I. Drain, Drop and Fill

1. Drain pan by removing drain plug (14 mm), reinstall drain plug w/ new crush washer.

2. Drop pan by:

2a. removing the mounting bolts (10 mm if I remember right). Approx. 20 pcs.

2b. using a rubber mallet, moderately lightly tap the pan at all four sides until the seal split. Be sure to hold the pan somewhat in place while tapping, unless you want the remaining ATF in the pan to be all over your garage or driveway once you've popped off the pan.



2c. removing the mounting bolt that secures the dipstick tube to the engine. Haines suggests disconnecting the bottom half of the dipstick tube from the top half, but it was too difficult for me to maneuver it out. So I thought it was best to just dismount the whole tube lest the tube be bent too outta shape.

3. Remove filter from transmission, 4 12 mm bolts. Be careful as you're now smack in the internals of your dear tranny.

4. Clean filter and pan. I tried to wipe them as clean as possible, and then I used brake cleaner to finish them off.



5. CAREFULLY scrape off the old sealant on the transmission housing with anything wooden or plastic, you don't want to damage or scratch the surface or slip and damage any internal parts.

6. Do the same for the pan.



This and #5 were a PITA. In fact, this took the most time. I had to be careful because, as mentioned, I didn't want to damage anything and, second, I didn't want to get any old sealant debris into the tranny.

7. Place magnets back on the pan.



8. Appy sealant to the entire rim of the pan. Be sure to follow the instructions that comes w/ the sealant. Remember to put the sealant only on the center and outer portions of the rim of the pan. You don't want to squeeze any excess sealant into the tranny when you're tightening the pan.

9. Reinstall filter and pan and remount dipstick tube. DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN, use the quarter- or half-turn rule. Use a torque wrench if you desire to be more precise.

10. Pour 4 qts. of ATF via dipstick tube.

II. Flush

At this point, you're done with the drain, drop and fill. Next, if want to continue, comes the flushing.

1. Remove the upper line from the ATF cooler and then connect your 3/8" hose to the cooler.



2. Place the other end of the hose into a desired container. But be sure to mark your container in increments of 1, 2, 3, etc. qts.



3. With the truck in neutral, AND PARKING BRAKE FIRMLY ENGAGED, start the engine and pump out 2 quarts of ATF at a time. It took me about 30 seconds (give or take 3 sec.) to pump out two quarts. It is advisable that you test how much time it will take YOU, the last thing you want is to pump out too much before you refill.



4. Refill via the dipstic tube 2 qts. of new ATF.

5. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 five more times. This means that you should have pumped 2 qts. of ATF a total of six times by the time you're finished. In other words, you should've flushed out 12 qts. of ATF, which should be enough to have completely flushed your system.

6. During the last fill (the sixth time), I only added 1 qt. so as to not overfill and give myself enough room to adjust my final fluid level.

7. Drive your truck around until you've brought it up to operating temperature, making sure all gears have been engaged at least a few times. Go home, let your truck sit for 30 min. or so (go wash your hands, assure the wife/gf you're almost done, have a few cigs.-I did all of the above.) Then check your fluid level. If it's between the High and Low marks, then I would leave the level where it is and drive the truck for a couple of days, rechecking the level after each time you drive. And, after a few days, add fluid as needed for the last time.

Again, thanks to the TS members who first wrote the instructions.


Empty Bottles: Money well spent.

A little bit more complex way to flush your ATF

Submitted by xxx@******.com

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Article submitted on 14 Oct 2010
Last modified on 22 Nov 2012
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