petrock

Hey,
So I'm changing the tranny fluid on my girls '98 3.8L 'stang. Dropped the tranny pan, drained the oil and replaced the filter without issue. The Service Manual states, without any explination, that after I drop the pan I should "drain the torque converter by removing the torque converter drain plug." Easier said then done... Looking through the torque converter access hole, I don't see the drain plug. I assume I have to spin it somehow to get access to it. But for the life of me I couldn't get it to rotate, even in neutral. The service manual isn't much help... Now, here's my question(s)...

How do I get access to the torque converter drain plug? Once I drain it, how do I refill it? Will pouring the new tranny fluid down the filler whole will make it down there?

Thanks for any help you can give.

Jfsram

You are correct about turning the torque convertor until you see the drain plug at the bottom. Place a socket on the crankshaft snout to turn it.
Not many cars/trucks have drain plugs in the convertor.
If you are just doing routine maintenance I'd skip the convertor draining.
You leave a pile of fluid behind but you've dumped most of it, changed the filter and cleaned out the bottom of the pan and that's more than adequate for preventative maintenance.

When we change our engine oil. Alot of old oil is not drained out.

petrock

Thanks for the info.

Crank shaft snout? Do you mean on the front of the motor, with the large pully that the surpentine belt runs around? I assume i have to put it in neutral to rotate it. Correct? Never done that before. Any tips you can give would be great.

I agree that for normal maintenance changing the converter fluid is not necesary, but I'm overhauling the entire car. Changing all fluids, perishable items etc. The car has 90k miles on it and from the looks of the tranny oil that came out (dark redish-brown, not candy red like normal) it had never been changed. I'm also switching it from dyno to synthetic oils. So I'd like to get as much out of it as I can. I figure theres about 4-5 quarts still in there. If its not a PITA to get out, I'll give it a try. Thanks...

petrock

bump

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See my post here, it may help you some.