feeling associated with working on your car

[Steel 0]

Whenever I work on my car in preventative maintenance or whatever and learn something new about it (saving money that would otherwise have been paid to a mechanic), it provides a great feeling, kind of like getting harder than ever before. However getting in over your head and causing expensive damage, I see as the equivalent to going for a swim in the cold Jersey waters and having a heart attack when all shrivels up and you start to wonder if it all dissappeared.
It kind of leaves a conflict in your mind as to wether or not you want to try something new like change out your transmission and differential fluid. Yes that is a new project that I have been thinking about taking on for about a week now. On Saturday I had somebody crawl under Tanya {my Z28} and point out where this stuff needed to be drained and where it needs to be filled. But its a tight spot that the fill hole is in. It only leaves me wondering if I can possibly get the new fluid in there. It would really suck if I drained it but couldn't get if refilled. Then I would find myself again knocking at a neighbor's door saying help I f*$#ed up trying to perform maintnence on my car again.
{corrected for grammar}

If I could make a wish, I think I'd pass.
Can't think of anything I need
No cigarettes, no sleep, no light, no sound.
Nothing to eat, no books to read.

[AggieDave 6]

The one thing that's helped me out with my old VW and my Z71 is a good shop manual. It really helps.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[Steel 0]

Quote

The one thing that's helped me out with my old VW and my Z71 is a good shop manual. It really helps.

yeah one of my co-workers was talking about those after market manuals. I think that I had better make a stop by O'reilly or autozone and pick one of those up soon.

If I could make a wish, I think I'd pass.
Can't think of anything I need
No cigarettes, no sleep, no light, no sound.
Nothing to eat, no books to read.

[ryoder 1,590]

Quote

Quote

The one thing that's helped me out with my old VW and my Z71 is a good shop manual. It really helps.

yeah one of my co-workers was talking about those after market manuals. I think that I had better make a stop by O'reilly or autozone and pick one of those up soon.

You want the MANUFACTURER'S shop manual for the exact model and year of your car. The first thing I do whenever I buy a car is go to the dealer's parts department and order one of these. Those aftermarket shop manuals sold in various parts stores are so generic and non-specific, that they are useless.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[wmw999 2,589]

The ones you get at the generic parts stores are good in a way because they translate some stuff into more general language -- if you're not a mechanic by nature, having a couple of different wordings (e.g. "that little round thingy") can help.

But the authority is definitely the manufacturer's one. Many come on CDs now. They give detailed instructions, readable by beginners at the dealership. If you have to choose, choose this one. The other can help you talk more intelligently to the mechanic, or determine if it's a job you want to tackle.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Steel 0]

Quote

Quote

Quote

The one thing that's helped me out with my old VW and my Z71 is a good shop manual. It really helps.

yeah one of my co-workers was talking about those after market manuals. I think that I had better make a stop by O'reilly or autozone and pick one of those up soon.

You want the MANUFACTURER'S shop manual for the exact model and year of your car. The first thing I do whenever I buy a car is go to the dealer's parts department and order one of these. Those aftermarket shop manuals sold in various parts stores are so generic and non-specific, that they are useless.

How much is one of those? How long does it take to order them?

If I could make a wish, I think I'd pass.
Can't think of anything I need
No cigarettes, no sleep, no light, no sound.
Nothing to eat, no books to read.

[Ncrowe 0]

What exactly do you plan on draining ? You can buy pumps that are good for refillling differentials etc. A manual is great idea and there is also a lot of information out on the internet especially for camaros. www.ls1.com

"Don't Mess Around With the Guy in Shades- Oh No!!! "

[Steel 0]

Quote

What exactly do you plan on draining ? You can buy pumps that are good for refillling differentials etc. A manual is great idea and there is also a lot of information out on the internet especially for camaros. www.ls1.com

I will check out that website. But to answer your question I want to change the transmission fluid which is Dextron something. There appears to be a plug that needs to be loosened and removed with an Alan key to drain it and then another just like it i a different spot to fill it. Only it look difficult to access the fill hole. It looks like it will require some type of pump. I don't know how much that will cost but or if there is an easier way but anyway that is what I am finding. Oh and the differential fluid really looks like a bitch to change. from what I shown on it there are like 8 bolts that need to be removed to take some huge cap off and there its supposed to drain the differential fluid then there is another fill hole in a weird place that needs to be filled.

If I could make a wish, I think I'd pass.
Can't think of anything I need
No cigarettes, no sleep, no light, no sound.
Nothing to eat, no books to read.

[cvfd1399 0]

Drop the pan, all the fluid will fall out, and you can replace that filter while it is off.

[JackC 0]

Get yourself a sports drinks bottle, the sort with a spout like this -->clicky. Make sure it's good and squeezable. Put a piece of tubing over the spout and fill the bottle with the new oil. Pull out your filler plug, stuff the tube in the hole and squeeze the bottle. Repeat until the oil in the transmission is level with the filler hole. Some transmission oil manufacturers have already thought of this and give you a bottle that will do the job.

If you need to pull off the diff cover (the big plate held on by 8 bolts) to drain the oil, make sure you clean the old gasket off, clean up the two mating faces and fit a new gasket with some silicon sealer or your new oil will be all over your drive in no time.

[Steel 0]

Quote

Drop the pan, all the fluid will fall out, and you can replace that filter while it is off.

filter? I have to replace a filter? Wow its a good thing I posted this. Is this call a differential filter?

If I could make a wish, I think I'd pass.
Can't think of anything I need
No cigarettes, no sleep, no light, no sound.
Nothing to eat, no books to read.

[Steel 0]

Quote

Get yourself a sports drinks bottle, the sort with a spout like this -->clicky. Make sure it's good and squeezable. Put a piece of tubing over the spout and fill the bottle with the new oil. Pull out your filler plug, stuff the tube in the hole and squeeze the bottle. Repeat until the oil in the transmission is level with the filler hole. Some transmission oil manufacturers have already thought of this and give you a bottle that will do the job.

If you need to pull off the diff cover (the big plate held on by 8 bolts) to drain the oil, make sure you clean the old gasket off, clean up the two mating faces and fit a new gasket with some silicon sealer or your new oil will be all over your drive in no time.

thanks, I will keep that in mind as well.
So I need a new filter, some silicon sealer, a sports bottle a new gasket {whatever that means}and then for the transmission fluid I just need the same sports bottle. I will give that a try.

If I could make a wish, I think I'd pass.
Can't think of anything I need
No cigarettes, no sleep, no light, no sound.
Nothing to eat, no books to read.

[cvfd1399 0]

Na I was reffering to your comment about changing your transmission fluid

• Quote

[JackC 0]

I've never come across a diff oil filter. The worst you will find when you pull off the cover is a magnet stuck in the bottom that will becovered in crap. Just clean it and put it back. Most cars don't even have that.

A gasket is just the seal that stops the two mating faces from leaking oil. Usually paper, sometimes cork (don't over tighten these or they are guaranteed to leak), sometimes rubber.

[cvfd1399 0]

While he has the cover off he might as well weld the spider gears up and have full time "posi-traction" just like Joe Dirt with a hurst shifter and a cueball grip!

[skycat 0]

Derek bought one of those aftermarket manual, and has probably saved me $7000 in just the last year in repairs and maintenance.

Like yesterday we thought my radiator sprung a leak. Derek found the leak and thought that a tube or something must have popped off. Read threw the book turns out that tube sticking out is a drain for the AC and since it was a very hot humid day combined with us parking on a hill it hadn't been able to drain normally so when we moved the car it dumped water out.

Get home and check it again, no more drips.

Fly it like you stole it!

[FLYBERT71 0]

I am assuming that your z-28 is the 92-02 model and it has either a 5 or 6 speed manual transmission. There should be both a drain and fill plug on the side of the transmisson. Remove them both and drain the fluid out. You can get a small pump from a local autoparts store for about $10-$15 dollars to fill it back up. Look in your owners manual for the proper type of fluid. Be careful when pulling out the plugs. Some GM transmissions have a reverse pin that is near the drain/fill holes that look the same on the outside. Get the GM manual for the car. They can run between $100-$200 for the set. They usually consist of 2 books and you could get only the one you need to save some $. Another alternative is to get a Haynes manual. I think they are the best for the money they cost (about $15) and will cover most of the basics. As for the differential, you need a gasket, fluid, and posi-traction additive. There is usually a fill plug on the passenger side, above the axle tube. just remove the cover (10 bolts) and drain, clean the cover and any magnet that may be in there, remove any old gasket from the housing and put it back togather. You can then fill it up with your new fluid pump (after you clean the pump) and away you go.

"If you have time to panic, you have time to do something more productive."
Josh Whipple 7/15/70-2/10/05

[Steel 0]

Update Transmission fluid
"Mission Accomplished"
Well its done but I have to ask the question was it worth it? Or might it have been preferrable to pay the $35 to have it done? I am really not sure but I am leaning toward the ladder. So let me see if I can summarize the events here.
5pm yesterday I get out of work and think I want to go skydive but then on my way home I hear a funny sound and think that sounds like the transmission to me. {It was probably psychological I know but never the less}. So I think this may call for handyman to get busy. So at about 6 pm I finally decide to go to O'reilly autoparts and get the needed equipment for the project. I get a set or ramps (Oh how cool, I love those things, no more jacking up the car). I get on the advice of the guys at the store 6 quarts of Dextron III ATF, and I get a special funnel THEY say will do the job. (this is the key to my nightmare). Then I went out for dinner no big deal stopped off by the video store and get home by 9:30 pm. I think this should be quick and easy. I drive up on my ramps and take off the drain plug. Wow that drains a lot faster than oil. This is going to be quicker than I thought. 9:45 I put the drain plug back on and take out the plug to fill it. Now I realize that the freakin idiot kid who sold me this funnel apparently had never done this before because there is no way this funnel is/was going to work. So I search the house for a sports bottle and apparently I don't have one. So I am off to wall mart to find some way to get this fluid in there. Now I realise I will be up late working on the car and I am pissed. Anyway I go to walmart and find a piece of crap pump for 3 bucks and I take it because its the only pump of this kind they have. But I also take some quart of god knows what because it had a long nozzle that looks like I can used it like a sports bottle. Well I get him after 10 pm to start. The piece of crap pump ofcourse doesn't really work. After filling the special squirt bottle with the Dextron that is not very efficient as its leaking Dextron all over the place. Finally combining the pump with the squirt bottle and holding the two very tightly togther while Dextron is slowly getting all over my hands and having my girlfreind operate the pump {yes I couldn't even do this by myself because it called for 3 hands}, I finally was able to finish. But it was not a 1,2,3 it took till midnight and in the end I had Dextron in my hair, all over my face, hands, arms, mouth and all over the floor of my garage but atleast the job was finally finished.

If I could make a wish, I think I'd pass.
Can't think of anything I need
No cigarettes, no sleep, no light, no sound.
Nothing to eat, no books to read.

[skydiver30960 0]

Good job. Your MAN quotient was increased by several points last night.

I usually let the pros (Jiffylube or whatever) handle the fluid stuff like oil changes and radiators and transmission issues: by the time I factor in time and disposal issues it's just worth it to me.

...but would you believe those asshats wanted to charge me $69.99 to change a fuel filter!!! Seventy bucks for a $6 filter! I've done it before and it's in a weird place on my car, but damn, I felt bad about laughing in the mechanic's face but I couldn't hold back. The look on his face showed me that he agreed with me, i.e. a total screw-job.

Elvisio "gonna be under the car this week" Rodriguez