Can anyone give me the specifics on how to drain and replace my manual transmission fluid in a 2.4L SS? I've decided i want to go fully synthetic and just want to be sure that i change it correctly so that i dont damage the tranny or my car.

 

drain it
then open the "fill hole" on the side of the trany
add fuild until it starts to drip out

 

Almost like you were changing your motor oil.

 

Where are the drain plug and the fill hole located? And do i need a special tool to get the drain plug open?

 

Both plugs are located on the driver side of the transmission on the diff housing. If you remove the left front wheel you'll see two plugs with an allen head to remove them.

You'll have to get the right sized allen-head wrench and grind the short end down about 1/4 inch to get it to fit between the subframe. Then you'll have to put a small cheater pipe on it to get enough leverage to loosen the plug.

Just remove the drain plug and drain all the fluid. Then remove the fill plug and use a funnel with a flexible hose to add fluid into the fill hole until the lfuid starts dripping out. Plug her up and you're done.

 

pain in the ass for me---dealer charged $50 CDN--IIRC

 

Hmmmmmm. Just being nosy last week, I was wondering if they had a dipstick in this tranny like they did the Izuzu one in the J-cars.

There is a plastic cap on top of the tranny that can be unscrewed by hand. If this is not the fill hole for the manual trans, what is it for?

 

manual tranys don have dipsticks
(automatics on new vehicles don have them anymore too)

 

Tips : Open the fill hole first. If you drain it and for some reason can get the fill open because of your tools, too tight, factory stripped etc etc whatever reason, you are going to be sol.

Also what vehicles dont have dipsticks for the AUTO trans fluid? My 2006 chevy work van has an auto transmission dipstick...

 

All the GM front wheel drive manual trans cars I've had before this one had a dipstick to check the fluid level. You should do more research before making statements like that.

 

Most newer model GM V6 cars don't have them. Malibu, Grand Am, Alero etc.

 

i know my sis's 2000 cavi doesnt have a tranny dipstick

 

Yes it does. And FYI, changing transmission fluid will do absolutely NOTHING for you in that transmission. It won't shift smoother, spin faster, slide better, nothing. You will just be wasting money. Just trying to help.

 

it will be more viscous when the temps are below freezing. I did notice a very slight differnce in feel too. Very slight.

 

what u just said makes alot of sense

 

Maybe if you took the time to read them properly, you'd realize that one statement was referring to manual trans cars and the other about auto trans.

You basically cut & pasted two replies to two different question together.

 

Absolutely correct, but changing transmission fluid will prevent your transmission from not shifting smoothly, spining normally faster, sliding better. You will just be wasting money buying a new transmission if you do not maintain it. The oil does not have protection quailities for ever and draining the fluid takes away any metal that is floating in the fluid (metal from general wear and tear oh and dont forget the abuse).

 

OK so i finally had the opportunity to get my wheel of and try to change the tranny fluid and i couldnt not seem to find the two bolts. If anyone has a diagram or pictures of some sort that would help me out i would greatly appreciate it.