my apologies if this is the wrong thread--it's low tech and it's GM not Ferrari related, After having our 1989 Buick LeSabre sit for 6 yrs, I am recomissioning it since it only has 55K miles. All is well except for the large drips of AT fluid on the garage floor. It looks like the pan gasket is the culprit and I need to replace it. I'm aware that it's a messy job (8+ qts of fluid), but is there anything likely to fall out or that I could misplace such as check balls, springs, pawls and so on when I remove the pan to install a new gasket? Is this a job best left to a GM tech? Finally, should the new gasket be installed dry or with a light coat of sealant (one or both sides?)? I appreciate your comments and recommendations.
Nothing to worry about..just drop the pan, change the filter and re-fill. Use a nice wide drain bucket, and have a few rags ready..
Good advice. The valve-body is self-contained so nothing will fall out. I would only add in answer to your question about the gasket: don't use sealant, as it can mess up the valve body etc. They make spring clips to hold the gasket in place, or just use a very light film of grease. And tighten the pan slowly and in a cross-pattern. 10 ft-lbs is all it takes. I always had better luck with cork gaskets rather than rubber, they squish out less.
I seriously recommend that you have the tranny completely flushed! Generally it's recommended to do this every 30K mi. but if it's done every 50K mi., I think you can still get by (so long as you're not working it hard). [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfrWzwic2Sg]Pat Goss talks about Transmission Flushes - YouTube[/ame]
Quick tip - when you loosen the pan, undo all the bolts a turn or two, then loosen the fasteners on one end or corner of the pan a little more. Use a putty knife to gently separate the pan gasket and when it comes loose, that corner will drop down a little and act as a natural funnel to direct the ATF into your drain pan. Caution - there's about 10 quarts in there!
Personally, I'm not sold on the process. Pat is a salesman. As I understand it, they pump the fluid thru a filter and add more chemicals before putting it back in the trans. They leave the transmission's old gasket and filter untouched. The thick sludge on the pan bottom is left behind! I use a more frequent drain/fill/filter schedule and recognize that there is old fluid left behind in the coolers.... Be sure to drain the torque converter as well. Rgds, Vincenzo
Just be careful with the flush if you choose to do it. If it's a high mileage car, don't do it. It could lead directly to a rebuild. I won't do a flush on an auto box if it has more then 100k on its original fill.
Don't forget the pan magnet. It is most likely shaped like a very thick washer nearly two inches in diameter, but no matter what it looks like it should be removed and cleaned. Of course, you should put it back in the same place when it's clean. It should have some black "fuzz" on it, but no big chunks of metal.
I'm grateful for the advice received. Drained, cleaned [not commercially flushed], repositioned black square magnet [took me a minute to figure out what it was], installed cork gasket, tightened the 19 bolts radially with nutdriver [10 mm] at what I approximate was 10 lbs, filled with 6 qts of ATF and, after driving it nearly 100 mi this week, nary a drop on the garage floor. Total cost: $34.62 plus 2hrs of my labor [@ .06 per hour]. I hate drips: (1)they worry me and (2) they annoy me. again, thank you all.
