have them use your fluid. Without a converter drain, that's the only way i know to completely exchange all the old for the new stuff you want to run.



Loosening the valve body and leaving it overnight will get a few more quarts out, but the converter alone will hold 8+ quarts, gonna be hard to get all that out without a drain plug i think.



Dave

 

[TravisG]

I agree Dave just giving some suggestions. Not a bad idea about the flush machine too

 

[SDrake]

Why hydraulic fluid

do you have a transmission temp gauge if so how hot was she gitting? is the john deere fluid really that much better as far as cost i know how much it is just cause of its name keep us posted on how better/worts/or same it dose as to the stock atf dose

Thanks all you other guys for the tips on flushing.

My trannny gauge would get up easily to 220 and climbing so have to watch it while backing my trailer around a corner, up a 11deg hill and into a tight garage. I am just nervous that sometime or other I will get too involved in a problem and forget. I have no experience on the durability of transmissions and I don't want to give up taking the trailer out on weekends and vacations. Backing is harder I believe because the cooler is getting no air. I haven't been on a second gear pull up a hill yet that overheats it but it goes to 200 a few times and I know I have been on worse hills out west and want to be ready for them.



I also get concerned about the OD gear lubrication. I do a lot of 55 to 60 MPH pulling (lower than that and I go to third) and that keeps the RPM rather low. the HYGard is a better lubricant. The only con that I have heard of to using the HyGard is cold weather shifting. I rarely am in cold weather and then I will just warm her up.



Joe G tells me about a guy that runs a fleet with millions of miles using equivalent fluids to the John Deere HyGard. Also Joe G is using it. I am not thinking cost at all but the fleet guy may be. I do not care about a few dollars for the best fluid.



I will certainly let everyone know if anything significant shows up but I am an experiment of one and what I experience on a transmission with 258,000 miles (new Dayco converter at 238,000) may not be of much value

 

[WilsonF]

It has been a long time now but I did a search, Google, found a site that tells you how to pump all of the fluid out by removing one of the cooler lines, can't remember which one.

 

[WilsonF]

Pushed wrong button. As a matter of fact I think it was explained in one of the TDR magazines.

 

[Joe G.]

The only problem I have had with it is that it runs cool when you have no load. That does not sound lke a problem at first, but the PCM does not allow OD if the transmission is too cool. I drove 300 miles from here to Roseburg, OR with no OD when I first changed to HyGard. I fixed that problem by substituting a resistor for the temp sensor so the PCM gets a warm enough signal all the time. The guy with the experience with hydraulic oil for tractors in his trucks has retired and move to South America. He used a different brand, but it's not available around here. HyGard is. Another correspondent has let me know that there is a lower viscosity version of HyGard that does not have the cold weather problem. It is also supposed to have a better additive package. I had to pull the pan on mine some time ago to fix a leak. I was surprised at how clean it was. No "mud". Nothing stuck to the magnet. Just a tiny bit of fine brass particles in the pan.

 

[SDrake]

Fluid is changed

My after market converter had no drain plug it turns out so I let it drain for 2 days, about 9 quarts collected, then changed the filter reinstalled the pan and ran about 3 extra gallons of fluid through the transmission by unhooking the cooler return line at the transmission, starting the engine in neutral and running out into a milk jug about 2 quarts and shut the engine off so as not to run the pump dry. Another quart would be draining out of the cooler while I refilled through the dipstick tube. Repeated this process several times until fluid basically looked like hydraulic fluid although it still looked a little pink when I quit. Used about 8. 5 gallons of new fluid. I recall reading somewhere that some people run about 3 quarts of regualar fluid with the hydraulic anyway. I wish I knew more about this.



As it is, I will drive a few miles and flush a bit more through the system.



It was a 75 degree day as I did all this and when I took it for a test drive I could not tell any difference in shifting. I only drove about three miles and returned home to get the fluid level adjusted.



I will be driving about 50 miles tomorrow in city traffic but will not be towing for another week. I will post those experiences soon.



BTW --- any thoughts on a well maintained 258000 mile transmission remaining life.

 

[Joe G.]

My shifts are a bit firmer, but not like you get from a modified valve body. I noticed that on my first test drive. Other than that transmission behavior is the same as before. The thing I really noticed was how much cooler the transmission was.

 

[SDrake]

completed first drive

Joe, I was aware that you observed firmer shifts and for a while I thought I might be sensing firmer shifts but my best word for now is that it shifted good and no sensation of anything being different. That may change when I hook up to the trailer. My temp gage quit just as I was backing the trailer in last time and so I could not observe temps today. I already have the stock sensor replaced with the 1K ohm resister. Not having the temp gauge is what jolted me into doing the switch to hydraulic. Perhaps now I won't have to pay quite as much attention to it.



My temp gage sensor suddenly developed an open. I already have a new sensor on order from Geno's. Only lasted two years.