BobS!

Where is the Transmission drain and fill plugs. I sea plug on the front of the
trans I assume to be a drain. There is a hex head bolt sticking out of the right side. What is that? I have located what appears to be a drain and a fill on the rear of the Differential (Could I call this a transaxle?) slightly obscured by the exhaust pipe.

I have an 88 5 speed.

Rich9928p

Look to the rear of the transaxle. There are two large plugs. The upper one is the fill and level check plug and the lower one is the drain plug.

Since there is a hump in the transaxle where the crossmember fits, to drain the transaxle both plugs are removed.

The plugs are made from rather soft material, so if they distort when being removed they should be replaced.

Mark

MAKE SURE you remove the TOP (fill) PLUG FIRST!!

There are horror stories of folks that have drained from the lower plug and then were unable to get the upper plug out!!

BobS!

OK, that makes sense but I was under the impression that the diff and trans did not share common lubricant. Am I just misinformed ?

shaaark89

in the 5 speeds the diff and trans share common fluid. in the auto's the diff fluid is separate.

Erik - Denmark

-------------
Mark,
A very good and practical point
Regards from Erik in Denmark

nlneilson

Tried to get my drain and fill plugs out the other day, they are very tight, are they 17 or 18 mm and is there a trick, like removing when trans is hot.
Neil
'79 5spd

Mark

LOOOOOONG piece of pipe on the wrench!

GlenL

That's a 17mm hex socket. Make sure the wrench is seated deeply and firmly. One trick is to get, or make, a wrench that is square at the top. That is without chamfer or rounding.

You might tap on it with a hammer and certainly apply some penetrating oil.

ViribusUnits

Getting the transmission hot certanly helps. The aluminum expands more than the steel, so if it's cold when you try to get it off, the case is clamped down hard on the plug. REALLY HARD.

For mine, all it took was a 17mm hex socket, and a 1/2" drive socket wrench. Came right out. When I tryed it cold, I couldn't even think of moveing it.

nlneilson

Thanks, appreciate the help.
Neil
'79 5spd

BobS!

It has been awhile.

The job went really smoothly. Refilling through with a tube through the rubber grommet was a breeze. I took it slow on the fifth quart and so there was little mess.

The old oil was not very old. I have only had the car since March. The shifting is much smoother with synthetic oil.

The real reason to have the car up in the air was to replace a steering rack boot.

http://www.nichols.nu/tip071.htm

This link help a lot.

Thanks for the help.

Drewster67

17MM

If the Hex Bolt strips and refuses to budge and In worst case scenarios - a peice of metal may need to be welded to the Hex Nut in order to remove it. Ask me how I know.

Steve J.

My experience was the same as VU. Plug wouldn't budge cold. Used a heat gun around the plug and it came out with a little coaxing. The plugs are shallow and often worn and over-tightened, so you may only get one shot at it before it strips. Make sure your tool is seated fully in plug. Replace the plug with a new one, use some anti-sieze and tighten to 16 ft-lbs.

Carl Fausett

They are 17mm and look like this.

(Put on your peril-sensitive glasses - blatent capitalism follows)
We sell a 1/2 drive 17mm allen socket that works nice for that.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...RK%3AMESE%3AIT

BTW - this is soooo right...