Questions and Answers
Transmission Drain Plug
Q. Hello, Vince, I'm a "fixing' to" take advantage of your aftermarket expertise. I'm a Midwesterner who's avoiding shoveling snow at the cost of running from A/C home to A/C auto to A/C office to A/C anyplace 4-5 months per annum.
Another one of the costs is ATF gets poached in this climate and so I change annually or every 10,000 miles. Recently I purchased a 1998 Lumina LTZ and found that the automatic transmission pan has no drain plug. Ya gotta R&R the pan and re-gasket it to get at the ATF. One can get to 3 of the 7 refresh quarts through the ATF fill pipe which "won't hunt".
Do you know of a source for a "performance" A/T oil pan; one that would have a drain plug and, perhaps, be aluminum-finned with another quart (+/-) capacity? The car is a 8/98 GM Canada build with the 3.8 Series II V-6 and the 4T60E (4T65E?) automatic transmission.
Any thoughts ( I know, it serves me right for abandoning the Twin Cities) where such an item may be found?
Ron
A. I don't know of anyone who sells a transmission pan with a drain plug for that transmission. But I have put a drain plug into a transmission pan. All you need to do is drill a hole just a tad larger than a 3/8"-16 bolt. Then weld a 38"-16 nut on the inside and get a copper sealing ring for the bolt. Instant drain plug.
Since you live in a hot climate, a transmission fluid cooler would be a good idea. It will also add about a quart more to the capacity.
By the way, I live about 70 miles south of the cities in Rochester and I didn't have to lift one single shovelful of snow all winter.
Additional Information provided courtesy of ALLDATA
