Stripped (Close to it) Transmission Filler Plug Problem

[Petros]

there are three chambers in the transaxle assembly, all are interconnected so they share the same lube oil, but if you do not open all three drain plugs you will not drain all the oil.

You can fill from the most convenient filler plug (I have found the front one, or the center one to be easy to reach with long fill hose from distributor area), but the oil movemnt from front, to center, to rear chamber is slow. The risk of this is when filling from say the front one, and the oil starts spilling out of the fill hole (so it appears full), there may not be enough lube that has made it into the center and back chambers. So you have to either keep checking the other fill plug level, or as Tazka suggest, keep filling until you get 4.1 quarts into it. That will not be easy if the weather is cool and the gear lube flows real slow. It is also a PIA to keep double checking all the fillers, and the spilled oil.

Next time I have my trans out I am going to see if I can not devise a simple filler system with a dip stick like an auto trans, or even a sight glass level indicator. The auto trans changes oil at same interval as manual trans, but the auto trans has a dip stick and filler neck. So the manual trans should too. If it was easy to check lube level, and refill, mine might actually get done more often on schdule, rather than at 50k to 100k intervals. I will post pictures of what I come up with when that happens.

[dlb]

excellent, thank you petros! that is what i thought but i wanted to confirm it before i went destroying anything. i think as long as you have the front of the car raised up a bit, fill from the front fill hole, and make sure you get the measured 3.9 liters (or 4.1 quarts, ugh) in, that would be a fairly safe way to make sure the gear oil was evenly distributed between the 3 chambers, right?

another couple questions though. what's with this 7-8 turn plug that is mentioned so often, and why would you leave it undone when filling the tranny? wouldn't that just allow the fluid to drain while you're trying to fill it?

[ARCHINSTL]

Since the FSM specifies filling from the rear, as well as loosening that plug, it would seem that for some reason, if the plug is screwed in all the way, it somehow blocks flow of the oil to the front chambers (maybe flow to the front is through a narrow slit or hole?). That's the only reason I could imagine. I further presumed that if filled from the front not enough would get through the narrow opening to the rearmost chamber - unless - the plug is unscrewed. Never having had a trans apart - this is the only reason I can imagine.
Sound right?
Unscrewing it the 7-8 turns is not enough for oil to drain - it's a looong plug.
Tom M.
As I always emphasize - make sure the filler plugs can be loosened before taking out the drain plugs - see post from Friday on this from takza and moi.

[Jarf]

Shallow depth plugs of soft material aren't really the problem, the biggest part of the problem comes from uncaring tech's that want to go fast.
Made the mistake of having a shop replace my fluids, gave them the manual, talked to the tech before hand.
Went to check the levels about 6 weeks later and aren't all 3 fill plugs torqued to about 1 million foot pounds.
Managed to get the 2 rear fill plugs out, with a hammer and chisel no less but could not budge the fr diff fill plug.
When I had the engine out I spent about 2 hours with my hammer and chisel and still could not move it, nothing left of the head now and had to stop for fear of cracking the case, my guess is there is some dirt in the threads and that is what is holding it up.
For the time being I am living with it as I have no other choice.
For the record, when I change fluid, I drop all 3 drain plugs and let it drain forever. When it is time to fill, I drop the front end and put a couple of liters into the middle plug, install that plug and finish filling from the rear plug until I hit the magic number (3.9l).
Seems to work fine, but surely is a PITA.
I did verify the first time around by pulling an axle to make sure the oil flowed, which it did.
If a new gasket is used everytime and the plug is made snug, it is NEVER a problem, only an issue when you get some bonehead that thinks it needs to be
torqued like drive-axle nuts, funny how at the same time, they seem to under-tighten the drain plugs, go figure.
This is the very reason I no longer let anyone touch my cars (it isn't the first time I have run into these types of issues, just the last time)
Repairs now wait until I have time to fix them.
Good advice on checking the fill plugs first though.

[dlb]

i looked through the FSM and couldn't find that page but i'll take another look. i feel better about giving this a shot so i'll squeeze it in in august. hopefully. thanks all!

[Highlander]

David- Try FSM pages MT-13 to drain, and MT-70 to refill
BTW- I use a large, syringe type dealy (i have no idea where I got it or when) that I put a piece of tubing from one of the horrible freight pumps onto, I then bent a section of 1/2" copper tubing to a right angle. I suck up the gear oil by sticking the tubing into the bottle, then I finagle the copper tube into the fill hole and slowly fill it. It only takes about 3 or 4 full syringes to fill from empty.

[dlb]

holy doodle, i've only ever used the bookmarks to navigate the FSM so when i tried to find MT-70 the closest i could only was either MT-68 or MT-71... i've always thought the FSM had some pretty big holes in the info, with removal and installation procedures ending before things were actually put in or taken out! so i tried using the pages navigation feature and found all the missing pages. so today, i learned not only how to drain and fill my transmission fluid according to the FSM procedures but where the hidden FSM pages were! doubly successful, really. thanks highlander!

[Glenn]

Sorry to bump this old one up, but a quick question!

I have searched and read through the threads and the FSM but I just want to clarify as the pictures are confusing me, the front fill is on the driver side right? Pictures seem to show everything from the right.

Best I can see is a I have two 24mm drains on the bottom of the case, and further back one 19mm drain.

For fills I have two near the back, one 24mm (rearmost I guess) and one 19mm and one drivers side up on the diff 24mm. This is on my 1987, sound correct? From reading I thought all the bolts may be 24mm.

Thanks!

[Petros]

I do not recall seeing the 19 mm plugs, I thought mine were all 24 mm, I have an '83 trans in my '84. It does not matter much, you can fill it from any of the filler plugs, it just is slow since the gear oil needs to spill into the other chambers as you fill it. Makes sure you get all 4.1 quarts into it.

[takza]

Yes...the rear drain plug is smaller. Best bet is to fill from the front plug by the axle with the car on ramps at the front. 4.1 qts.