I have a '95 Buick Lasabre with around 60k miles on it. The transmission oil has never been changed nor added to. Should I change it and if yes how is this done? Filter? Oil? Is there anything that I should be aware of? I assume the pan will have to be removed to do this, right?

 

yes u should change it. and yes u drop the pan. and u should be able to find a trans filter hit for about 12 bucks. those usually come with a new gasket. but as long as ur original one is not damaged, then re-use. the o.e rubber one with the steel inserts are the best gasket u can find. and i believe u will need 4 qts. maybe a 5th.

 

I changed the oil recently on our 2000 LeSabre. There is an issue with only dropping the pan and changing the ATF and fiter... you are only getting about 30% of the oil AFT out of the transmission.

There is an easy fix. Before you pull the pan, remove the pressure line from the radiator heat exchanger, get 6 feet of 3/8" poly tube and connect one end into the line and the other end into a 5 gal bucket. Have about 4 gallons of AFT handy. Start the engine. Fluid will flow into the bucket. When the flow stops, shut down the engine and add a gallon to transmission. Repeat this twice (or more if you have additional AFT handy). Eventually, the fluid coming out of the tube will look nice and bright red. Run the last of the fluid out of the tube, now pull the pan and change the filter. Top off accordingly, reconnect the transmission line to the radiator. I call this the poor mans transmission flush - it gets to that extra 70% of the fluid that you miss just changing the pan and the filter.

This forum needs a tech article section (Wiki) so we can publish technical articles for the benefit of other members/guests.