Why not put a drain plug on an auto trans?

[Pajamarama]

I just learned that my new (to me) 05 Taurus does not have a drain plug on the automatic transmission. This seems strange and inconvenient. Apparently the way you change the ATF is to take most of the bolts off and tilt the pan until the fluid pours out over the lowest corner. Crazy and possibly messy -- I'll let you know.

My only other experience with changing ATF has been with Hondas -- which have drain plugs. Is this a domestic vs import thing? Inline 4 vs V-6? Is either Ford or Honda the oddball here?

Since a drain plug makes it much easier to change the fluid, what would be the reason to omit it in a car's AT pan?

 

[NHGUY]

It would allow people to drain the fluid and NOT change the filter or remove the metal shavings.

 

[Hermann]

Cheap cheap = Less fun fun

Helps the dealers in theory, by getting you to go to them for service. Plus it saves Ford a few bucks on each car.

 

[Rand]

many cars to have a drain plug.

go buy a fluid evacuator(ie mityvac) drain till nothing comes up.. then drop pan.

 

[FoxS]

The Taurus 30k changes should be done through the cooler line.

The only time to drop the pan is for the filter change which is only scheduled at 120k / 12 years for the Taurus.

 

[KD0AXS]

My F-350 has a drain plug, and an external filter. Changing my ATF and filter is as easy as changing the oil.

 

[spasm3]

My avalanche has one, good luck getting it out!!

 

[The motor guy]

Dumb people mistake the transmission drain plug when changing the oil and end up with a transmission with no oil and an engine with twice as much oil.

 

[Pajamarama]

Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
Dumb people mistake the transmission drain plug when changing the oil and end up with a transmission with no oil and an engine with twice as much oil.


That's a funny scenario to imagine but does it actually happen?

 

[edwardh1]

Toyota used to have an allen wrench head tran drain plug- I thought that was a good idea

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: edwardh1
Toyota used to have an allen wrench head tran drain plug- I thought that was a good idea


+1 on being a good idea.

 

[Mr Nice]

I love the Honda drain plug/magnet. Makes 30K ATF drain / refills a snap.

 

[FL_Rob]

I've owned a combination of 11 cars, trucks and vans (1 Jeep)and maintained many more.There seems no rhyme nor reason if they had trans plugs or not except the Wrangler and F-250 which had plugs for everything.
If something didn't have a plug and I though it needed one ,I'd put one on.
Messy is as messy does, but if you take your time it wont be too bad.

 

[danthaman1980]

Originally Posted By: spasm3
My avalanche has one, good luck getting it out!!


Same story on my Silverado. Tried to remove it once and almost twisted the head off the bolt - now the head of my trans drain plug bolt looks more like a drain plug screw.

Guess GM just puts the bolt there for decoration. I think they install them with super glue - either that or the infamous yellow threadlocker they also use on the rear brake caliper bolts - had to use a floor jack and a 5 pound sledgehammer to break those loose.

 

[fisher83]

I love transmission drain plugs and I think most of us DIY'ers like them but I think the majority of car owners could probably care less. Most people I know never even bother to change transmission fluid. My guess is that car manufacturers would rather save a buck since most of the car owners don't care anyway.

 

[barlowc]

Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
I love the Honda drain plug/magnet. Makes 30K ATF drain / refills a snap.


Absolutely! Our VUE, which has the Honda V6 in it, gets 3x drains/refills every 30K and it's so easy to do.

I was really disappointed when I found that my Nissan is one of the ones that does't have a drain plug, which is strange because you can see where the pan is stamped to have one. I'd really like to be able to do 30K drain/fill procedures using NS-2 and keep the CVT nice and healthy.

 

[SuperDave456]

My wife's 2004 Nissan Xterra has a drain plug in the auto trans.
I love it.

It drops exactly 1 gallon of fluid when you drain it.

I have a 2002 Ford Taurus.
Same thing, no drain plug.
I do a cooler line drain, measure what my drain pan collected, and put that amount of clean fluid back in. (It typically drains 6-7 quarts.)
The cooler line drain is messy, but a lot less painful than dropping the pan.

 

[LeakySeals]

My GM doesn't have one either. Probably a decision influenced by the transmission flush workers union. The Toyota does. Just pop a cooler line off and let the transmission pump 4qts into an empty Walmart oil Jug. refill. Its just as easy as the drain bolt actually. Depending on the age and the fluid the whole filter/magnet/open it up deal is only necessary every 100k or so. But I've never done mine, may do it at 300k.

 

[yonyon]

Originally Posted By: Pajamarama
Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
Dumb people mistake the transmission drain plug when changing the oil and end up with a transmission with no oil and an engine with twice as much oil.


That's a funny scenario to imagine but does it actually happen?


If you can find someone who is willing to work for within a couple of dollars of minimum wage or someone who can't live without their cell phone for five minutes and you hire this person to do oil changes, it's a pretty safe bet they'll do that to the first older Subaru they get their hands on.

When this happens, it's best to let someone else take over, lest there be even more fun with the question of how many dipsticks a transmission should have.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Who needs drain plugs for oil and ATF when you have Mityvac !