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View Full Version : Most unpleasant experience ever: changing the TC oil / fluid



TimDC2x
04-09-2006, 09:03 PM
OMFG, this possibly has to be the MOST unpleasant fluid change I've ever done in my relatively short time of doing car maintenance at home.

Rear diff was absolute cake, didnt even need th jack up the car. Diaqueen was pumped via a cheap plastic pump from Autozone with zero issues.

The front diff/TC on the other hand...
The drain plug came out with ease, no worries there (although it didnt seem like .58 quarts were drained?).

Filling it was a whole different story though - no matter how patient I was with the pump I *always* had fluid gushing back through the drain hole. I couldnt get .58 quarts back IN the TC for the life of me, which leads me to believe that there's still a good amount of fluid that doesnt drain at all via the plug(?). Once I got the car level again, there didnt seem to be much fluid dripping out at all, which had me a bit worried, so I repeated the process of filling it with the same results as above :? After another attempt of level/refilling, I said f*ck it and went to eat dinner.

Now I'm semi worried that there isnt enough Diaqueen in there, so I might just take it to a shop with a lift and get it over with. Anyone have any hints or tips for future attempts? I just wasted half my Sunday on what I thought was a 2 hour job :(

ace33joe
04-09-2006, 09:42 PM
It may not be very safe, but if you have 4 jack stands (no scissor jacks alone), leveling the car for filling can be easier, I think.

MarkSAE
04-09-2006, 11:18 PM
As long as fluid is coming out of the fill hole, there's enough fluid in the t-case. There's a pocket in the t-case cover that may not drain completely when the drain plug is out. It's not a big deal.

The technique I use to get my car level is to have the front of the car on jackstands, while I use a jack on the rear diff to level the car and let the leftover fluid drain out.

vtluu
04-10-2006, 01:46 AM
no matter how patient I was with the pump I *always* had fluid gushing back through the drain hole.
I take it you mean the fill hole?

I drive the car up onto ramps, then jack up the rear of the car (the rear jack point is the rear diff) and then lower it onto jack stands to make it sit nice and level.

Filling the TC is still a bit of a pain in the ass, and messy, but otherwise straightforward.

TimDC2x
04-10-2006, 09:25 AM
no matter how patient I was with the pump I *always* had fluid gushing back through the drain hole.
I take it you mean the fill hole?

I drive the car up onto ramps, then jack up the rear of the car (the rear jack point is the rear diff) and then lower it onto jack stands to make it sit nice and level.

Filling the TC is still a bit of a pain in the ass, and messy, but otherwise straightforward.


Errr my bad, fill hole! :lol:

Thanks for the responses folks, much appreciate. Tam, I'll def. try that next time. Jacking the car up and down 4 times wasnt a pleasant experience to say the least.

I'll check the TC fluid again this weekend just in case b/c of paranoid :oops:

bdking57
04-11-2006, 01:26 PM
the smell of the diaqueen alone is enough for me not to want to go near that thing.. i found a shop that will change all my fluids for $75.

earlyapex
04-11-2006, 02:27 PM
Like some people said,

I jack my car up and put it level on 4 jackstands and do all 3 fluid changes. Piece o' cake with the TC being the only slightly PITA one because of the DP and where the fill hole is.

The rear diff is cake, I could do that with one arm. The Tranny a close second.

TimDC2x
04-11-2006, 02:31 PM
Agreed, the rear was a cake walk compared to the TC.

The smell is horrid too, dont remind me...ick.

So should I bother checking the TC fluid level? When I was filling it I musta wasted at least an eighth of a quart because the fuild kept gushing back out.

earlyapex
04-11-2006, 02:32 PM
So should I bother checking the TC fluid level? When I was filling it I musta wasted at least an eighth of a quart because the fuild kept gushing back out.

Doesnt hurt to check, just level the car out and check it.

dohcvtec
04-11-2006, 02:52 PM
LSD fluid always smells nasty. You learn to love it. :)

earlyapex
04-11-2006, 03:07 PM
LSD fluid always smells nasty. You learn to love it. :)

I use it as cologne, I renamed it sex panther:

http://tinyurl.com/hodu8

methods4
04-11-2006, 03:10 PM
LSD fluid always smells nasty. You learn to love it. :)

I use it as cologne, I renamed it sex panther:

http://tinyurl.com/hodu8

It's quite pungent. It's a formidable scent. Bryan, I'm going to be honest with you, that smells like pure transmission fluid.

EV0LL
04-11-2006, 08:49 PM
LSD fluid always smells nasty. You learn to love it. :)

I use it as cologne, I renamed it sex panther:

http://tinyurl.com/hodu8

Me thinks you were just waiting for an excuse to use that...

1StockEvo
04-11-2006, 09:42 PM
I've been so spoiled using lifts that I now hate working on any car on the floor.

EV0LL
04-11-2006, 10:14 PM
I've been so spoiled using lifts that I now hate working on any car on the floor.

Heh, I'm starting to be that way too :lol:

Eclipse
04-11-2006, 10:22 PM
My Dad has a pit in his garage and it's really spoiled me. Kind of a pain getting up and down out of the pit at times but it sure beats laying on your back in the driveway with crap falling in your eyes.

dohcvtec
04-11-2006, 11:28 PM
I want a lift or a pit :(

trinydex
05-22-2006, 06:05 PM
why didn't you angle the car? have one side higher so you could over fill the diff? that's what i do, some bubbles out of the overfil port at the top when things heat up... but at least you know it's full.