Part Six: The Transmission
Now for the last fluid and filter change of this article: the transmission. I used Royal Purple's Max ATF, a synthetic high-performance automatic transmission fluid. According to RP, its low co-efficient of friction and high film strength help to dramatically reduce heat and wear. Additionally, Max ATF is fully compatible and can be mixed with other automatic transmission fluids. The filter and gasket come as a kit from Purolator. The filter prolongs the life of the trans fluid and transmission by trapping foreign particles and abrasives from the fluid. These are supposed to be changed every 12,000 miles, and I'm sure mine was due.
 |  1. Since there is no drain...  1. Since there is no drain plug on the trans pan, I had to just start removing the blots until it started flowing out. One tip I will pass on is to have a large drain pan; I used a litter box placed as close to the trans as possible. |  2. After wrestling the still...  2. After wrestling the still half-full tranny pan down into my drain pan, I pulled off the filter. It just slips up into a hole and is held in by a rubber seal, so a little twisting motion helps get it out. The new filter goes in the same way; I would recommend smearing the rubber seal with some clean tranny fluid just to help the install. |
 3. I removed the trans pan...  3. I removed the trans pan from my drain pan and gave it a thorough cleaning, along with the sealing surface of the transmission itself. I used a little Form-A-Gasket to hold the gasket in place while I installed the pan. |  4. Once the tranny was sealed...  4. Once the tranny was sealed up, I filled it with the Max ATF. I poured in almost 5 quarts of fluid before starting the truck and cycling it through the gears a few times. After that, I checked the fluid level and topped it off with the last bit of the fifth quart. |  |
The Final Word
All said and done, the truck is running like a champ. There is no more smoke bellowing out of the tailpipe, thanks to the new TBI and ignition system. The running temperature of the truck is almost 20 degrees lower, thanks to the new radiator and flushing the system. One of the best things of all is the power improvement. Not that it would be fair to compare how it runs now to what it did before, but the fact it will smoke the tire off the line and give me a nice chirp when it shifts into Second is making me one happy gearhead.