6r60 trans - liquid replace without oil pan drop.possible?

[Bazz270]

Hi all

Ive changed the 6r60 trans oil filter/liquid twice during the vehicle life,dropped the oil pan and reused the pan seal.

The question is the oil pan liquid drain


It is possible to use oil pump/ suction thru the trans oil fill cap or so besides taking the whole 100 trans pan bolts off?

I dont want to take the oil pan off again anymore.

Thanks all

 

[Dsycks]

Hi! My name is Dan and I am new here but I MAY actually be able to help.

The 6 speed trans in our trucks is based (virtual clone) of the ZF series of automatics used in BMWs and now about every solid automatic on earth. They are either used wholesale (BMW, Chrysler, Genesis and such) or as a licensed variation (Ford, Chevy, Audi and the like).

I got to know them secondary to their use in BMW race cars up to and including their GT4 cars. They are so good that they are gaining WIDE SPREAD acceptance in motorsports and they should be respected for their capability.

Now that this is out of the way.. THANK YOU for taking care of your transmission! The fact that you are doing upkeep means that your truck will likely love you and take good care of you. These transmissions in particular need some love and clean fluid is the #1 way to keep them happy.
With that said, unless you have 250k miles on your truck or you do some VERY heavy use, chances are that you don't have to do fluid swaps more than every few years. Maybe never again unless you are super dedicated as these trucks are not getting any younger.

I have NOT tried to use a fluid extractor but I DO use them as you suggest in other applications. I think the best thing to do is just run that tube down there and see what you can suck out paying attention to how much you get and replacing with the same.

If you are feeling extra sporty, maybe use some Redline or other high end fluid that will make your ZF6 based trans happy.
Good luck and let us know what you find!

 

[94Eddie]

Hi all

Ive changed the 6r60 trans oil filter/liquid twice during the vehicle life,dropped the oil pan and reused the pan seal.

The question is the oil pan liquid drain


It is possible to use oil pump/ suction thru the trans oil fill cap or so besides taking the whole 100 trans pan bolts off?

I dont want to take the oil pan off again anymore.

Thanks all

I think you can try it and see how much fluid you get out of it. A pan drop drains about half the fluid. If you suck out something close to this then I would say you approximated a pan drop. If you have to drop the pan then have a bung welded in to make future drains vary easy. I did this last time the pan was dropped. You could get a used pan and have a bung welded in it. This way you can just swap it for the pan you drop without any down time. Here in my area transmission pans for most common vehicles are plentiful and cheap at salvage yards.

 

[Bazz270]

I think you can try it and see how much fluid you get out of it. A pan drop drains about half the fluid. If you suck out something close to this then I would say you approximated a pan drop. If you have to drop the pan then have a bung welded in to make future drains vary easy. I did this last time the pan was dropped. You could get a used pan and have a bung welded in it. This way you can just swap it for the pan you drop without any down time. Here in my area transmission pans for most common vehicles are plentiful and cheap at salvage yards.

Thanks

I dont want to touch the oil pan screws ever since ive torqued and snapped one and it is a pain to take the rest of the broken screw out of the car's underneath .

I will try the suction pump and see.

 

[07EddyB]

I've done it using a simple Mighty Vac hand pump. I get around 6 to 7 quarts out that way and then I use the pump to put the majority of the new fluid in and then switch to a small oiler with a flexible spout to adjust the level.
It's tight and any flexible hose you put in the dipstick hole tends to kink. I took a piece of quarter inch copper - like you would have on your fridge for the ice maker - and bent it so it would go down in the hole and point back down - a radius at the top. It takes a while to pump through that small hose but with the small size it will go down to the pan.
I actually used it on my first pan drop - I pulled out as much fluid as I could from the top before I dropped the pan - cut down on the mess quite a bit.

 

[410Fortune]

why not pump it out through a front mount cooler line?
For auto transmissions that do not have a pan or a dipstick that is serviceable we usually remove the cooler feed line and let the truck (while running) pump out 2-3 quarts of atf and then fill with 2-3 quarts and repeat until its all flowing nice and red

 

[Bazz270]

It is 15 years old car..i am just trying to minimize the damage

 

[Bill MacLeod]

The 6r has an internal temp sensor that only allows the fluid to flow through to the cooler once the fluid temp is above 175 *F. So you cannot flush or remove fluid from the cooler lines.

I also have used a mity-vac to remove fluid. Using a 500ml container, its a slow process.

Consider a pan dump and install a drain plug at that time. Makes it quick and easy.

 

[Bazz270]

What drain plug you guys have used and what is the drain plug potential location and installation method?

 

[Bill MacLeod]

This is how I do it. B&M drain plug kit.

 

[94Eddie]

What drain plug you guys have used and what is the drain plug potential location and installation method?

The one I used is similar to this one and I had the welder mount it on the filter bump on the bottom of the pan. It has a fairly low profile (inside and outside the pan) and resides above other components so I don't think there is any danger of it getting hit and causing a leak. They have kits that don't require welding but I think they can be more susceptible to leaking over time and might not take an impact as well as a welded one. The one I linked has a nice beefy area to put a decent welding bead around it and the screw in part has a fairly low profile. There are numerous drain plug kits listed on ebay.

 

[Bill MacLeod]

94Eddie: you have a 6r80 with the extended filter and sump in the pan. The 6r60 pan is relatively flat. Good choice to weld the bung in the sump. An O2 bung with plug would also work nicely.

Mine is also welded in. No way it will get hung up on anything with the cross-over pipe just behind it.

 

[94Eddie]

94Eddie: you have a 6r80 with the extended filter and sump in the pan. The 6r60 pan is relatively flat. Good choice to weld the bung in the sump. An O2 bung with plug would also work nicely.

Mine is also welded in. No way it will get hung up on anything with the cross-over pipe just behind it.

Thanks for pointing out the two pans are different. I didn't know this. The next time I do a drain and refill there will be a ****e eating grin on my face like I just cheated death itself. Dropping that pan is such a PITA and I hate doing it. I have had to do three of them since I bought it about three years ago. The first two was to replace most of the old fluid. The third was because the valve body sleeve developed a bad leak. By that point I was done dropping the pan and got the plug welded in during the third drop. This is why I encourage people to change the valve body sleeve during a pan drop if it has 100k miles on it, or more. It is a $20 part (Motorcraft version), fails often, requires a pan drop and takes less than five minutes to complete.

 

[Dsycks]

I would pump it out from the top or drop the pan but hey... This looks good enough.

 

[410Fortune]

We use a castle nut, turned upside down, remove the galvanization (or other coating) and weld the castle nut upside down in the bottom of the pan. This allows more fluid out, as the castle nut has holes all the way around flush with your mounting surface

Drain it (Drain Plug install with castle nut)

I have installed the B&M/Dorman style with the large through bolt drilled out but they always leave allot of fluid in the pan by their design. I saw...

www.forabodiesonly.com

 

[Bazz270]

Is the Gen4 trans oil pan made if steel?

What about the Jamnut style drain plugs?im not 100% sure about my sheet metal welding skills.

 

[Bill MacLeod]

Cheap alternative 410, I also grind the inside down level. I prefer something with pipe threads. User preference only.

The plastic washer/gasket always seem to weep/leak. Welding is best imo.

Bazz, see attached pics. I have a spare pan. I chose a rear location because I do fluid changes from a ramp. Its a real pain getting all 4 off the ground and level (for this old soul). Measure what you take out.

 

[Bazz270]

Thanks a lot for your job report and the plug location.

 

[Bazz270]

What about to seal the jamnut style plug with some gear oil resistant RTV (24hours cure) or the DP Scotchweld adhesive or so?

LOL i am afrain of burning the oil pan with the MIG welder.

 

[CDW6212R]

What about to seal the jamnut style plug with some gear oil resistant RTV (24hours cure) or the DP Scotchweld adhesive or so?

LOL i am afrain of burning the oil pan with the MIG welder.

Simply use Ultra Black RTV on the sealing surfaces, the washer and pan surfaces. That will seal all but the plug itself.