Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) transmission Fluid Change

[biggy238]

If someone has it, I'd like to know what the chrysler manual has to say about COMPLETELY (or very close to it) Changing the fluid in my transmission. It has a good 30k on it and i've been driving it hard with this new power so it's a little bit overdue.



Any information is more than welcome but i'd like to know the stated proceedure.



Thanks as always,

Kyle

 

[bmoeller]

You'll never get it all out. The stock torque convertor doesn't have a drain plug. The FSM only says to drop the pan and replace the old filter. You can get more oil out if you loosen the bolts that hold the valvebody in place. If you want (it is messy), disconnect some of the cooler lines and blow the cooler out with air.



I normally just drop the pan and change the filter.



Some fine material on the magnet is fine.



Don't forget to check the oil level after running through all the gears and leaving the truck running, in neutral.

 

[DPinkston]

You could take it to a shop that has a transmission flushing machine. They hook it up to the cooler lines and suck out the old, maybe run some kind of cleaner thru it (not sure on this point), then pump in fresh fluid. Most places do it for around $100. Well worth the expense if your torque converter doesn't have a plug.

Danny

 

[dodge cummins]

what i do is drop the pan every 6 months and replace the filter and dump in 6 quarts of mobil 1 atf. it will take 4 times of the above procedure to get a complete change of fluid. that mobil 1 atf really makes my 96 transmission shift real nice.

 

[LarryWard]

I use a 12v suction pump and get 3qts each time without any pan removal. Chevron Dexron III (I think) from Costco by the case. Shifts fine. Always check back side of dipstick for accurate read of level. My shifting problems including lockup totally disappeared after finally getting sufficent fluid. Of course I will eventually need to pull pan for filter replacement. But I like the idea of maintaining a higher average quality of the fluid by the suction method. Cheaper and no one is messing around with those cooler lines. Wonder how long I can let filter go?

 

[fortunate1]

I've been using Dex III in my DTT rebuild for about 1. 5 yrs. Shifts great and costs a lot less than the +3 that I had been using. Don't get too excited about getting out 3 qts; the trans holds a lot more than that, even with a standard pan. You can probably change filters every other fluid change, if you want - provided you don't have a lot of junk floating around. And you really won't know that for sure unless you drop the pan. Dropping the pan also lets you see what sediment (if any) is laying on the bottom. That would be clutch material and aluminum. Any steel fines will probably find their way onto the magnet. BTW, with a double-deep MagHytec pan and draining the DTT torque convertor (about 2 qts, max), I can drain and replace 4. 5 gal. of ATF each time. I don't mess with the cooler lines, though.