jeffro

So I have been thinking of changing the fluid in my 91 hardbody pickup. Has the auto tranny and the 3.0 V6, VG30 I think, I can look up more specific stuff if it is needed. Has about 131,000 miles on it, probably been about 80,000 or 90,000 miles since the fluid was last changed. The fluid is still redish and does not really seem burnt. Although the metal floor above the transmission does get rather hot after an extended trip, this may be par for the course, not really sure. The radiator is only a few years old so I know I don't need to change that out too for the tranny cooler.

Questions:
Do I need to take off the pan and clean the inside of it out?
Should I put in a new filter?
Do I need to somehow drain the tranny cooler lines/bottom part of the radiator?
What type of fluid, see lots of debate on which ATF to use.

Still goes great so I am hesitant to mess with it.

Thanks in advance for sharing the knowledge.

Jeff

 

jadcock

Jeff, all sounds normal with yours. Hot floors above the transmission are normal. That's also where heat gathers from the hot exhaust system when the vehicle sets.

Buy a gasket/filter kit at Advance or Autozone (or go to the dealer) and change the fluid if you wish. Back the bolts out slowly and evenly, so you don't distort the pan surface. Just draining and refilling is sufficient. No need to pay for a transmission "flush". Your truck was filled with conventional ATF, and that's probably what's been in there for the last 90,000 miles. No need in my mind to switch to anything synthetic. I'd just go with Havoline Dexron III (if your '91 calls for Dexron III).

Good luck.

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Jason Adcock
Always Tread Lightly!
1995 4x4 XE King Cab - 189,000 miles
1997 Cadillac Seville - 141,000 miles

jeffro

Cool, that sounds easy enough to take care of. Will probably be a few weeks before I can get to it, have to travel next week for work, then the following weekend leave for vacation. I will post a reply of what I find and how it goes. THanks again.

jeffro

So I finally got around to changing the transmission fluid and filter. You would think that the refill process would be a little easier than pouring fluid down a quarter inch tube, but I guess that would be asking a lot.

Now I notice that when checking the fluid level after driving around that I have too much in. The level is about the hot markings when the engine is cold. Guess it is time to drain out some, but is too much going to cause a problem? I plan to drain some back out, but just wondering how close to follow the dip stick markings.

Thanks again for info ahead of time.

On a side note, I had to change back to Chevron Supreme engine oil, the Max Life seemed to leak worse than the Castrol for me. I finally found the Chevron at one of the Wal-Marts in town, nobody else has it anymore.

Jeff

jerryp58

Yeah, you should get the excess out of there, it may be bad for internal pressures & such. You may be able to siphon it out through the dipstick tube.

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Jerry
2004 Frontier, King Cab, XE, 4x1, 4-cyl, 5-spd
My Frontier Page

 

jeffro

Jerry,

I had not thought of that. Might be a good excuse to get a sphion. It looks like I need to put a washer in the drain plug bolt anyway, a few drops coming out of there now that the inside of the pan is clean. Might do a quick take out, let drain, put bolt back in deal.

Thanks for confirming that too much is indeed bad though.

Jeff

88pathoffroad

Too much is bad when you're a quart or more over, a pint or two won't hurt anything. Pull your drain plug for a few seconds and then put it back in. Be sure to do that when it's cool, though...

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