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so i need to have my atx fluid drained(atf+4), and a new filter installed in there as well.. can anyone tell me if its worth the 150 dollars the transmission places around here are charging, or should i just drop the pan and conquer this one myself.. i do all of the maintenance on my car myself, anything that doesn't require the car to be on a hoist...i haven't taken a look yet but i'm thinking the FSM might have some instructions on how to do this properly... any suggestions, anyone else done this before and have some advice for me? if i'm lucky, maybe some pictures?? lol

do it yourself.

i was going to do this the other day when i was doing my axle and everything.. bought the filter kit and the fluid.. but i took all the screws off of the pan and couldnt get it off (ok, honestly i didnt try that hard) so i just put the screws back in and filled up the tranny for the fluid i had lost

i really should have gone through with it, but whatever. its simple to do though (or at least it should be)

$11 for the filter kit at autozone/wherever
99 cents for some gasket grease
and $10 or so for the fluid

versus

$150 for someone to do it

Do it yourself. I had never done it before and I did this on my wife's 2000 SE which has the 3speed auto.

The part that took me the longest is loosening each bolt in several stages. Since, obviously, you don’t want to just drop the pan because then fluid will be all over your face and your garage floor, you need to do it in stages and drop one side lower than the other so the fluid flows out in a semi predictable fashion.

I chose to get the fluid to drain out the side of the pan which is closest to the back of the car. I started by losing the bolts on that side of the pan. Then I worked my way around each side of the pan until all of the bolts were just a little bit loose.

There are a few bolts on one side of the pan that are fairly hard to get at, but with a few tries and a nice light source you shouldn't have a great deal of problems.

After I loosened each bolt a little bit, I then loosened the bolts on the drain side fairly low, and just worked my way around the pan again loosening each bolt a little bit at a time. The fluid will start flowing out in this stage, so make sure you have your drain pan in position.

I repeated the loosening process in small stages until the pan just came right off. I didn't need to force it off or anything. I just gave it a few tugs with my fingers and it slid off. At this stage you have to be careful of any fluid left in the pan so you don't drench yourself with it. My service manual says there is a good chance you WILL get fluid all over yourself and this process is messy. With a little care and common sense this is not true. I only got a small amount of fluid on my hands, and I was wearing gloves. The rest went in the pan.

Once the pan is off you can clean off the magnet. It will be full of sludge. So will the pan. Give the pan a very nice cleaning with a LINTLESS cloth. You don't want any bit of anything getting in to your transmission.

I chose NOT to replace my pan gasket. There was 100k miles on this transmission and this was the first time changing the fluid. The gasket was fine and not corroded. Yours should also be fine.

If I remember correctly the filter came off with the removal of two Allen head screws. Be careful not to torque the new filter on too hard. You might want to tighten up the screws in stages. I didn't use a torque wrench.

After that, I put the pan back on tightening the bolts in a two stages all around the pan then filled the fluid back up. When you start the car again leave it idle with the break pedal depressed starting in 1st gear, up to park leaving it in EACH gear for a minute or two.

The entire process took me about 3 hours, but I took my time. Slow and steady wins the race.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

Soccerdanno, thanks a ton man.. really didn't want to spend 150 bucks to get them to vacuum the old fluid out with thier Fancy Machine that im sure they're still paying for, lol! They told me they use a machine to pump out the old fluid, and in with the new, and im thinking, how is that going to work, dirty filter still in there, and not to mention all the scum that adds up in the pan and on the magnet..

My pan is currently sealed on with some black form-a-gasket, not a factory gasket, so im assuming it has been changed before? service record shows its been done twice before, but who knows with the dealerships these days.

And thanks for the tip on lowering the pan little by little.. i'd rather not shower in ATF, if i can help it haha. The filter was really my only concern, since dropping the pan was pretty straight forward, i just wanted to make sure i didn't need anything special to remove the filter.. again, thanks a ton

Anytime, glad I could help.

Since you have a non-factory gasket you may want to buy some loctite gasket or something like that to seal it back up when you are done. It is only a few bucks for a tube of it and anyone at the parts store should be able to tell you the correct stuff to use. Be very careful scraping the old gasket stuff off if you need to remove it.

On a side note; from what I understand back-flushing a tranny can sometimes be a BAD thing. Those metal shavings inside of it sometimes help seal up small leaks or corroded areas. I have heard of transmission completely not working after getting a back-flush. Shops will tell you anything to get you to give them money.

Best of luck in your DIY tranny flush. It really is just as easy and changing oil. It just takes a little longer and a little bit more care.

Yea as soon as i asked, So the Pan Never Comes Off? Once i heard No, i told them i'd be back, lol (yeaaaaaaa rightt.) Came home and made this post.. and yeah, ill be carefull removing the old gasket, don't want to gouge into it and have it not seal.. but yea.. i appreciate the help, when i asked the ppl at the dealership about it.. they just looked at me like, your a kid, you can't do it, so bring it to us, and we'll just rape your wallet, i mean flush the tranny for you... haha.

Oh hey, how much fluid do i need to fil er up afterwards..

gilly02le wrote:Yea as soon as i asked, So the Pan Never Comes Off? Once i heard No, i told them i'd be back, lol (yeaaaaaaa rightt.) Came home and made this post.. and yeah, ill be carefull removing the old gasket, don't want to gouge into it and have it not seal.. but yea.. i appreciate the help, when i asked the ppl at the dealership about it.. they just looked at me like, your a kid, you can't do it, so bring it to us, and we'll just rape your wallet, i mean flush the tranny for you... haha.

Oh hey, how much fluid do i need to fil er up afterwards..

I believe it is 3.5 quarts, but I could be wrong. When you go to the parts store to get parts I would recommend buying a Chiltion's 2000-2003 dodge neon repair manual. That has a good step by step with pics of the entire process and will cover anything I may have left out.

Good luck!

i guess while im under there, ill be inspecting my bushings as well.. i noticed i have a light clunk going over cracks and breaks in the road, and when it was raining the other night.. i noticed it makes this exactly sound when i turn back and fourth quickly.. (enough to make the car sway side to side a bit...) a little hard to explain, but it seems like warn bushings.. if thats the case, Prothane full bushing kit here i come!