Hello all. I'm changing the transmission fluid for the first time on my '02 Galant. The service manual for the car is over $250, which is pretty steep. So I was wondering, can anyone here tell me how to change the transmission fluid on this car? Do I need to replace a filter? What do I need to take off? What is the torque for the bolts? Do I have to follow a loosening/tightening pattern? Thanks!
You aren't supposed to remove the pan or change the filter on the 2002 galant per the factory service manual. You can do this if you really want to, I suppose, but the pan is vertical so its not going to help too much. They also say you aren't supposed to replace the fuel filter, so go figure.
Anyway, the procedure they recommend and the procedure I use on my own '02 galant is as follows. This may contain inaccuracies, etc, since I'm writing from memory, so use at your own risk. I suggest you get a Haynes manual at your auto parts store for $15. It has nice illustrated [and verified!] instructions, as well as all the torques and such. I actually use it more often than my real factory manual because it is more DIY friendly.
Anyhow:
1) Drive the car around to warm it up. This will get the maximum amount of crud suspended in the fluid, so it will come out when you flush it.2) Remove the drain plug from the transmission and drain into a pan. The plug is on the drivers side of the transmission facing out horizontally by the wheel. It's about 20mm, and is torqued to 20-25ft/lbs as I recall. The plug has a magnet on the end, so clean the filings off that when you remove it, and try not to mess it up because bolts with magnets on the end are not trivial to get.
The ATF will be hotter than hades and will come out with some force, so be prepared. Measure the amount of ATF you get out. It should be a few quarts.
3) Replace the drain plug.Add new Mitsubishi Diamond SP III ATF equal to the amount you drained out in step #2. Using other brands of ATF is discouraged and I have heard of people having problems as a result. The Mitsu stuff was about $4/qt at my dealer. I bought 10 qts and used 8 qts.
4) Disconnect both of the ATF cooler hoses from the bottom of the radiator. Aim them into the drain pan.Get a helper to start the car, put it in neutral, and let it run for at most 30 seconds or until the fluid spewing out of the hoses is clean, whichever comes first. If you let it run longer than 30 seconds you might let it run dry, which is bad. If you really want I suppose you could refill and repeat this procedure to clean it more, but it shouldn't be necessary.
Reconnect the hoses. Make sure the hoses and clamps are in good condition and are properly secured.
5) Fill the transaxle to the middle of the COOL range in the dipstick. The fluid level will take awhile to settle, so be patient and add small amounts at a time, waiting awhile between. Overfilling is not desirable. I noticed the dipstick on this car sometimes gets crud inside the lip on the top, preventing it from seating properly. You might clean out the lip on the dipstick before measuring.6) Drive around for a good long time, 15-30 minutes, and use all the gears. When you come to stop, run it through all the gears a few times. Check the ATF level. If it is not within the HOT range, add more to get it into the HOT range. All done.
Ben
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