You guys said DO NOT flush the transmission, and I believe you. This guy that isn't Chad was trying to talk me into a flush. Can't afford it anyway. He said that if it's the pan gasket that's leaking, that gasket gets replaced anyway on the drop and fill. If it's the side gasket, game over for me, that's a nightmare. I'll know tomorrow, I'd have preferred Chad, but he won't be back until Monday or Tuesday, and we're set to get a bunch of snow and temps right at freezing...that's when the most idiot drivers are wrecking on this hwy...and there's no shoulder to escape them.

Please wish me luck. The main thing is getting that filter changed and some decent fluid in..it won't be perfect and I get that, but it will be MUCH BETTER.

I'd feel better knowing some of the horrid things that happen with clogged filters and filthy fluid, or should I just sell the car without spending another dime?

 

Dropping the pan and redoing the filter isn't hard, make sure you don't double stack the O-ring when putting the filter into place (ask me how I know). Also note rubber hoses can go bad an leak too. Worst part about pan dropping is the intial drop, it can get messy, go slow. Wish they had a plug in the pan to make life easier

 

How bad is the leak? If it ends up being the side cover and isnt fixed by the pan drop, I'd weigh their quote to fix it against the cost of just topping it off indefinitely.

Even if its losing a quart per engine oil change interval, the car will likely end up in the junkyard before youd make the repair financially worthwhile (assuming you stayed on top of it and didnt let it get dangerously low / damage the trans).

 

For reference, the Dorman aftermarket pan does have a drain plug and is only like $35 (or of course you could modify the stock pan instead).