I want to change the trans fluid in the Maverick (1976, 200 I-6 with automatic transmission) and I have a few questions (since this is something I have never done). First, has anyone used Amsoil (or synthetic) fluids? Are they that much better and worth the extra expense? Also, I'm told there is a lot of fluid left in the torque converter, so a "flush" is in order to get "all" the fluid out. What is the proper procedure to do this (which, if I switch to synthetic, would make it even more important). I heard you can disconnect the transmission line going to the radiator, or is there a drain plug somewhere? Also, how many qts. of fluid do I need to purchase? Are the filters and gaskets hard to come buy, or will a regular auto parts store have them in stock? Thanks for any suggestions and tips! Art
I do not recommend puting a synthetic into a high mileage tranny or one that has never been flushed. Just never had good luck when I tried it years ago. Some converters had a drain plug in them, 6cyl. if I remember right. You can pretty much tell the condition of the internals when you drop the pan and look at the contents and residue. Filters can be cleaned out if you have an air compressor. Back under the metal part is particularly prone to trapping junk and hard to see from the opening. Filter and gasket are fairly cheap so most people opt to buy them that way. About nine qts. will fill the dry tranny and converter, maybe one or two to top it off after initial start up. Put in a pan drain plug while you are at it. Flushing is the best way to get it all out, but if it is in good shape and shifting ok with nice red colr fluid, drain the pan and change filter and gasket(about five qts.) then fire it up. Don't forget there is a small valve and spring unter the filter, don't lose it. Moderator may want to move this to transmission section??
If you dont have a drain plug in the converter i'd take and have it done by a professional with a flush machine. Thats the best way because you get everything out of the cooler,converter,pan and all.
Their will be an access hole on the flex plate. Normaly the plug will pertrude slightly or at least be visible.You will most likely have to turn the engine over by hand to find it.
Mileage? How many miles are on this transmission? If this is a high mileage unit you may do more harm than good! A rule of thumb is if the transmission fluid with more than 60,000 miles on it should be left alone. I thought this was hype years ago when I was a young tech, but I have seen several high mileage transmissions fail after fluid changes over the years. I seem to get a different answer from every source I go to about this problem, but the explanation that keeps coming up is the wear particles in the fluid actually increases the viscosity and this helps to overcome a certain amount of internal leakage (wear). Best of luck, Dave
The car only has 14,000 miles on it. However, it is a 31 year old car, so I thought it would be a good idea to change the fluid.
Mileage would concern me more than age. Age causes seals and gaskets to harden "dry out" and leak, mileage causes wear. I would not be overly concerned with changing the fluid in the torque converter unless the fluid was very dark/burned, if the fluid looked pretty good I would leave it alone, unless the converter has a drain plug and it was very easy to do while you are into it. Your call! If you want to flush the converter and dont have a drain plug remove the coil primary leads (small wires to the ignition coil) and turn the engine over with the trans. pan off (use the key like you are trying to start it), you want to remove the coil leads to prevent the engine from starting with no trans. fluid. Synthetics are a personal choice, I have seen transmissions outlast the cars they are in with little more than fluid service every 30,000 miles. Dave
my trans. guy told a customer once about the "high milage, don't change" thing but he opted to change it anyway...car wouldn't pull off the rack . then the guy wanted to say he did something to his transmittion so it would have to be overhauled. the trans. guy called him a tow truck...and told him to have a nice day ......
Thanks guys for the advice, that's what I was hoping for. I might just change the fluid and forget the synthetic stuff.... Art
Q> When replacing spring/valve, which piece makes contact with filter? valve up in tranny or valve down contacting filter? Hope this made sense.
