Changing the Gear Oil,
and Refreshing the Transmission Pan Gasket
It's a mundane job, but there's a first time for everything, and when I
started this little task I didn't even know where the fill hole was!
Step 1 - open the two drain holes, on the left and right of the trans
case. One is 14mm, the other is 17mm.
Driver's
side (left) trans drain hole
Passenger
side (right) trans drain hole
The arrow points to the fill hole, on the driver's side, just above and
behind the axle.
Use a 17mm wrench from under the car to open it.
(you can reach it from inside the cabin, but there is not a lot of room
to swing a wrench)
The gasket on the transmission pan looked beat, and fortunately I had a
spare, so it was time to replace it.
The old gasket was crushed and flattened...
The "differential case protector" is covering one of the eleven bolts
that hold on the transmission pan, so that needs to come off as well.
Here is what you've got when you're done taking stuff apart...
Apply a bit of gear oil to the new gasket, lay it in and bolt it
up. Then replace the diff protector, and you are ready to refill
the trans case.
An extension tube that attaches to the 80-90 gear oil bottle makes life
a lot easier. Fill the fill hole via the driver's side access
from inside the car.
Here is the fill hole, filled. When the gear oil starts pouring
out, you are done - a little more than 3 pints.
