Hi,
I just changed the ATF in my 2000 3L V6 S-Type for the first time after 67K miles. The fluid looked good, very clean with minimal crud in the pan and filter. I drained the pan by removing the drainplug first , then removed the pan. Next I removed the filter but had to clean out my old one since the filter I got wouldn't fit. Then I cleaned the pan and the doughnut magnet. Then reinstalled the filter, and the trans. pan.
I measured the ATF that I drained out and found it was just over 4 qts. The fill plug is on the back of the trans case, removable with an8 mmallen
wrench. I pumped in 4 qts of fresh Mercon V ATF.
At this point, I found I couldn't remove the leveling screw from the drain plug. I tried lots of things but ultimately had to remove it, redrain the ATF, then drill out the damaged leveling bolt. I put in a new replacement leveling bolt into the drainplug, reinstalled it and put in the 4 qts of AFT. I started and drove it till it warmed up , then parkedit on a level surface with it in neutral and running and removed the level plug. A few drops came out . I'll need to pump in a bit more ATF, warm it up again and then remove the level plug again to ensure it is topped off. My advice for anyone doing this is to loosen the level plug from inside the drainplug after removing it and before you reinstall it and hopefully you can avoid destroying it as I did mine. Kind of a miserable job but I won't have to do it again for a while.
best wishes , Vic

 

Nice job and good advice!

 

I need to check my ATF out. Where is a good place to get a new AT filter for a good price? Do you have to use anti slip or any other additive when you change it? What is the capacity of the system? I know it has to be more than 4 qts

Cajun

 

Badmojo. Thanks bro !


Cajun,

I ordered the transmission filter online from Kragen/Autoworks ( $18 )and the Mercon V ATF ( ~ $3/QT )as well.The trans filter didn't fit , though it was what they had listed. It's still easy to return it at our local Kragen's. The total capacity of the transmission is 10 qts, but if you drain and drop the pan as I did only about 4.5 qts come out. The torque convertor doesn't have a drain plug. I was reluctant to drain and fill it using the trans cooling lines and I did want to change the trans filter and clean out the pan.I didn't put in any additive as none were specified, just new Mercon V ATF.

As I said above, the ATF looked and smelled good. Post ATF change, the shifts as are smooth as before with less delay when I shift from Park to Drive or Drive to reverse. It looks like my ATF level a bit low since when I added the 4.5 qts and checked the level it still was not dripping out the leveling hole. So I added the remaining .5 qt. I'll check the level tomorrow after I drive it some more. It's kind of a hassle as the transmission needs to be at operating temperature and idling in neutral on a level surface to checked. If I need to pump in more ATF I have to jack it up, remove the fill plug from the back of the trans., pump in the ATF and reinstall the filler plug without burning myself on the hot exhaust pipes. Now that I have all the moves I'll do this again in another 30k miles. After 8 years I still love this car, its awesome.
Best wishes, Vic

 

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An update to the ATF change: I had to keep pumping more ATF in to finally get flow and dripping from the leveling plug. I drained about 4.5 quarts of old ATF and I ended up pumping in 5.25 quarts to get to the correct level. Doing the AT service allows you to ensure the ATF level is correct. My 2 cents worth.[/align]Vic[/align]