tranny fluid change/add

1991vert

10 Year Member
Feb 27, 2004
1,103
7
69
Ludlow, MA
would it be fine to just take off your shifter, add the fluid, and reseal the shifter? mine used to spit fluid out of the speed sensor, but it stopped. i dunno if the fluid is now at the correct level or if its just too low. any input?
 
  • Sponsors (?)


Have you ever pulled a shifter before? Mine was a PITA to do...stuck to tranny. I think you'd find it easier to pull the plug out of the tranny and stick your finger in there and see if it's up to the correct level. I think there's actually 2 plugs, one to check and one to add...I could be wrong.
 
red92stang said:
there are two plugs. one is to drain and one is to add. anyone know how much fluid is supposed to be where the shifter is?
i dont think you are gonna get much response; most people drop the fill plug and fill through the shifter until the fluid comes out the fill plug. gonna be hard to eyeball, and not have it be too subjective, i think.

The User is right. pop the fill plug and stick a finger in it.
good luck.
 
Better yet - pop the fill plug (3/8 socket drive goes right in the plug) and simply add fluid until it starts to run out of the fill hole. That's the correct level - when fluid runs out of the fill hole with the vehicle sitting level -- so you have to put the whole car in the air, not just the front. Most autoparts places sell an inexpensive manual pump that screws to the lubricant container (check out WalMart's Marine section) - you can pump it in with that. You can also pour it in the shifter opening, but you need the fill plug out to tell when it's at the right level. And if you were leaking at the speed sensor and then it stopped, it's probaby because the fluid got low enough that it won't reach the sensor anymore - so you better get some fluid in there, and you probably ought to fix the leak.
 
If it's like the speedo cable attachment on my T-5 the seal is via o-ring. I'd remove it and see if the o-ring is damaged. Replacing it is dirt cheap. A silicone seal is probably only gonna work if you can remove it, clean it up (while the tranny is empty), put it in and seal it, and let it set up before you refill the tranny. If fluid is trying to leak out while you're trying to seal it with silicone, it ain't gonna work.