My car is a 2002 Prizm Lsi 3 speed with 155K. Over the last 2 years I've put a lot of highway driving on the car, and added substantial weight with audio equipment. 3rd Gear began to slip when accelerating onto the highway, in addition to slipping after long periods of time at 70 mph on incline grades. It also was JUST starting to slip in 2nd at high RPM, and 2nd to 3rd shifts were harsh. The transmission was "flushed" as part of a general maintenance 30,000 miles ago. It's questionable what, if anything, they did.
Tools
-10mm socket
-Really big metric allen key(just grabbed it, no idea the actual size)
-Socket wrench
-Rubber Gloves(I use diamond grip)
Parts/Supplies
RTV(blue. grey, anything that will seal oil really)
Locktite Blue(medium strength)
Transmission Filter kit- Advanced Auto, 13 bucks
3Qts of Dex III or Type III ATF fluid, I used Castrol high mileage.
I don't believe in additives. I do however really like Lucas products. I can't say anything certain of their automatic transmission additive, but I added a little over quarter of a bottle with the new fluid. I can say for certain, the heavy duty oil stabilizer really does a lot. A wise man told me to try using it for assembly lubrication while building my motors and it works great. Not only that, he said the Lucas used on main & rod bearings was still there even on drag racing motors after being torn back down. For the Prizm, one application took care of valve train ticks even after 3 oil changes without Lucas added.
Procedure:
1-Put all 4 corners of the car on jack stands. Don't be scared, get it up pretty high, you need the space.
2-Have a box of rubber gloves handy
3-Use the ridiculously large Allen key to take off the drain plug. I did this after letting the car idle to running temp(until the fan kicks on at least once) before putting it up on the stands. Fluid was hot, but not hot enough to burn you.
3-While the fluid drains, set up some space and lay out your new filter and gasket.
4-I used a small plastic storage bin to catch fluid that was a little longer than the trans. pan itself. So when pulling the pan off, take note of how tight the bolts are, completely remove all but the center most front and rear bolts with your 10mm socket wrench. Remove the rear bolt, then while holding the pan remove the front bolt. As you remove the front bolt, allow the pan to angle away from you into whatever you're draining fluid to. Even if you're dripping fluid before dropping the pan, it will dump a fair bit when you let the pan down.
5-Take the pan to your work space. Remove the old gasket and take a look at the magnets attached to the pan, and just scan the bottom of the pan. If you see any noticeable metal shavings or shards, you may have a pretty serious problem in the transmission. Good things to pay attention to at this point. Then clean everything real well.
6-Apply a nice even layer of RTV to the mounting flange of the pan, I run a bead around, and then with gloves on spread it nice and even around where the gasket will sit. Make sure to ditch your gloves each time you use RTV, It'll get everywhere if you don't.
7-Place the gasket on the pan, lining up the holes by eye.
8-(Optional) Anything I don't want to deal with leaks from, I give the mounting bolts a WD40 or brake cleaner bath. Use my impact driver and spin the bolt into a shop rag, and then dry them all off. Clean threads give you a more accurate feel for final torque pressure, and aid accurate use of a torque wrench
9-Press the bolts through the pan and gasket. The bolts will be a tight fit in the holes in the gasket and hold them in place nicely. I put a thin layer of RTV on the top side of the gasket just for added sealing. Its not as necessary as RTV between the pan's flange and gasket is, but surely doesn't hurt.
10-Clean up excess RTV and apply a dab of locktite blue to each bolt's threads.
11-Get back under the car, using a 10mm, take off the filter. Again, angle it away from you as pull it off because even more fluid will come out.
12-Install the new filter, if you have torque specs use them. If not, do not over tighten these bolts!
13-Grab the pan and start threading each bolt. Working in a circular pattern around the pan, tighten every bolt in increasing amounts. You don't want to attempt to get each bolt 100% tight the first time. You want to work them all up to the final torque together, as their combined clamping pressure is what achieves the tight seal.
14-Clean the area above and around the pan and the pan itself, to help you see any leaks later. If you keep everything dirty, you'll never know what is new or old.
15-Add 2 Quarts through the dipstick tube, let it settle, check the level, add whatever is necessary. Then run the car to running temp again. With your foot on the brake, work the shifter into each gear position a couple of times in random order and then in sequence, it should be smooth without any clunking or jerking. Check fluids again.
16-Test drive, listen and feel for any improvements or changes. You may also at this point want to make sure the throttle cable link to the transmission control has acceptable amounts of play, as this largely determines the response of the transmissions shifting. For a week, check under the car after it sits for varying amounts of time for any leaks and monitor fluid levels. Then after a week get under the car and inspect the area you cleaned, see if you see any accumulated fluid.
And done!
My car still slips after the shift into 3rd under hard acceleration onto the highway. It is much better though, its overall acceleration in 3rd gear is much better, the slipping in 2nd gear is completely gone, and all shifts are nice and even. Much more improvement than I was expecting to gain, and no leaks. I will admit, I use RTV pretty liberally and usually more than most say to use. I also very rarely have a leak.
Dirty Pan
This is mostly extremely fine metal deposits and clutch material, and you want to see it caked on the pan, not the transmission internals.
Nice and Clean
Bolts after WD40 bath
RTV, Gasket, Bolts, more RTV and locktite
Old and New Filters
Reinstalled, cleaned up and ready to roll.
Linear Mode
