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Hopefully this old thread still pings someone! I had to change the driver side axle seal this weekend, doing so dumped about 54oz of fluid [corrected typo “84oz”]. I bought 2qt from a dealership GM part number 88862472 at $20/qt. I only got about 18-20oz in the upper plug until it started pouring back out. I found a how-to for an 06 that shows a filler plug on the TOP of the transmission. I can’t find one on mine, even with the ECU out of the way. What am I doing wrong here? At first I was using a rubber hose connected to the cone-cap (whatever its called... looks like the tip of a tube of caulking) the hose was about 4-5in inside the upper hole; it was taking a long time to squeeze the bottle, so once I got about halfway I did it without the tube, tip of the spout straight in the upper hole. It started pouring out the upper hole after just a little going in. Is it that the little bit of fluid is just sitting on a ledge inside or something; not getting all the way down? Is there really a filler on the top?
Here’s the tutorial I found. Again, different model year, different engine, and at least different iteration of the transmission.
https://www.***************/forums/m...ion-fluid.html
Thanks in advance.
2009 Cobalt SS sedan. 2.0L TC, transmission is F35 MU3, I believe.

 

you did it how your supposed too. that's the fill hole. when it comes out there u know its full. the only other way, where u can add a full 2 qts is to remove the reverse light switch from the top of the trans and fill it there. its actually a lot easier than using the fill plug.

 

Thanks, tomj. Any clue why I got so much out, and not so much in? I haven’t driven it yet. It’s back on the ground, but I can put it back up in the morning.

 

Could have had ur car slightly leaning to drivers side. When I use the filler port I make it lean slightly to passenger side so I can add little more.

U probably didnt loose as much as you though.

 

Or last time it was filled it was overruled via reverse switch port if it wasnt u who did it

 

Thanks again. My mechanic brother in law said the same thing about it could have been overfilled before. He also suggested getting the gears moving for a minute, to make sure it was all distributed, could help but he said unlikely there’s a pump or anything, likely just a bath.
It’s pretty level on the jacks. Def not tipped one way or the other.
I’m gonna get back to it, see if I can get more in with the tube. I’ll report back.

 

I mistyped. It was 54oz not 84oz. Again, out of the axle seal which is above the lower plug. Still only got about 20oz in there. 2qt=64oz, so 1.7qt = 54oz. Troubling.

 

Well the trans only technically takes 1.7 or 1.8 according to manual so you are good.

 

And yes there is no pump its just an oil bath lol.

 

That’s why I was concerned that I got that much out, but could only get 20oz in.
Chevy service database said 1.75, Haynes manual says 1.7 ... either way, fill up until it starts to pour out of the top plug.

I think all is good now. I jacked it back up, rotated the front wheels in the forward direction while in neutral a few times, pulled the top plug, small rapid dripping stream into the pan, I shoved the rubber hose in about 5 inches, and got another 4oz in, the dripping turned into a stream, so I plugged it, got it back on the ground and took it for a spin up to the gas station and back; about 5 miles total.

No whining or other noises. Shifting feels good in & out of all gears at low to mid revs. I haven’t tried high revs yet.

There must have just been excessive fluid in there from the factory; I never added any, and it hasn’t been filled, to my knowledge. I’ll obviously keep an eye and ear on it, same for the seal, which started this whole thing.

Thanks again for the help and advice.

PS: GM Part No 88862472 (from the owner’s manual, and Chevy Dealership VIN lookup) has been replaced by GM Part No 19351859.
All the text on the front label:
ACDelco Manual Transmission Fluid GL-4 (SAE 75W-85) -High Performance Gear Oil. NET CONTENTS, 1 Quart (946mL) 10-4104, 19351859.
Barcode: 8 08709 58156 7

 

I think I'm going to do this trans oil change this summer. I did see the p/n was replaced like above
with 19351859

 

Make sure you have that stubby 8mm Allen key already for the drain plug. I was able to find a stubby; some suggest chopping a normal one down. You def won’t get a socket adapter in there. Good luck!

 

Stubby? like a hand L allen? Do you need a breaker bar for it?

 

I was able to fill my transmission from the top. All you have to do is take out the reverse sensor and put the car in reverse. It did take some time but it was easier. All I used was a 22mm socket, a Funnel, and a hose.

Granted I was only putting additives in my transmission because my trans is ready to grenade. I’m just buying time. I have a f23 hhr trans waiting to go in when that happens.

 

So how do you get the stripped allen head out of there? As usual, stupid GM techs fucked something up on my car and now I have to find a magical solution to get it outta there and buy a new plug. This is exactly why I never take my car to any shops anymore... either they don't do the job right, or they do stupid **** like torque an 8mm nut to 250 ft lbs
And no, I don't have access to a welder to weld a nut onto it which would be the best and easiest way even though I'd still have to drop the subframe to get at it, which will likely happen now anyways...

 

Hammer with a chisel or air hammer with chisel bit, make a notch either with it or a die grinder, and use a dull chisel bit or flat bit on a air hammer.

 

Yup.. chisel worked.... not the greatest way of doing things, but it got the job done. Now I gotta find either a new transmission or someone to do the bearings on the driver's side. I assume output shaft bearings? Not sure, but stethoscope sounded closest to left hand side was where the noise was coming from. There were some filings in the trans oil but nothing really bad, although there was about 3 pieces probably 2 or 3 mm long in there as well. Something needs to be swapped out and I'm guessing that there are bearings on the end there. Not sure what exactly they are, or where to get them, or how to change them out. Has anyone done this before or had this problem before?