I did this job a few weeks ago, but forgot to post it. It's not a particularly difficult job except for the driver's side pan bolts which are so close and tight to the sub-frame that you need to raise the engine about an inch or so. The car has almost 100K on it and never had the fluid changed. It's my daughter's car and she usually lets me know when service is due, but she had no idea about transmission fluid and filter -- just never occurred to her that these components also need service every now and then.
This isn't a complete flush -- it's a partial flush because I'm replacing about 1 gallon of synthetic Type IV in the pan and filter system, but there is just as much fluid in the converter. After a week of driving I will again drain about 3.5-4 qts. out of the pan and call it a day. At that point the fluid will looks almost new.
Pan drain plug is 10mm hex
Here is the pesky hidden pan bolts. I could fiddle with these all day, but opted to take the left tire off and loosen the motor mount. I then used a pry bar to lift the engine up about an inch and inserted shims made from a paint stick to hold the engine in place.
That allowed quick access with a 1/4" drive swivel and an air ratchet to drop the pan, and although the pan had drained, there is a lot of fluid still in the valve body that will dump along with the pan.
Three 10mm bolts hold the filter in place, also be sure to also remove the "O" ring where the neck of the filter meets the valve body.
Once you loosen the filter, there will be an additional flood of fluid coming at you. I prefer to use a large plastic storage bin as my catch basin because it covers so much more area than a conventional drain pan.
Notice the rubber "O" ring -- it usually comes out with the filter, but if not, you have to fish it out of the valve body opening where the filter attaches.
Everything is cleaned up, and the new "O" ring is installed in the valve body opening and the new filter is pushed in place and bolted up.
The pan is cleaned along with the two particle magnets that are in the bottom of the pan. My magnets were not very grimy with metallic sludge; which is a good thing!
I installed the pan gasket and reinstalled the pan tightening in a criss-cross pattern to get even torque. Lastly the motor mount was tightened, the wheel installed, and the transmission filled with 1 gal of TYPE IV compatible synthetic fluid. A quick run around the block showed I was a 1/2 quart low after the transmission was warmed up, and I filled accordingly.
The car does shift a lot smoother than before and is much more quiet. Took about 2.5 hours to do -- taking my time and being careful not to over-torque that pan.
