hb_kim Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 I searched forum to find the answer but now I am somewhat confused because of some descrepancies. Looking at my car, it doesn't seem to have external ATF cooler nor external ATF filter. I thought there should be an external ATF cooler in 97 OBW. Where should I search to find this? Also, I know there is a ATF drain plug. Does that mean that AFT can be drained without removing the ATF pan (and cleaning internal filter)? This is whay Haynes manual suggests. Would there be anyway to replace ATF in torque tube, like the one described here? http://www.volvospeed.com/Repair/Transflush.htm Thanks in advance! HB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outback_97 Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 hb_kim: I just drained / refilled my '97 OB wagon's ATF this weekend. It was very easy. I opted to do this rather than a flush, based on concerns that a forced flush could do more harm than good. You'll get differing opinions on that, but I chose to just drain and fill. I did not drop the pan, just removed the plug. I don't think our cars have an external ATF filter. After driving for about 30 min, I put the front end on jack stands, put the drain pan under the plug, and removed the plug w/ a 17mm socket. It was easy to get to the plug from behind the front left wheel, rather than under the car. Be careful, the fluid will be hot. About 4.5 quarts came out, so I replaced the plug, put in 4 quarts of new Dextron III through the dipstick tube, and gradually added the rest to fill. I'm going to repeat this procedure and in theory should end up with about 70% brand new fluid, so it's not perfect but better than 100% old. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99obw Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 Your car does have a tranny cooler built into the radiator. If it didn't the tranny wouldn't last long. AFAIK the torque converter doesn't have a drain plug. If there is a filter in the pan it should be changed at least every 100k miles IMHO. I change the external one on the outback every 30-50k. I change the internal filter on my dodge every 20k, because the A604 tranny is such a POS. I usually do the same procedure, simply draining and replacing the fluid. One thing I have read about but never tried is to do a flush using the tranny cooler return line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outback_97 Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 I did round 2 of the ATF fluid change last night... didn't jack the car up at all, and there was still plenty of room to work on it and access the drain plug. I got the same amount of old fluid out (4.5 quarts) as when I had the front on jack stands. I ended up using 9 quarts of fluid in total. The car seems to shift a more smoothly now. Before it had that 'did I just get rear-ended?' feeling from 1st to 2nd, although it's never been what I would call smooth. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracedog67 Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 What is the easiest way to add tranny fluid back in on a 5 speed munual? I believe there are 2 plugs on this one, I assume the top plug to fill it back up? What is the best fluid to use on a manual tranny? thanks Tdog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmdew Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 To change all of the fluid, pull one of the cooler lines from the radiator and run it to a bucket. Allow about a quart to pump out, stop the car and refil the trans. Keep on doing this until you've flushed the system. Works Great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myles Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 Originally posted by tracedog67 What is the easiest way to add tranny fluid back in on a 5 speed munual? I believe there are 2 plugs on this one, I assume the top plug to fill it back up? What is the best fluid to use on a manual tranny? thanks Tdog There's only one plug (the drain plug). You fill 'er up through the dipstick tube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hb_kim Posted February 13, 2004 Author Share Posted February 13, 2004 Originally posted by tracedog67 What is the easiest way to add tranny fluid back in on a 5 speed munual? I believe there are 2 plugs on this one, I assume the top plug to fill it back up? What is the best fluid to use on a manual tranny? thanks Tdog Tdog, You are talking about rear differential, where there is a drain plug & a fill plug. Front differential & transaxle share the same lubricant, filled using dipstick tube. You need 1/2" drive breaker bar for rear differential. Both plugs are 1/2" square socket. Make sure loosen the fill plug first, then drain plug. You need 21mm socket for front differential/transaxle drain plug. Unless those were recently serviced, you would need to use big breaker bar to loosen those plugs. As for the lube, I heard Swepco & Redline are good. I just used Mobil 1. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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