Nice work. I like the leaving the bolts in idea. ( and my radiator did the same thing about 3 weeks ago)

 

I too leave the corner bolts in and drop the pan in stages using the rear bolts, leaving the front ones in (loose) until enough fluid has drained from the pan to remove it completely. It only takes once to figure out "you're doing it wrong."

 

That was probably 8 years ago for me, but I went through a fair amount of cat litter on that day, and I've never owned a cat!

 

From the gospel according to Haynes:
"Place a container under the transaxle pan and loosen the pan bolts. Completely remove the bolts along the rear of the pan. Tap the corner of the pan to break the seal and allow the fluid to drain into the container (the remaining bolts will prevent the pan from separating from the transaxle). Remove the remaining bolts and detach the pan."

Brake cleaner works for removing RTV.

 

On my first Trans. filter and fluid change I syphoned out as much fluid as I could through the fill tube. I did leave the 4 corner bolts in and didn't miss one drop outside of the drain pain. But this is what got me. When I removed the filter, fluid got every where. (lesson learned)

 

itsallgood, Thanks for the reminding me that I forgot to mention that! Yes, the filter will 'pop' off and will have quite a bit of fluid in it. I kept my drain pan under it. For those doing this job, the rubber o-ring for the filter may stay up in the trans, so make sure you fetch it before putting in the new filter. Also, the filter has plastic tabs that keep it held in place. Set the new filter up into the trans, then give it a solid whack with your fist to push it up so it locks into place.

 

Also, the filter has plastic tabs that keep it held in place. Set the new filter up into the trans, then give it a solid whack with your fist to push it up so it locks into place.

I've never liked this system. It always seems like it will fall back into the pan. That said, after numerous pan drops, I have yet to see one come off. I installed a Dorman pan with drain and a 3/8" Magnefine fiter, so now I feel comfortable leaving the pan on for a few years at a time.

 

They called me Slick after my first pan service, too. :lol:

 

Same here when I finished spraying my vehicles with Fluid Film. Smelled pretty sheepish too.

Fluid Film® is formulated from specially processed wool-wax, highly refined petroleum oils and selected agents to provide corrosion control, penetration, metal wetting and water displacement.

Likely smelled like a rose compared to the aroma of your ATF+4.

 

It does seem like an odd system at first, but there are some fail safes built in. It's unlikely that the tabs would break, so the filter should remain firmly in place for its service life. Before reinstalling the pan, a couple good tugs on it after installation will show that it will not fall. Lastly, if you look at the bottom of your trans pan, you'll notice 4 quarter sized indentions. Those indents are directly underneath the filter and remove any clearance between the filter and pan, thus it physically cannot fall out of place.

 

Just an update for those that may search this in the future, I put 700 miles on our van over the holiday weekend. The trans pan is bone dry and the cork gasket is not bulged or deformed in any way. It looks as thought the 115 in lb torque spec is perfectly acceptable when using aftermarket gaskets.