Brought to you by 1AAuto.com, your source for quality replacement parts and the best service on the Internet.
Hi, I'm Mike from 1A Auto. I hope this how-to video helps you out, and, please, next time you need parts for your vehicle, think of 1AAuto.com.
In this video, we're going to show you how to replace the transmission pan on this 2002 Chevy Suburban with the 5.3 liter engine. This particular model has the deep transmission pan. The items you'll need for this are a new transmission pan from 1AAuto.com, a 13 and 15 mm socket and ratchet with an extension and a swivel, a drip pan, jack and jack stands, a pry bar, and a funnel.
You're going to want to raise and support your vehicle. You're going to need to loosen the exhaust. There are three 15mm nuts holding it on each side. You take these off so that the exhaust will drop down and give you extra clearance for the pan. For one of the bolts, you will need a swivel or universal joint in order to get to it. Your transmission pan's located right here. There's a 15mm drain plug. Just remove the drain plug. Make sure you have a drip pan underneath. Just let the fluid drain out. Now, replace your drain plug and tighten it back up. Then remove this series of 13mm bolts that line the outside of your transmission pan. The hardest one to get to is the one in this corner here. You just want to use a solid extension and a 13mm socket and ratchet. Just put that on the bolt, pry that cable aside using the extension, and just remove the bolt. We'll just fast forward as Mike removes the rest of the 13mm bolts. This process can be done entirely with hand tools. We're just going to use some air tools to speed up the process. Now, tap the pan with a hammer and pull it down. Now, using a pry bar, pry between the transmission case and the bracket for the shift cable and pry that bracket out and then pull the pan down. Then once you get the pan out of the way, make sure you clean off the rim very well.
Take your new transmission pan and put the gasket into place and feed the bolts up through the holes. The gasket will hold the bolts into place. You don't need to do this with all the bolts, just a few of them, enough to get it started. Feed the pan back up in, over the exhaust, and use your pry bar and pry out again on the bracket for the shift cable so that the pan can go up into place. Now, start all the bolts in. I always start them by hand first. Just make sure that you don't cross-thread them into the transmission, and we'll fast forward here. Like I said, I start all the bolts in first. Then tighten them up preliminarily. Now you want to torque each of these 13mm bolts in a crossing pattern to about 15 foot-pounds. We'll just fast forward as Mike does the rest of these. Now just replace those 15mm nuts. We'll fast forward as Mike tightens those up.
When you go to refill your transmission, it's a three-step process. Right here is the full hot line. There's a little range here. What you want is, when the vehicle's hot, you want your level anywhere from the middle to the upper part of that. Actually, you can see down here it says cold. What you'll want to do is when you're engine's not running, fill your transmission fluid probably up to about the bottom of here. Then start your vehicle, put it in reverse and first or drive a couple times, get the transmission fluid circulating, and then at that point, check and fill until you're at the cold line. Then drive your vehicle quite a bit, get the transmission nice and warm, and then check and make sure that the transmission fluid's in here. You want to make sure that the transmission is hot before you check it, and make sure it's here. If it's not you just add a little more fluid and get it to the right level. Use a funnel. You want to make sure that the inside of the funnel is clean. Then take your transmission fluid and just replace the fluid. Threequarts got me to there. I'll start it up, put it in reverse and first a couple times to circulate the transmission fluid. After you've done that, just go back to the dip stick and pull it out. Then wipe it down, replace the dipstick and check the level. If it's not right, add more fluid and repeat the process.
We hope this video helps you out. Brought to you by www.1AAuto.com, your source for quality replacement parts and the best service on the Internet. Please feel free to call us toll-free, 888-844-3393. We're the company that's here for you on the Internet and in person.