I just finished doing a pan drop and filter change on the 6L80 in my Tahoe. And I have some pointers for anyone doing the same.
I used 5 full quarts and about 10 ounces of Castrol Dexron VI and 20 ounces of Lubegard platinum. So 6 quarts is just about perfect.
The y-pipe is in the way of the pan. The easiest way to get enough clearance is to loosen all three nuts at the driver side manifold to y-pipe connection until there are only a couple threads holding and loosen the 2 most accessible nuts on the passenger side. One nut on the passenger side is blocked by the O2 sensor and doesn't actually have to be loosened, as you just need the passenger side to twist a little. All these nuts are 15mm.
Loosen all the transmission pan bolts, leaving the front most bolt in halfway to allow the rear of the pan to drain into a drain pan. Then slide the pan off. These bolts are 10mm.
To take the filter off, just pull straight down. There is a seal for the filter in the transmission. This seal scares most people, but with the right tool, it's easy to replace.
This is the perfect tool to remove the seal. The pipe is the perfect size to thread into the seal and the 90° on the end acts as a handle to gentle pull straight down. I've used this on 4 different 6l80s without fail. Coat the new seal in transmission fluid and use a large socket to gentle seat the new seal. Apply transmission fluid to the spout of the new transmission filter and push it straight in. It will seat against the valve body.
For the pan, I like to clean the film of clutch material off the bottom of the pan and wipe the magnet clean. The pan gasket is reusable, but I never reuse the original.
The torque for the pan bolts is 80 in/lbs. Make sure to refill your transmission with fluid before attempting to drive around. I usually put about 5 quarts in, to begin with
Get the transmission up to operating temp and fill as needed.
My Tahoe has 148k miles on it (135k of that was Texas State Trooper miles) and I have no reason to believe it has ever had a transmission service before. So far this has been the best looking 6L80 I've serviced. Very little shavings on the magnet and not much film along the bottom of the pan. The fluid didn't look bad either. The heavy duty cooler helped things a ton, as this one usually runs at 145° on the highway.
I used 5 full quarts and about 10 ounces of Castrol Dexron VI and 20 ounces of Lubegard platinum. So 6 quarts is just about perfect.
The y-pipe is in the way of the pan. The easiest way to get enough clearance is to loosen all three nuts at the driver side manifold to y-pipe connection until there are only a couple threads holding and loosen the 2 most accessible nuts on the passenger side. One nut on the passenger side is blocked by the O2 sensor and doesn't actually have to be loosened, as you just need the passenger side to twist a little. All these nuts are 15mm.
Loosen all the transmission pan bolts, leaving the front most bolt in halfway to allow the rear of the pan to drain into a drain pan. Then slide the pan off. These bolts are 10mm.
To take the filter off, just pull straight down. There is a seal for the filter in the transmission. This seal scares most people, but with the right tool, it's easy to replace.
This is the perfect tool to remove the seal. The pipe is the perfect size to thread into the seal and the 90° on the end acts as a handle to gentle pull straight down. I've used this on 4 different 6l80s without fail. Coat the new seal in transmission fluid and use a large socket to gentle seat the new seal. Apply transmission fluid to the spout of the new transmission filter and push it straight in. It will seat against the valve body.
For the pan, I like to clean the film of clutch material off the bottom of the pan and wipe the magnet clean. The pan gasket is reusable, but I never reuse the original.
The torque for the pan bolts is 80 in/lbs. Make sure to refill your transmission with fluid before attempting to drive around. I usually put about 5 quarts in, to begin with
Get the transmission up to operating temp and fill as needed.
My Tahoe has 148k miles on it (135k of that was Texas State Trooper miles) and I have no reason to believe it has ever had a transmission service before. So far this has been the best looking 6L80 I've serviced. Very little shavings on the magnet and not much film along the bottom of the pan. The fluid didn't look bad either. The heavy duty cooler helped things a ton, as this one usually runs at 145° on the highway.
