Est. time: 1-2 hours
MATERIALS:
* 3 quarts of the MTX fluid of your choice.
* A tube/hose about 1/2" to 5/8" in diam. and 2-3 feet in length.
* Various sized funnels
* Pan to catch and store the fluid.
* Jack, stands, (or ramps), chocks, and various basic hand tools.
STEP 1
Park the car on a level spot and raise it high enough to crawl under it comfortably. Be sure to use jackstands. Pull the ebrake up all the way, and use wheel chocks in the rear if you have them. Lay down some cardboard underneath to prevent the ground from getting fluid all over it.
STEP 2
Slide under the front of the car and locate the drain plug at the lower right side of the differential housing on the transmission. Grab your drain pan, and a funnel to catch the fluid. Using an 8mm allen wrench, loosen the plug slowly, and remove it. The fluid doesnt come out too fast, so a well postitioned funnel and pan will prevent much of a mess. Allow several minutes for the fluid to completely drain.
STEP 3
Replace the drain plug, and torque it to 250 in lbs (appx 21 ft lbs). Be careful not to overtighten.
STEP 4
Clear out anything that might be under the car and lower it back down. Be sure to remove the wheel chocks if you used them, so you dont forget them later. Keep the cardboard underneath the transmission to catch the new fluid that may drip out later.
STEP 5
This part of the procedure isnt necessarily required, but if youre not using a lift, its the best way to do this. Loosen the battery-wire terminal nuts with a 10mm wrench and isolate them from the terminals. Remove your strut tower brace if you have one, using a 13mm socket. Loosen the 13mm battery hold-down bolt behind the battery, and remove the battery from the tray.
Remove the four 10mm screws/nuts that hold down the battery tray, as well as the 13mm screw on the lower front of the tray. Remove the battery tray.
[/b]STEP 6
This part of the procedure can be done many ways. Locate the rubber fill plug on the drivers side of the transmission, directly under the master cylinder. Remove it. Using your hose (and a small funnel at the bottom of it, if necesarry), fill the transmission slowly. Keep an eye on the fill hole, making sure all the fluid goes in. This can be pretty tedious, so take your time and spill as little as possible. The FSM calls for the fluid to reach 3/16" below the opening at the fill hole, but its safe to let it fill until it overflows a bit. Replace the rubber plug.
STEP 7
Reinstall the battery tray, reverse of the way you took it out. Do the same with the battery, tightening the battery hold-down carefully. Do not overtighten, or you could damage the battery. Reinstall your strut tower brace if applicable, and torque to 25 ft lbs. Once everything is good and snug, clean up your mess, put your tools away, and take the car out for a spin!
Special thanks to racer12306 for his help and info. All comments and suggestions are welcome. Feel free to PM with any specifc questions. Thank you.
-OB
