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Manual Transmission and T-Case Fluid Change Today

Rico1111

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DER ....after typing all that I clicked on your pic and saw the fill plug with letters stamped on casing oil fill!!!!! I wear glasses and I either need new ones or have to buy an actual work light!
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Question for the OP ....I crawled under mine today and easily found the drain plug ..but was at a loss finding the fill plug! I have the manual also and have had some drips out of the drain plug ......crawled under today to drain and fill and put some permatex on drain bolt but for the life of me could not figure out which was the fill plug. There was a bolt with not much grab on the drivers side of case but was not sure if this was fill hole so I abandoned my task to find a schematic online to give me the exact location. I'm sure it is stupid simple but at 59 crawling around under the jeep with my iphone light seemed pretty stupid. I did find a vid of a guy changing his JK'S but it was totally different.
This one. And it’s labeled lol. Driver side

798A442F-64B7-4BA6-B0A6-A34F23C2C642.jpeg
 

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Question for the OP ....I crawled under mine today and easily found the drain plug ..but was at a loss finding the fill plug! I have the manual also and have had some drips out of the drain plug ......crawled under today to drain and fill and put some permatex on drain bolt but for the life of me could not figure out which was the fill plug. There was a bolt with not much grab on the drivers side of case but was not sure if this was fill hole so I abandoned my task to find a schematic online to give me the exact location. I'm sure it is stupid simple but at 59 crawling around under the jeep with my iphone light seemed pretty stupid. I did find a vid of a guy changing his JK'S but it was totally different.
picture of it a few posts up
 
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DanW

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DER ....after typing all that I clicked on your pic and saw the fill plug with letters stamped on casing oil fill!!!!! I wear glasses and I either need new ones or have to buy an actual work light!
Lol, I just turned 52, so I can start blaming this kind of shit on my age and get away with it! Of course, it happened just as much when I was 22. :LOL:
 

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Wait til you are 67...I can't touch my toes without bending the floor.
Lol, no problem for me. I'm 6'5" tall and have never been able to touch mine! When I'm 62, I may need a stick to touch them even laying down!
 

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I changed the manual transmission fluid today, at 20,148 miles. It was quick and easy and not too messy. Just make sure you don't lose the little metal washer/gasket on the drain plug. Mine fell off and I discovered it after I had filled it up with new fluid, so I had to fix that quickly while trying to lose as little of the new fluid as possible. I wound up losing 3/4 of a quart. Oh well, ATF+4 is cheap. I went with NAPA synthetic ATF+4, which is Valvoline. It is a fair deal at $7 a quart. It took very slightly over 2 quarts.

I then changed the T-case fluid. That is quite a bit messier because of the skid plate and because the fluid shoots waaay out from the drain hole. I used some Castrol left over from my JK T-case change last September and Valvoline ATF+4 for this.

Note: The Napa is Valvoline bottled for NAPA. It is maybe 70 or 80 cents cheaper per quart than the Valvoline branded bottles at Walmart. The T-case took very close to 2 quarts. All ATF+4 is essentially the same, anyway, so I'm not super picky. I've run Castrol and even Autozone brand before in other vehicles and the all are fine.

I typically change tranny, T-case, and diff fluids every 25-30k miles. I like doing the first one a little before that to get break in crap out of it.

Here is the transmission from the driver's side. The front of the Jeep is to the left. You'll need a bottle pump with a tube to reach the fill hole. The drain hole goes straight down and barely touches a brace nearly under it, so it is a much cleaner drain process than the JK's NSG370, which drains right on top of the exhaust pipe and requires an improvised tool to get it loose. The Aisin in the JL is a straight shot with a 24mm socket.

Jeep Wrangler JL Manual Transmission and T-Case Fluid Change Today 798A442F-64B7-4BA6-B0A6-A34F23C2C642


Here is the transmission drain plug. The magnet has trapped a fair amount of metal shavings. (Normal and about what I expected for the break-in period and 20k miles.) The pic after that is the plug all cleaned up.
Jeep Wrangler JL Manual Transmission and T-Case Fluid Change Today 798A442F-64B7-4BA6-B0A6-A34F23C2C642

Jeep Wrangler JL Manual Transmission and T-Case Fluid Change Today 798A442F-64B7-4BA6-B0A6-A34F23C2C642

Napa ATF+4. It says right on the back that it is made by Valvoline. No secret there. Valvoline makes most, if not all of Napa brand oil, gear lube, and transmission fluids. Good stuff.
Jeep Wrangler JL Manual Transmission and T-Case Fluid Change Today 798A442F-64B7-4BA6-B0A6-A34F23C2C642
Is it at all possible to use a funnel and tubing from above through the engine compartment to fill?
 
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DanW

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Is it at all possible to use a funnel and tubing from above through the engine compartment to fill?
Not sure, but it really isn't that hard to get to. It may be too far back to access from the top and the tube/hose would have to be pretty long. The pump is an easy way to go. I wish someone made ATF+4 in a squeeze bag like amsoil does with their gear lube. That'd be ideal.

The pump is like this....

Gear Oil Pump
 

keithg2101215

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I thought it was weird too that we use atf-4. After some searching, so have other manufactures in the past. Some have used motor oil as well.

Sorta weird but it works
Dating myself here, but I remember when I had my 1988 Ford Mustang GT manual transmission fluid changed by a local lube place, and freaked out when the guy asked for the ATF gun to add the fluid. I stopped them and they were sure it was the correct fluid to add. I left there and called Ford ASAP from the nearest pay phone to confirm.
 
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Dating myself here, but I remember when I had my 1988 Ford Mustang GT manual transmission fluid changed by a local lube place, and freaked out when the guy asked for the ATF gun to add the fluid. I stopped them and they were sure it was the correct fluid to add. I left there and called Ford ASAP from the nearest pay phone to confirm.
Lol, yeah, I had heard of some manuals using ATF, as well, but never one that I owned. I was used to Synchromesh that my JK's NSG370 uses, which is much thicker than ATF+4 and is similar to other manual transmission gear lubes I've used in the past.

The great thing about using ATF+4 is that it drains faster than gear lube! Lol! I also know it'll never have heat related breakdown. These manuals don't get anywhere near the temps that auto trannys reach.
 

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DanW

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"I wish someone made ATF+4 in a squeeze bag like amsoil does with their gear lube. That'd be ideal. "
AMSOIL offers their ATF +4 in a squeeze bag https://amsoilcontent.com/ams/lit/databulletins/g3110.pdf/?zo=1181889
Lol, you saw that barn door open wide, didn't you? I may give it a try next time around, if not ridiculously expensive and if it has all the certifications. No, I don't want to join Amsoil's club to get a better price (pay for a discount) and no, them just saying it meets or exceeds isn't enough. It has to be certified.

So fix the link and I'll check it out. That bag is truly a great idea with their gear lube and now apparently this.
 

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This link seems to work.
https://amsoilcontent.com/ams/lit/databulletins/g3110.pdf

"No, I don't want to join Amsoil's club to get a better price (pay for a discount)" You don't have to pay for a discount if you own a qualified business like 71% of my customers do. You get a better price as well. Under $11 a quart bottle for ATF warranted for double the severe service interval.
 
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I was looking at product data sheets on various brands of ATF+4 to see the differences in viscosity, pour point, flash point, and viscosity index. What I found was what I had read. They are all bound to a very tight formulation. The best of the mainstream bunc flowed at -58, with the worst at -54 F and the flash points were all very close, at about 385 degrees to 408. The viscosity at 212 degrees F was about 7.5 to 7.7, and the viscosity index ranged from about 196 to 212 or so. The cheapest is Walmart Supertech at about 4.82 per quart! I'm 95% sure it is made by Warren Distribution, who makes Mag 1. They've got a good rep in the motor oil geek community. Their numbers were within the range of the others. So the ATF+4 formula is indeed very tight, with the base oil being a Group III synthetic or possibly a Group II+. I'm betting Group III across the brands, though.

Then there's Redline ATF C+, which covers ATF+4 specs. It looks very similar with 7.5 viscosity at 212 degrees and a viscosity index of 212. But here is the kicker. Its pour point is a whopping -76 degrees F! Wow! You could run it in your Jeep in Yellowknife Canada on a record cold night, with room to spare! (The record low there was -60F). The catch is that it is 13 bucks a quart. Ouch!

They didn't publish a flash point, but I'd guess it is high, too, due to esters in the base oil. (true synthetic). But a manual transmission or transfer case will never see temps even half of the lowest flash point I've seen in an ATF+4. It is designed to handle the high heat in an auto transmission, which far surpasses anything it'd see in our application.

So, for my next change, Supertech or God's ATF+4 nectar? Hmmm. I'm leaning toward the Supertech mainly because it'll never, ever, see a fraction of the stress that any ATF+4 could handle. BUT, I like to have the very best for my $50k machine, so....
 

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I'm not surprised that you found the specs tight around minimum passing values. Most oil companies formulate to barely meet specifications with the lowest priced formulation possible to be priced competitive with each other and for OEM bidding. Fortunately, there are a very few companies that formulate to be far superior.
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