hey guys,
bit of a noobie question. ive been trying to do as much of my own servicing as i can (young p-plater lol) and while i was underneath my car today i was thinking i should do a auto trans flush but when i was looking at the transmission i couldnt figure out where ive actually gotta drop the pan as theres like 3/4 different parts that look like it could be where i pull it apart. im not looking at doing just drain from stump plug but a full flush so if anyone out there could point me in the right direction it would be very helpful. :)

The Search function is your friend, young P plater - topic has been covered many times. Gearbox doesn't have a "stump plug" by the way. Get it done professionally if your service records show it needs doing.

Searching for "gearbox flush" brings up 5 pages of threads. Have a read!

Welcome to the forum. Servicing the auto is not rocket science - read this thread http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=82338
and then have a look under the car and locate the oil cooler hoses and the gearbox sump plug (they do have one)....figure if you think you can remove and replace the hoses and the sump plug and if you feel confident then go ahead. Allow yourself a few hours and take your time. Measure the amount of oil discharged so you know exactly how much to put back in. (I used 2 litre plastic milk bottles to measure it). The oil costs about $40 per 5 litres and you will need at least 2 drums so in theory the total cost will be about $80....get it done at a mechanics and you will pay at least $200 so you save $120 and gain some experience and confidence. I'd also download the electronic workshop manual available free on this forum. Good Luck.

I'd reommend you do a power flush at a professional business.

A crap load of old oil stays in the torque convertor if you just take the plug off and drain then fill.

Rather, a power flush will pump in new oil while the old oil is draining while the car is running, to get all the bad stuff out.

Sweet, thanks guys for your help

http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79600&highlight=automatic+transmission

it can be done at home.

When i did mine I ran out of time so i just dropped the pan and other drain plug, let it drain for an hour, new filter gasket, clean sump, and reinstall. 4 litres came out which is over half of whats inside. I will be doing another one soon.

I can tell you now it's ALOT cheaper then getting it done by machine.
5L of mitsubishi Fluid is UNDER $40.

;1308674']http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79600&highlight=automatic+transmission

it can be done at home.

When i did mine I ran out of time so i just dropped the pan and other drain plug, let it drain for an hour, new filter gasket, clean sump, and reinstall. 4 litres came out which is over half of whats inside. I will be doing another one soon.

I can tell you now it's ALOT cheaper then getting it done by machine.
5L of mitsubishi Fluid is UNDER $40.

Excuse me for asking, but how did you drop the pan and change the filter? - from what I've read on this forum and from doing the oil change myself, there is no pan to drop...and the filter is only changed during overhaul due to its location.

Excuse me for asking, but how did you drop the pan and change the filter? - from what I've read on this forum and from doing the oil change myself, there is no pan to drop...and the filter is only changed during overhaul due to its location.

Sorry, I'm in 2nd gen mode. 3rd gen there is no need to drop the pan, you have an external filter, my mistake :P
Don't see why you wouldn't change the filter though. It's just like an engine oil change, you change oil, you change filter.

;1308979']Sorry, I'm in 2nd gen mode. 3rd gen there is no need to drop the pan, you have an external filter, my mistake :P
Don't see why you wouldn't change the filter though. It's just like an engine oil change, you change oil, you change filter.

Only the earlier 3rd Gens have the external spin-on oil filter...... I know TE had it, and suspect that TF had it.......... but by TJ era the external spin-on transmission oil filter was deleted. As the OP has a TH series, he may or may not have the external filter. Going by the seat of my pants, I don't think TH had it. Happy to be proven wrong.

Lomentor, the auto transmissions that had an external oil filter in 3rd Gens have it mounted on the TOP of the gearbox - its a spin-on filter just like you'd expect an engine oil-filter to look like. It's roughly under the air-intake snorkel.... you either see a spin-on can poking upwards, or (which I think is more likely on your TH) there is no external filter and you'll see a couple of concentric circles cast in the gearbox casing, but the oil gallery and gasket face isn't machined into the box.

The genuine workshop manual for 3rd gens is available as free download from links (search for "workshop manual thread") but isn't actually hosted on this site. That workshop manual recommends buying three 5-litre bottles of trans fluid - and the GENUINE Mitsi SP3 trans fluid is absolutely recommended. MANY aftermarket/generic transmission fluids are UNSUITABLE for the Mitsi auto - do not be told that Dexron III "will do" for instance..... all it will do is bugger your gearbox.

You drain what you can from the drain plug, then undo one of the trans fluid pipes near the trans fluid cooler in the radiator (at the bottom). You progressively top-up, flush (by briefly running the engine), top-up, flush, top-up flush - until you get clean-looking fluid coming out of the cooler pipe. Its a good idea to have a helper or two (one can be topping-up, one watching the oil flushing out and being collected, maybe one doing the engine stop-start routine. Also not a bad idea to cycle the gear selector thru all gears when flushing - allows the valve-body to be flushed of old oil. All the run-stop flushing is to pump oil out of the torque converter especially, but also out of the galleries etc in the box which will not drain otherwise.

Takes anything from 10-15 litres of fluid to do it properly "by the book".

Just a quick question.About to flush my tranny in next couple of weeks.All clear on what to do.Just having problems finding my filter if there is one.the Haynes manual states external one on top of housing,but buggered if I can find it.Does anyone know if mine would be internal or external and where it could be,whats it look like..2002 KJ GTV tiptronic model

@fatma: You're KJ definately does NOT have an extrenal oil filter - they were deleted prior to TJ era as either unecessary, or to cut costs.
In your vehicle, there is only an internal strainer, and this is inaccessible with the gearbox in the car.

All you can do is the "drain, flush, drain, flush..." process to change as much of the trans fluid as you can. If you have ennough helpers to run the selector lever thru all positions while you are flushing, you'lll get a little more of the old oil out of the valve body etc.

whats the sort of oil to use when you flush it?still use the mitsi recommended oil?

whats the sort of oil to use when you flush it?still use the mitsi recommended oil?

Yes, only use the mitsi one.

Yes, only use the mitsi one.

Unless u want to damage or destroy your gearbox.

You dont need to use mitsu genuine one, most of 100% synthetic ATF will perform as required. Just have a look at the back for the compatibility, SP3 is nothing special these days, but to be honest its cheaper & safer to buy from the dealer. The worst thing that happens as mentioned before, when you buy from a shop they will try to sell you anything, so "this one will do mate" is definitely a wrong advise, only trust writing on the canister & it must have mitsubishi SP3 on it.

This is what is compatible"

Penrite - ATF MHP
Nulon - 100% Synthetic automatic transmission fluid (or non synthetic is also compatible id be careful with non synthetic one as it is one fits all kind of solution )
Castrol TQM - ST
MOBIL 1 - SYNTHETIC ATF MULTI-VEHICLE FORMULA
Shell - SPIRAX S5 ATF X