[cacevedo]

I knew you would think of something else.. You don't know how much I appreciate your help in this matter.. I'll be around until 3:30pm California time.

[cacevedo]

Hello there I did the tranny change and I drained 3 quarts out of it. It seems to be a little better, but it still jerks a little, I'm thinking once I change the fluid again then all of the old fluid will come out and it should do better. So when should I change the tranny fluid again? That stuff is expensive here $7.00 a quart.

[TxGreaseMonkey]

Drain it again in a month or so. Give the detergents in the Mobil 1 a chance to clean things out. Remember to disconnect the negative battery terminal overnight and force the ECM to relearn shift points.

[cacevedo]

I disconnected the terminal cable overnight, so do I do this every time I drain the tranny fluid?

[TxGreaseMonkey]

I would. Did it seem to help?

[cacevedo]

It did help some, but I figured there is still old tranny fluid in it, and when I took off the plug it was really dirty so I cleaned it up.

[TxGreaseMonkey]

If the old fluid was brown, black or smelled burned, then I would drain it again right away.

[TxGreaseMonkey]

Mobil 1 might be expensive, but it's the cheapest thing you can do to get maximum life, performance, and gas mileage from the transmission. Obviously, it's best to use it when the vehicle is new.

[cacevedo]

It was still redish when I drained it.

[cacevedo]

I know that's why I got it. It was very hard to find too. At Wal-mart they only had like 3 quarts in stock and then at Autozone they only had a few too.. Must be high in demand too.. Oh yeah would you happen to know what kind of gear fluid I would use for a 1998 Saturn SL1 Manual tranny 5 speed? I'm going to do this car next. Mind you I drive like 160 miles round trip to work and home so I do rack in the miles.

[TxGreaseMonkey]

I would let it go, then, for a month or two and see if the shifting steadily improves.

[TxGreaseMonkey]

My son's wife drives a Saturn Coupe in Los Angeles and we use Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF in it.

[cacevedo]

Is this Saturn a Automatic or Manual? I have a Manual 5 speed. So wouldn't it be called gear oil or is it called something else?

[TxGreaseMonkey]

Her's is a manual 5-speed. I used to have a 1992 Saturn and it also used ATF in the manual transmission. It's common these days for ATF to be used in manual trannys--it improves gas mileage (lower viscosity) and they shift easier. It's super simple to change the transaxle fluid on Saturns.

[cacevedo]

Where do I fill it back up at? I guess I would just drain it like I drained the other. I thought since it's a manual tranny I would do something different.

[TxGreaseMonkey]

There was a red dipstick on my Saturn. Lift it up to unlock it a just pull it out. It was located on the driver's side of the transaxle. Use a long-neck funnel to refill (likely just under two quarts).

[TxGreaseMonkey]

If you are putting that kind of mileage on your Saturn each day, be sure to use 5W-30 Mobil 1 in the engine. Change it every 6,000 miles or 6 months, whichever comes first.

[cacevedo]

Actually I just had the oil changed and I did use 5 -30 but it wasn't Mobil 1, so on my next oil change I'll switch to Mobil 1. I did the oil change on Sunday for the Saturn.

[TxGreaseMonkey]

I'm proud of you. You are doing the right thing. Using top-quality lubricants helps you avoid the big, unexpected expense in life (surprise engine or tranmission repair). It allows you to get ahead. It's penny-wise and pound foolish to use conventional lubricants, instead of synthetics.

[cacevedo]

Wow, I work at a Law Firm here in Menlo Park, California as a Records Supervisor. The Traffic in LA a nightmare, it's a good thing they have you to help them out.