Oil Change

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Changed the oil and filter on one of my cars tonight. Glad I didn't go to Jiffy Lube!

http://mfile.akamai.com/12924/wmv/vod.ibsys.com/2006/0503/9152183.200k.asx

[K1JJ]

Changed the oil and filter on one of my cars tonight. Glad I didn't go to Jiffy Lube!

Was that on the PT Cruiser?

Wow, that's quite a message! Looks like Jiffy Lube is busted or on narcotics. 

I've been looking into getting the transmission drained on my 2002 Dakota truck. I've been told that there are two ways. The first is to drop the pan and replace the filter. But, 1/3 of the xmission fluid remains in the torque converter and gets mixed with the new.

The second way is with those suck machines, but they do not drop the pan and the filter stays put and gets crammed with crud. So the best way is to do both and it costs $300+.  Chrysler recommends to do it every 25K miles or so.

Anyway. think I'll just do the pan and filter for $125 and mark the gasket to make sure it was pulled apart after seeing that video...

T

[Bill, KD0HG]

Jiffy Lube ihas been owned by Pennzoil since around 1990.

Jiffy was in the Denver news a while back. Their franchises were charging customers for a 'premium' oil when they were actually using the cheapest stuff they could get.

http://www.imakenews.com/dhaugh/e_article000064081.cfm

It appears that ripping off customers is repeatedly a "problem" for that company....I change my own oil anyway.

[Bill, KD0HG]

I've been looking into getting the transmission drained on my 2002 Dakota truck. I've been told that there are two ways. The first is to drop the pan and replace the filter. But, 1/3 of the xmission fluid remains in the torque converter and gets mixed with the new.

The second way is with those suck machines, but they do not drop the pan and the filter stays put and gets crammed with crud. So the best way is to do both and it costs $300+.  Chrysler recommends to do it every 25K miles or so.

Anyway. think I'll just do the pan and filter for $125 and mark the gasket to make sure it was pulled apart after seeing that video...

T

I recently did a tranny service on the XYL's 2004 Grand Cherokee. Dropped the pan, changed the filters, drained it completely out from a cooler line.
Chrysler uses a proprietary synthetic transmission fluid in their late models called ATF +4. Until recently, they refused to license the manufacture of it to oil companies, and the price they were asking was a ripoff, around $7.50 a quart!

http://www.leeparts.com/car_care/vehicle_care/fluids/atf_4_gallons.html

After some legal action, Chrysler began licensing the formulato outside companies in 2005, but it's still ridiculously priced. Still at least 50% more than Mobil 1 synthetic ATF you can use in Fords, Toyota and GM products.

I got my ATF+4 from someone on EBAY for a good price.

[KB2WIG]

Try  loosening the trannie  cooler connection at the radiator. Thats what I did on the interstate... Its fun watching that tack hit 7K as the car stalls....





Yes,  I am on narcotics.

[WA1GFZ]

Tom,
$125 is a lot of money. You can do it yourself cheap. maybe $20 for filter and gasket plus oil. I did my old truck at 125K and it wasn't worth the trouble. I should have just put a hose down the filler and siphoned out all I could then refill. The filter wasn't even dirty and just a slime of metal film on the bottom of the pan. My new truck has a drain plug so I may replace a few quarts before it gets cold. The best thing to do is look at the dip stick and look at the color and give it a smell. I would replace it  if it is brown and smells bad. If it is red and still smells like oil you should be ok.

[Chuck k3xu]

Jiffy lube has this policy to top off all the fluids as part of the oil change.
This kid kept putting ATF in the master cylinder of customer’s cars.
Thinking it was low.
The local Ford dealer had over ten cars in for brake failure.
ATF melts the rubber in brake systems.
Four calipers & rubber lines, one master cylinder, and a line flush later.
The oil change was complete.
They tracked it down to this one kid and asked him why he used ATF?
His answer was I don’t know.

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Tom:

Make sure you dump the old tranny fluid in a nearby stream.

[WA1GFZ]

just dump it around the water well head to keep the pesky weeds from growing
This way you won't need to use the string trimmer.

[K1JJ]

Tom,
$125 is a lot of money. You can do it yourself cheap. maybe $20 for filter and gasket plus oil. I did my old truck at 125K and it wasn't worth the trouble. I should have just put a hose down the filler and siphoned out all I could then refill. The filter wasn't even dirty and just a slime of metal film on the bottom of the pan. My new truck has a drain plug so I may replace a few quarts before it gets cold. The best thing to do is look at the dip stick and look at the color and give it a smell. I would replace it  if it is brown and smells bad. If it is red and still smells like oil you should be ok.

Frank,

A hose down the filler tube? I wonder if that would work? Just a rubber hose that you suck to start it? That's interesting. Obviously the filter won't get changed, but it's better than nothing.

I just looked at the ATF and it is a red/brown, mostly brown. But maybe that's what this Chrysler ATF+4 is suppose to look like?   

Pulling the pan off doesn't look like too bad of a job.

In the past I've never changed ATF, but the dealership says every 30K miles for the Dakota, so lets make that 50K to compensate for their analness.  They said when towing it shud be changed at 15K.

T

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Was that on the PT Cruiser?

No, I never change the oil in the PT. It's a magic car and doesn't need it.

[WA1GFZ]

Tom,
Buy a new can of fluid and look and smell at new and old to determine what you should do next.
I use clear tygon tubing so you can see the  oil or gas coming at you as you suck the hose.
Get some 3/16 or 1/8 ID tygon tubing long enough to push down the filler tube to the bottom of the pan then over the fender to a bottle on the ground.
Many hardware stores sell it. I think home depot also has some.
I would not remove a cooler line and run the car to empty the converter. You could damage the pump. Change it three times over a year. I found it a pita to drop a pan full of oil just to replace a clean filter and wipe a little scum off the pan.
I have about 80K on my truck and it is about time for my first change. I'm easy on the tranny so oil looks fine.

[K1JJ]

Tom,
Buy a new can of fluid and look and smell at new and old to determine what you should do next.
I use clear tygon tubing so you can see the  oil or gas coming at you as you suck the hose.
Get some 3/16 or 1/8 ID tygon tubing long enough to push down the filler tube to the bottom of the pan then over the fender to a bottle on the ground.
Many hardware stores sell it. I think home depot also has some.
I would not remove a cooler line and run the car to empty the converter. You could damage the pump. Change it three times over a year. I found it a pita to drop a pan full of oil just to replace a clean filter and wipe a little scum off the pan.
I have about 80K on my truck and it is about time for my first change. I'm easy on the tranny so oil looks fine.

Good advice, Franz!  That's what I'll do then.

Yo da man!

T

[K1JJ]

Was that on the PT Cruiser?

No, I never change the oil in the PT. It's a magic car and doesn't need it.

Doesn't it use Vasoline instead of oil?

T

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

KY. Come, get with it!

[GEORGE/W2AMR]

I've been looking into getting the transmission drained on my 2002 Dakota truck. I've been told that there are two ways. The first is to drop the pan and replace the filter. But, 1/3 of the xmission fluid remains in the torque converter and gets mixed with the new.

The second way is with those suck machines, but they do not drop the pan and the filter stays put and gets crammed with crud. So the best way is to do both and it costs $300+.  Chrysler recommends to do it every 25K miles or so.

Anyway. think I'll just do the pan and filter for $125 and mark the gasket to make sure it was pulled apart after seeing that video...

T

I recently did a tranny service on the XYL's 2004 Grand Cherokee. Dropped the pan, changed the filters, drained it completely out from a cooler line.
Chrysler uses a proprietary synthetic transmission fluid in their late models called ATF +4. Until recently, they refused to license the manufacture of it to oil companies, and the price they were asking was a ripoff, around $7.50 a quart!

http://www.leeparts.com/car_care/vehicle_care/fluids/atf_4_gallons.html

After some legal action, Chrysler began licensing the formulato outside companies in 2005, but it's still ridiculously priced. Still at least 50% more than Mobil 1 synthetic ATF you can use in Fords, Toyota and GM products.

I got my ATF+4 from someone on EBAY for a good price.

It's always good to drain the torque converter too, if it has a plug.

[Bill, KD0HG]

It's always good to drain the torque converter too, if it has a plug.

Yup George, but they've been getting rid of the drain plugs on the torque converters.  So the only thing that you can do is crack open one of the oil lines if you want to change more than maybe 1/3 of the ATF.

Another thing that kinda sucks about the Chryslers is they no longer have a plug to drain the ATF out of the pan. You have to take all the bolts out, leaving one loosened bolt in, crack the pan off the gasket and spill 10 pounds of hot ATF all over the place. Makes a heckofa mess. Good thing I've got a gravel driveway- LOL. It's impossible *not* to spill some. They've got not one, but two filters in the trans, too. One looks conventional, the other looks like a minuature screw-on engine oil filter. Both are easy to get to after dropping the pan.

Tom, ATF+4 is red, with a noticeable dark blue tint to it. It's not brown.
Take a sniff off of the transmission dipstick. The fluid shouldn't smell burnt at all.

..

[GEORGE/W2AMR]

It's always good to drain the torque converter too, if it has a plug.

Yup George, but they've been getting rid of the drain plugs on the torque converters.  So the only thing that you can do is crack open one of the oil lines if you want to change more than maybe 1/3 of the ATF.

Another thing that kinda sucks about the Chryslers is they no longer have a plug to drain the ATF out of the pan. You have to take all the bolts out, leaving one loosened bolt in, crack the pan off the gasket and spill 10 pounds of hot ATF all over the place. Makes a heckofa mess. Good thing I've got a gravel driveway- LOL. It's impossible *not* to spill some. They've got not one, but two filters in the trans, too. One looks conventional, the other looks like a minuature screw-on engine oil filter. Both are easy to get to after dropping the pan.

Tom, ATF+4 is red, with a noticeable dark blue tint to it. It's not brown.
Take a sniff off of the transmission dipstick. The fluid shouldn't smell burnt at all.

..

Several manufacturers  use multiple trans filters now Bill, Seems like over kill to me. None of the ford cars and trucks I work on have  drain plugs in the transmission pans. Seems no matter how carefull I am I usually get splashed with ATF when taking down a full pan. Damn , that stuff stinks.

[WA1GFZ]

I had a buddy build me an TH350 for my old truck. When he delivered it he told me to pour some oil in the torque converter then install it. Then he said run it at idle and keep filling the trans until it was full on the dip stick. Then I ran it up and down the driveway and checked it a couple times. You don't want to run it dry. Seems to me the pump parts are plastic so the oil lubes them and keeps them cool.
I wouldn't run it dry by removing a cooling line because I'm chicken and a rebuild is big bucks. BTW tom vu Manchester transmission is the best guy around. He did one for my Dad a few years back. Then he sold the car I could have had a nice beater.

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Don't forget to change the oil in your hair too.

[K1JJ]

Here's an interesting set of posts by guys who change their own transmission fluid. Frank's method is outlined as well as dropping the pan and draining the lines.

http://www.allpar.com/eek/atf.html

Think I'll do the siphon method this time and next time drop the pan.

This is about Chrysler vehicles.   PT Cruisers are considered submarine destroyers, so are not included here. (PT-109 is a good example)

T

[WA1GFZ]

I've collected a few gallons of dead oil and was thinking of staurating the sill plate of the new place to keep the big black ants out. They will live in pressure treated.
my new cat usually catches one or two every weekend so I know they are sending scouts. I seal entry points when I discover them. I had an 1/8 inch hole between two hunks of flashing and about a hunderd piled in one day. I even put 6 inch flashing at the bottom of the plywood sheathing outside and bent it in a L back to the concrete.
I butal calked the edge. The bastids are still sending scouts. The wood is about 18 inches above the soil. Entrance stairs are not connected to the building.
I don't like to spray much but may have to. I have a neighbor who had them in his attic after they chewed through his deck.

[The Slab Bacon]

you have to make a mess the FIRST time. Once you have the pan off, go to your local speed shop and buy one of those nice cast aluminum aftermarket pans. They have nice solid flanges that seal better, cast in fins for better cooling, AND COME DRILLED AND TAPPED WITH A DRAIN PLUG!


Another good alternative that I have done in the past, is to install a drain plug into the oem pan. Drill a hole into the side of pan near the bottom. Now braze a nut to the inside of the pan. File or grind the outside surface of the pan smooth at the weld, and use a matching bolt with a copper or plastic washer, and Voilla, you now have a drain plug!! The whole process takes less than 1/2 hour once the pan is off!! I have done this many times.

The next alternative is to be a real man and drive a stick shift!! Manual transmixers already have drain and fill plugs installed from the factory!!
                                                                    The Slab Bacon

[K1JJ]

you have to make a mess the FIRST time. Once you have the pan off, go to your loval speed shop and buy one of those nice cast aluminum aftermarket pans. They have nice solid flanges that seal better, cast in fins for better cooling, AND COME DRILLED AND TAPPED WITH A DRAIN PLUG!

Frank - Roger on the carpenter? ants. I have to deal with them every year here. Spraying the foundation twice a year seems to do the trick, otherwise I see them constantly walking on the deck looking for trouble.

Frank, yes that sounds like an interesting idea. Though the two filters don't get changed when only pulling the drain plug. Frank/GFZ says his filter was clean, though the shop guy said he's seen some pretty caked filters.  I think the the "reasonable" garage pros suggest to alternate....drain it the first time and then next time pull the pan and flush the whole system.

I'm also looking at draining the rear end oil. Chryler recommends that too. I am told the rear cover needs to come off the meatball to clean out the deposits at the bottom, though, that may be a siphon job too for the first time here.

T

[The Slab Bacon]

Missa Vu,
             the REAL purpose for having a drain plug on a transmission pan is to be able to drain it WITHOUT making a mess before removing it to change the filterz. It just makes a nasty job a little less messy.
Most of todays newer high grade friction materials are far far better than years ago, and produce a lot less contamination in the tranny oil.

As far as the rear end oil goes. As long as it is not an old GM positraction rear with chattering clutches, there is no real urgency to change the oil in it. There is really nothing to contaminate it unless the vehicle has been driven in deep water or something like that. sooner or later the axles will have to come out to replace the axle seals, this is your percect opportunity to change the rear oil as you usually have to pull the cover to get to the axle clips.
                                                                                  the Slab Bacon

If you were on the air we could discuss this without all of this friggin typing!!