manual tranny fluids change

[2000sunfire]

I have a 2000 sunfire 5 speed (made by Getrag I do believe). Owner's manual says to never give a thought to transmission fluid. Is this right? Transmission works perfect now and I want to keep it that way!

I found what i believe to be the drain and fill plugs but there is no dipstick to check fluid level. How would I know how much to refill with if I did drain it?

 

[Kestas]

In those cases I would be careful to capture every drop that you drain out, measure it, then refill with the exact amount. I sometimes use this method with transmission fluid changes.

 

[cryptokid]

normally you fill it untill it cant hold any more and it starts comming out of the fill plug.

 

[Whimsey]

quote:

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Originally posted by 2000sunfire:
I have a 2000 sunfire 5 speed (made by Getrag I do believe). Owner's manual says to never give a thought to transmission fluid. Is this right? Transmission works perfect now and I want to keep it that way!

I found what i believe to be the drain and fill plugs but there is no dipstick to check fluid level. How would I know how much to refill with if I did drain it?

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No fluid lasts forever. My Ford truck doesn't specify changing the manual transmission fluid ever. The dealer says to do it at 60,000 mile intervals. I prefer 30,000 mile intervals. Though I did change the factory fluid at 15,000 miles. I've never seen a manual transmission with a dipstick. Usually it's the drain and fill plug. BEFORE you drain the fluid make sure you can get the fill plug out. It would be a bit*h to drain it and not be able to refill it

. It's usually filled till it just starts to come out of ther fill hole. Though some transmissions are filled to just below the fill hole. Check in your owner's manual.

Whimsey

 

[RJCorazza]

I changed out my F150 manual transmission fluid, transfer case, & front/rear differentials to synthetic last year. Although the owner's manual omits this service, the OEM service manual recommends 120k for normal service & 60k for severe service (transmission). The differentials were similar, but I don't recall the numbers.
Anyway, there was a drain and fill plug... add fluid 'till it comes out in my case, however, I did (and recommend) getting the mfg. spec on fill quantities before draining, or as mentioned above measure what you drain out as an alternative. The fluid in my transmission after <50k was a lot dirtier than I expected.

 

[Virtuoso]

quote:

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Originally posted by cryptokid:
normally you fill it untill it cant hold any more and it starts comming out of the fill plug.

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Yep, this is the way it usually is when there's no dipstick and just a fill hole.

I changed the fluid in my old manual-transmission'd SHO at 150k miles. It spec'd ATF (the bright red stuff) for fluid, but what came out looked more like a grey ooze! If I would have known it was that bad, it would have came out long ago. I'm now sold on regular MTX fluid changes as well.

 

[cousincletus]

I have a 2002 Cavalier that has the same 5 speed manual transmission as yours. I changed to Amsoil ATF at about 20,000 miles but the fluid still looked really good with hardly any metal "glittery" flakes in it, so you can probably easily go 30,000 miles before changing. There is a drain plug on the passenger side bottom of the transmission and "check level" plug on the backside. Can't remember for sure but I think one is an allen and one is a torx head. An easy to reach fill plug is located on the top of the transmission and says "transmission fluid" on it. You need a transmission funnel to add fluid. Capacity is 1.8 quarts.

 

[FL-400S]

Ive got one of the last Cavaliers to get a getrag. I just broke 600 miles

I got the manual transmission
a)it was cheaper b/c everyone wants auto
b)in an econobox I want the best econo-gas mileage
c)the stupid GM automatics are too hard to work on

I too will use amsoil when its time to change--probably in 5 or 6 years at the rate I drive. Hopefully by that time Amsoil will also be approved for Toyota T-IV and can do double (triple?-GM ATF?) duty for me.

Thanks for the info, cletus. Is that a dukes of hazzard reference? No, that was the deputy cletus. I was thinking of cooter, but he wasnt a cousin.

 

[XS650]

quote:

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Originally posted by FL-400S:
Ive got one of the last Cavaliers to get a getrag.

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Who's going to be the new supplier?

 

[FL-400S]

I meant Ive got one of the last Cavaliers in general, let alone one with a getrag. AFAIK the getrag is going to be in the Cobalt and Ions for a while. Sorry for the confusion.

What percentage of Cavaliers are manual transmission? Seems like only 5 out of the 100 or so I saw when I got my car.

 

[XS650]

quote:

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Originally posted by FL-400S:


What percentage of Cavaliers are manual transmission? Seems like only 5 out of the 100 or so I saw when I got my car.

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That's sad if the Getrag is as nice as I think it is. But even Corvettes run about 75-80% automatics.

 

[labman]

Frankly, I liked the Muncie box in my 92 Grand Am better. It came with a dip stick. It also came short fluid from the factory. After failing twice to have the dealer top it up, I paid $10 for a quart of GM Synchromesh. Still have about 30 ounces. If Getrag in my 02 Cavalier is the best the Germans can do, I will take American.

 

[moribundman]

I suppose a fine piece of engineering like the Cavalier deserves a top transmission. I wonder why GM outsourced for a decrepit piece of Getrag garbage?

 

[FL-400S]

I wouldnt call it garbage exactly, but I dont like it as much as my 1994 Tercel 4 speed. I really dont like the close ratio shifting. And its not as smooth as the Toyota. And I dont like the reverse lock-out ring.

Getrag makes the transmissions for such highly renowned cars as the Porshe Boxster, 911, Mini Cooper, VW's, Audi's, land rover, ford focus, etc. Its sure as heck not gonna make me run out and get one of those after purely because they have a getrag. But its not a terrible transmission.

 

[2000sunfire]

Thanks for the info. 1.8 quarts should give me a good starting point and I didn't know about the check level plug on the back.

Overall for a transmission in a sunfire I find it more than adequate. Shifts easy, and I like the way the gears get closer as you go up, great for highway merging.

If I'm right Gertag Muncie is one company, is it not?

 

[moribundman]

Muncie builds some transmissions designed by Getrag.

By the way, the US-designed torsen in my quattro is awesome. Not sure where the torsen is built.

 

[labman]

quote:

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Originally posted by FL-400S:
snip... And I dont like the reverse lock-out ring.
snip...

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The shifter could GM's own mistake. They didn't bother in 1992. In 180K in my Grand Am, I don't remember ever hitting reverse accidentally. Likely the accountants decided it would be cheaper to sell the transmission factory and buy transmissions.

 

[The_Jeff]

Reverse isn't synchronised, so I don't know how one could go from 5->R at highway speeds...