How to: Flush your ATX fluid and change your internal filter

[JoshAnker]

Alan (Or any other mod): I am unable to post to the "how to:" section. Please feel free to move this post if appropriate. Also, there's a typo in my other entry there... The "how to check your oil pressure thread..." You have "preasure" instead of "pressure" and I'm unable to change it, since my first title is still different in the subject line inside the post. Thanks, and feel free to delete this paragraph when moved/corrected.


Automatics are pretty much defined by our transmissions, and let's face it... they're not indestructable. Changing the fluid is as important as changing the oil for your engine. Clean fluid will prolong life and improve performance - There is no arguing with that. That said, it's also a well-known fact that our trannies run HOT and can easily cook the fluid. This makes regular maintenance a MUST! The manual recommends changing your transmission fluid every *30,000* miles.

If you can change your own oil, you can DO THIS YOURSELF. I went to the dealer because I was scared, and they wanted to charge me $140-$160. Only because my car is lowered and they couldn't get it on their lift was I forced to do it myself... But it turned out for the best. The filter/gasket set cost $20, and fluid cost $20, and that was IT. I saved big money, and it wasn't hard... Like I said, the same difficulty level as changing your oil.

Since I was unable to find a walkthrough for this procedure, I started here:
We need a walkthrough for an ATX flush/filter change

That should only take you a minute or two to read, and is a good preface

http://www.plymouthlaser.com/skit.htm

Was the link I was given to follow, and it helped immensely. Only follow the first few steps of that link, since of course it's for something else.... But I consider it required reading for this procedure, and the pictures are good also.

To start with, make sure you have the right tools & equipment. The service manual says our cars take 8 quarts of ATX fluid. You should ONLY use ATF+3 or ATF+4. That's what's recommended. I bought 8 or 9 quarts to be safe, but here's the down low: The manual says in order to check the level of your ATX fluid do this: (And you HAVE TO or it won't read right.)

1. Turn on the car, let it warm up to operating temp. This might mean a nice drive, since trannies warm up slower than engine.

2. Park the car on a level surface, PUT ON THE EBRAKE.

3. move shift lever to neutral.

4. move shift lever to L

5. move shift lever to 2

6. move shift lever to D

7. move shift lever to NEUTRAL

8. Go check the level under the hood. The dipstick i snear the passenger side headlight.

(This procedure is in the owner's manual, feel free to verify).

All the steps with the shifting is neccesary so that the torque converter fills up with fluid. If this step isn't taken, you will NOT read your fluid right.. try it, you'll see... the level will be like off-the-dipstick-high. Anyways, total capacity is 8 quarts, I only needed 4 or 5 for my swap... Obviously, the torque converter was still full, and accounts for the missing quarts(Yes, that means I did NOT do a perfect flush/swap).

Right, so aside from actual fluid, you'll need the filter and gasket. I went to Advance Auto parts, told them I needed a filter and gasket kit, and they looked up my car in their computer and came back and gave me the box. It cost about $20, and contained 2 simple things... a rubber gasket and a filter. It's not like an oil filter, this is actually internal to the tranny pan

Pictures of the filter kit is at the bottom... The kit was made by "PRO-KING" and has FK-230 on the label. It looks like there are two cross-reference #'s...

ATC: 42011M
FRAM: FT1153

So, so far you should have fluid, the filter/gasktet kit, and TOOLS. 17, 14, and 10mm sockets are all you need. I think the drain plug is 17, various bolts on gaurds need 14, and the drain pan itself uses 10mm bolts. Now, the key for me was to have a few different socket wrenches(ratchets, actually) and different length extensions. a 1/4 inch ratchet will be a big help... I started with a 3/8(Bigger, heavier, and bulkier) but the smaller one with different length extensions enabled me to get to each bolt easier.

There's tools.

So, jack the car up, use jackstands, as always... never, EVER crawl under a car supported by only a jack... that's basic safety.

I eventually took off my passenger side front tire/wheel, so I'll tell you to do it right from the get-go.

Crawl on under there, and you should see your transmission pan. (Sorry, I have no pics of this stage, since I wanted to get it done Words are the best I can do.) It looks like an oil pan, and, well, if you can't find it then you shouldn't be doing this, frankly. It's right inside of the passenger wheel.

Pull the drain plug and let that sucker drain. If the fluid not light red, then something is up, since ATX fluid should be pinkish or red. Now, see that plastic guard that is getting drained all over? The one in the way of the draining fluid? That guard has to come off.

I wasted SOO much time trying to work around guards and covers that I made my life miserable and wasted my time. that one HAS to come off so you can get at the rear bolts. The one next to it, the inner fender guard, I'll call it, I think has to come off so that you can get the FIRST one off. In addition, I ALSO had to take off the guards that are more towards the FRONT of the car. Meaning I took off the tranny guard, then the innder fender/wheel well guard, and then down front in the center, I took off that middle piece around the center front jack point(I think I loosened it actually, so that I could remove the one NEXT to it.)

I know that my descrptions here are TERRIBLE, but go ahead and skip this step until you realize what guards are in the way. I sure did. And trust me, you'll know what's in the way.

Anyways, I pulled the drain plug and let 'er drain. I had 2 oil pans nearby, since I didn't know how much flui was going to come out. Turns out about as much as a normal oil change came out, meaning 4 quarts or so.

Then I started pulling the 14 bolts around the tranny pan with my 10mm socket. I didn't remove guards at first, remember? The ones on the side(towards the centerline of the car) and towards the rear of the pan were easiest, i think. Just keep going around, remove a guard when it's in your way, and pull all 14 bolts.

This is where having different LENGTH extensions helped. In the back, I needed my longest extension, and on some of the corners, I actually needed a medium extension, so that the joint/knuckle of the socket wouldn't bump against some piece of metal, so that the actual head could be seated.

Removing all 14 bolts took me a good long while, but it was because I wasted time trying to get stuff I couldn't see, since I didn't have all those plastic covers pulled off.

The pan itself is pretty light... Once you have all 14 bolts pulled, carefully lower it down so it doesn't fall. You might actually want to leave 1 bolt in each corner until last, so the pan doesn't hang down on one side while you remove bolts on the other. It's not heavy at all. Careful, though, there's likely some fluid still in there.

Clean that puppy out using soap and water. There should be three magnets in there, too. Mine were all sorts of NASTY with grime. That's normal, it means they're doing their job. I've got some pictures of them at the bottom, too. Clean 'em off good & drop 'em right back where they go.

The back of the filter/gasket kit said NOT to use a wire brush to get rid of the old gasket... Mine peeled off pretty easily, so just scrub it with a dry rag if any stick. I took a pic of the old gasket coming off, so see below... It was pretty stiff, but that's to be expected, since mine was on for 11 years, I think

So, clean out the pan, clean magnets, pull old gasket.

To be continued in post 2... Length requirements, boo!


First two pics are the gasket and filter pics

Automatic Transmission flush fluid change swap tranny torque converter quarts ATX auto ATF-3 ATF+3 ATF-4 ATF+4 ATF4 ATF3 atf dexron mercon mercron walkthrough walk through guide howto step-by-step step by step how-to scheduled maintenance preventative

[JoshAnker]

Crawl back under the car, and pull the 4 bolts from the transmission filter.

HEADS UP: The bolts that were in the car were NOT the same length as the new ones I got with the filter kit. The kit ones were shorter, meaning the new filter was slimmer than stock. So make sure you get that right and don't get them mixed up. Anyways, the old filter is trash, and the new one needs to go on. I have 2 pics of the old filter on the car, and you've seen what the new one looks like already. So, bolt up the new filter.

All that's left now is to put the new gasket on the pan & bolt 'er back up.

The box said DON'T use gasket glue or anything, I think they recommended soluable grease or something to help keep the gasket in place. I didn't bother... I just shoved 4 bolts into each corner of the gasket/pan... Since the gasket holes were tight, they "gripped" the bolts enough to hold the gasket in place while I tightened down a bolt in each corner of the pan.

So, all 14 bolts go back in, all gaurds go back on, close up down below, put the wheel back on, lower the car, and re-fill with fluid.

I put in 4 quarts to start with, since how much came out looked like the amount of oil I get out of an oil change. the fluid is put in right into the dipstick.

Then, repeat the procedure above to checking fluid, making sure the steps are followed so the torque converter will be full. DON'T OVERFILL. Too much means it'll get whipped into a froth, with will then put air bubbles into the fluid, which makes it spongy. ATX fluid isn't supposed to be spongy, so just make sure the level is correct.

Hrm, what else.... Well If I think of anything else, I'll post it, and I'm sure the other ATX guys can put in their $0.02 too. Pics to follow... I'm going to attach them so that no matter what happens to my hosting, this walkthrough will remain intact.

Originally Posted by Litljenarey, Later in this thread

I wanted to add a few things:
Even though you need to warm it up to check the level, let it sit for a long time before trying to take off the pan.
The drain plug is a 17, a wrench works easier than a socket.
All the pan bolts are 10mm, but my filter bolts were a 12mm and the replacement bolts were a 10mm. So, keep some extra sockets handy.
it REALLY helps to have a long funnel and it's nearly impossible to fill it up without any funnel.
Mine took exactly 5 and 1/2 quarts of fluid.

Pics of the pan, pulled:
Windsheild fluid for scale.

[Evil]

If the fluid is burnt, etc.. putting new fluid could actually harm the transmission becuase transmission fluid is a detergent, and could actrually cause your transmission to "deteriate" faster.

Great write up!

[JoshAnker]

This is how dirty my magnets were:

Ew!

[JoshAnker]

Last but not least, I have 2 pics of the internal filter bolted up, with the pan off. This was the old one, before I pulled it.

[BigTyla]

You were DEFINITELY due for a change. It looks like the fluid and filter have been in there for the duration of its life.

[Mitsugirl3kgt]

That's scary....

[JoshAnker]

Haha, dun make fun of me! I TOLD YOU GUYS I was in dire need of a change, and it had probably been there since the car rolled off the line... 11 years ago

[Mitsugirl3kgt]

I just had mine down when the car was up at the shop. I had checked the fluid and plug last month and it looked ok. Now I'm kinda wondering what my filter looked like... Great write up btw!!

[Kevin]

Subscribed so I can find it later. Thanks for the write up man! It's stuff like this that betters the platform and helps each other. So thanks again!