transmission filter, gasket material options

Hi All,

Ordered a AT filter for the 96' 2.7L 4WD A340F from Carquest and they sent two, seems there is two different styles they get from SPX Filtran. One has a 3/8" neck (mo. 96038) and the other has a 1" center neck (mo. 96042), I assume that the neck is simply the drain to the pan, or pickup from the pan? Does it matter which I install?

Second, they both came with gaskets, the 3/8" neck seems to be a fiber like rubber, more like a mat material, the other is a solid rubber like material, softer yet more sturdy looking.

The 1" center neck, with the solid rubber like gasket was also $12 more....who knows why? Better gasket? Or should I just use RTV/FIGP?

Attached is a pick of what I'm talking about, left is the model 96038 and right is 96042.

Thanks!

Josh

 

Just drop your pan, pull out the old to see what one you need. Also the gasket shape should give you a clue to what one it is... unless that thing is just bent

Use the gasket that comes with it... it will seal it just fine. Rtv is a pain to remove.

 

Buy em both take the wrong one back after the change!

 

The filter on the right looks like it is for a deeper pan. You had better compare the filter to the one that comes out and match it. I've used those gaskets on transmissions and they work fine, just be careful not to over torque the bolts. A 1/4 turn after contact to snug them up is usually all you need. If you use silicone, don't over do it. A 1/8" bead should be enough. You don't want any residual sealer getting into you fluid. I prefer to use gaskets. JMO.

 

flushed the transmission using the cooling line method.

Got 6.5qts on the pan drain by draining hot and with the front end way in the air, you get 5 right off the bat, then if you roll it level off the ramp, you get another 1.5qts.

Anyways, I was suprised to find what looks to be the original stock filter system, a two piece screen & body. I replaced it with the one piece filter from Carquest with the longer center neck, pan fit back on, so no clearance issues!

Had a serious layer of black metalic sludge all over the bottom of the pans, the magnets seemed maxed out, with a very thick film of metal goo on them. One magnet had a some large shards too, as seen in the pic.

Had to dremel a notch on the new filter seam, center rear so it cleared the pipe, gaskets snugged up nice where they were suppose too after that.

The truck has 180,000 miles on it, I had a flush done after I bought it with 145,000, but didn't drop the pan. I'm wondering if this tranny ever had the pan dropped!

 

also, I went with the all-rubber gasket, had smaller bolt holes and was a little wider.

Didn't have a torque wrench in inch pounds so I estimated with my 3/8 drive

Got the 19 bolts all snug, but they kept giving me 1/8th turn, so I kept at it slowly and zig zagging back and forth.

the gasket began to bulge out at the bolts so I figured it was good. I busted off the head of two bolts, thank god they didn't strip, I was able to drill them out with no thread damage, used the left over 10mm bolts from the old filter, they had a slightly larger washer head, they snugged up much much much better than the original bolts. If I were to do it again, I'd probably put in new bolts with that larger head washer.

 

The smaller holes are so the gasket seals around the bolt, but it sounds like you over-tightened it a bit. However, if it's not leaking, you're good to go. Nice job.

 

montanabay,
Good report on your trans cleanup. What did the trans oil filter look like?

 

the first 6.5qts looked like Robitussin

here's my write up:

1) Get the transmission up to temp
2) Get the front end as high as safely*** possible, chalk it up good, use E-brake (I used ramps on cinder blocks, see step 4)
3) Drain the pan into a graduated bucket, 1qt marks makes it easy to keep track for refill. My 3RZ with A340F transmission drained ~5qts this way. Be patient, you will get 4qts right away then it is a small stream, pull the dip stick and you'll get another 1qt surge. Put the drain plug back in.
4) Put it in neutral and roll it down the ramp, level.
5) Pull the drain plug again, you'll get another ~1.5qt, so total of ~7qts now drained. The A340F takes 10.4qts on a dry fill, so we got a big volume out.
6) Pull the pan, a sharpened putty knife will help break the FIPG, the drivers side rear of the pan will allow you to tap it in with a hammer.
7) Pull the filter, install new filter, check for clearance, a dremel will help if pipes are too close to filter edge.
8) Clean your pan and magnets first with simple green and high pressure hose, then hit it with a can of brake cleaner, it will get the last of the oil/grit and make it dry quicker.
9) If using a rubber gasket, lay it on the clean and dry pan, thread a bolt in each corner 1/8" in so it grabs the rubber gasket, this will keep it nice and aligned when you install it.
10) Install it pan, tighten in zig zag, the regular bolts will sink into the pan if you over tighten, just get just a little bulge from the gasket.
11) Optional extra flush, go buy a couple 1gal (4qt) jugs of Valvoline Dex/Merc, or if you got a Carquest, do their name brand, which is made by Valvoline, but is $1 a qt cheaper for the Dex/Merc, 2gals was only like $20 bucks.
12) Fill'r back up to 10.4qts and go for a drive, check for leaks, get up to temp again.
13) Repeat steps 1-5
14) Follow the procedure for the cooler line flush. I went from Dex/Merc to Dexcron VI, which is synthetic. Again, Carquest Dex VI is made by Valvoline, but its only $5.99 a qt, not $7.99! I used 12qts to do the final flush.
15) Go for a ride, get it up to temp, get it on level ground and check the level. check for leaks, you are good to go!
15) Optional, add an inline ATF filter (photo below), these are pretty neat, they have a stop back valve, a paper element and a magnet, which sits in the middle of the ATF stream, so any metal going by is going to get caught. $17 at Carquest for a SPX Filtran inline, 3/8" hookups.

Side notes: My reasoning on the extra flush came after seeing the level of crud and metal in the pan, I figured if I was disturbing a tranny with this many miles pulling the pan, might as well try to really flush it good once the pan is cleaned. Same logic with the inline filter, I figured that all the nifty additives in the synthetic ATF would probably re-suspend a bunch junk from through out the transmission, I'm hoping the extra filteration with the inline will grab it so not to experience "high mile flush syndrome", we'll see! So far she's shifting like a dream, nice and smooth! I even got a little rubber pulling out into traffic