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4L80E Fluid Capacity


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  • 6 months later...
About 14.5, including the TC.

Why would the T/C be included as the two are filled separately?

 

How many quarts are required to refill the 4L80E if I drop the pan, replace the filter/screen & fill it thru the dipstick tube?

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Why would the T/C be included as the two are filled separately?

How are they filled separately??

 

How many quarts are required to refill the 4L80E if I drop the pan, replace the filter/screen & fill it thru the dipstick tube?

About 4.

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Amsoil claims the Initial fill on the 4L80E is 7.7 quarts and the Total fill is 14.0 quarts. If you have the extra cooler it may be a little more. I am about to do mine but have not done it yet so I do not know for certain how much it will take. I believe the GM spec is 14 quarts or so.

 

:flag:

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I am going to be changing my tranny fluid as well soon. Just got the Amsoil fluid and I am waiting for the tranny filter to come in. It is on backorder! Doh.... :flag:

 

I was going to do it this weekend, but I don't think I will have the filter by Saturday. Can always hope though.. :seeya:

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Amsoil claims the Initial fill on the 4L80E is 7.7 quarts and the Total fill is 14.0 quarts. If you have the extra cooler it may be a little more. I am about to do mine but have not done it yet so I do not know for certain how much it will take. I believe the GM spec is 14 quarts or so.

 

:flag:

The capacity for the 4L80E probably varies by year, too. I my HELM shop manual, covering my 1993 Suburban, it calls for 10.5-11 following a complete tranny rebuild. But then you also have to include fluid for the lines and any aux cooler. Do the newer ones have a deeper pan?

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About 14.5, including the TC.

Are you referring to the trans. cooler (TC) ? Here in the plant, T/C has generally means transfer case. So I think that's where the misunderstanding in this thread has come from.

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About 14.5, including the TC.

Are you referring to the trans. cooler (TC) ? Here in the plant, T/C has generally means transfer case. So I think that's where the misunderstanding in this thread has come from.

 

TC = Torque Converter :lol:

 

Torque Converter and lines and cooler(s) hold about 6 to 7 quarts of fluid. The pan and the fluid that drains when you pull the plug or remove it hold 7 to 8 quarts of fluid. This makes a total capacity of 14 to 15 quarts of fluid for a complete flush.

 

:D

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  • 7 years later...
About 14.5, including the TC.

Are you referring to the trans. cooler (TC) ? Here in the plant, T/C has generally means transfer case. So I think that's where the misunderstanding in this thread has come from.

 

TC = Torque Converter :)

 

Torque Converter and lines and cooler(s) hold about 6 to 7 quarts of fluid. The pan and the fluid that drains when you pull the plug or remove it hold 7 to 8 quarts of fluid. This makes a total capacity of 14 to 15 quarts of fluid for a complete flush.

 

:sigh:

 

 

How do you fully drain it all, from the torque conv too?

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About 14.5, including the TC.

Are you referring to the trans. cooler (TC) ? Here in the plant, T/C has generally means transfer case. So I think that's where the misunderstanding in this thread has come from.

 

TC = Torque Converter :)

 

Torque Converter and lines and cooler(s) hold about 6 to 7 quarts of fluid. The pan and the fluid that drains when you pull the plug or remove it hold 7 to 8 quarts of fluid. This makes a total capacity of 14 to 15 quarts of fluid for a complete flush.

 

:sigh:

 

 

How do you fully drain it all, from the torque conv too?

 

You can safely replace all of the fluid in the trans with the following technique (it may require a helper):

 

Pull the pan and clean it. Change the filter, replace the pan Using a new gasket) and fill with the proper ATF for your vehicle (preferably synthetic). Don't start the engine.

 

Take off the return trans cooler line that goes to the radiator. Clamp a 3' piece of 3/8" hose to that line and put the other end into a clear 2L soft drink bottle that is pre-marked at the 1qt level.

 

Have a helper start the engine and let it idle until 1qt of old ATF is pumped into the bottle (approx 10-seconds), then turn off the engine. Add 1qt of ATF to the trans and dump the ATF that is in the bottle. Repeat this procedure about 5-8 more times or until the ATF going into the bottle changes color to the new ATF color.

 

This procedure will replace the 5-8 qts of fluid that are in the torque converter without having to use a power flush machine.

 

*****NOTE....... If you don't know which of the 2-lines to the radiator is the return line, start the engine (cold) and let it idle for ~10 minutes. Feel the 2 lines. One will be hotter than the other. The hotter one is the return line from the trans to the radiator. That's the one that you want to use.

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About 14.5, including the TC.

Are you referring to the trans. cooler (TC) ? Here in the plant, T/C has generally means transfer case. So I think that's where the misunderstanding in this thread has come from.

 

TC = Torque Converter :)

 

Torque Converter and lines and cooler(s) hold about 6 to 7 quarts of fluid. The pan and the fluid that drains when you pull the plug or remove it hold 7 to 8 quarts of fluid. This makes a total capacity of 14 to 15 quarts of fluid for a complete flush.

 

:)

 

 

How do you fully drain it all, from the torque conv too?

 

You can safely replace all of the fluid in the trans with the following technique (it may require a helper):

 

Pull the pan and clean it. Change the filter, replace the pan Using a new gasket) and fill with the proper ATF for your vehicle (preferably synthetic). Don't start the engine.

 

Take off the return trans cooler line that goes to the radiator. Clamp a 3' piece of 3/8" hose to that line and put the other end into a clear 2L soft drink bottle that is pre-marked at the 1qt level.

 

Have a helper start the engine and let it idle until 1qt of old ATF is pumped into the bottle (approx 10-seconds), then turn off the engine. Add 1qt of ATF to the trans and dump the ATF that is in the bottle. Repeat this procedure about 5-8 more times or until the ATF going into the bottle changes color to the new ATF color.

 

This procedure will replace the 5-8 qts of fluid that are in the torque converter without having to use a power flush machine.

 

*****NOTE....... If you don't know which of the 2-lines to the radiator is the return line, start the engine (cold) and let it idle for ~10 minutes. Feel the 2 lines. One will be hotter than the other. The hotter one is the return line from the trans to the radiator. That's the one that you want to use.

 

 

thanks, thats pretty clever :D

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IMO - best to do the pumpout method in one go, to reduce the mixing of old fluid with new fluid. If you have a helper, start by having her take her shirt off so it won't get dirty. No, really...

 

You have a container large enough to hold the fluid in the torque converter. I use the Amsoil ATF with the big jugs (insert joke here) when I do mine, so it's a snap. Disconnect the line as mentioned in previous posts, have your helper start the truck when you're ready, and just slowly add fresh fluid through the fill as the transmission pumps it out, being careful not to dump it in faster than it's being pumped out. Have the helper kill the motor when you see the fluid change color. Reconnect the line, restart the truck, and top off the fluid to the needed level. Voila.

 

I did a B&M Deep Pan (#70295) when i did mine since you have to drop the pan anyway. I gets you 3 qts more capacity, some added cooling and - the best part - a drain plug for future fluid swaps.

 

ETA: forgot to mention you may need to shim your transmission on it's mount if you do the deep pan - I did. It only needed about 1/8-3/16" more - I used 3 flat washers when I first installed it, which will be replaced with a cut steel plate shim since I have the crossmember out at the moment.

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IMO - best to do the pumpout method in one go, to reduce the mixing of old fluid with new fluid. If you have a helper, start by having her take her shirt off so it won't get dirty. No, really...

 

You have a container large enough to hold the fluid in the torque converter. I use the Amsoil ATF with the big jugs (insert joke here) when I do mine, so it's a snap. Disconnect the line as mentioned in previous posts, have your helper start the truck when you're ready, and just slowly add fresh fluid through the fill as the transmission pumps it out, being careful not to dump it in faster than it's being pumped out. Have the helper kill the motor when you see the fluid change color. Reconnect the line, restart the truck, and top off the fluid to the needed level. Voila.

 

I did a B&M Deep Pan (#70295) when i did mine since you have to drop the pan anyway. I gets you 3 qts more capacity, some added cooling and - the best part - a drain plug for future fluid swaps.

 

ETA: forgot to mention you may need to shim your transmission on it's mount if you do the deep pan - I did. It only needed about 1/8-3/16" more - I used 3 flat washers when I first installed it, which will be replaced with a cut steel plate shim since I have the crossmember out at the moment.

 

So, pull pan replace filter and gasket, pan back. Then pump all to replace, then top off??

 

And where is the fill?

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IMO - best to do the pumpout method in one go, to reduce the mixing of old fluid with new fluid. If you have a helper, start by having her take her shirt off so it won't get dirty. No, really...

 

You have a container large enough to hold the fluid in the torque converter. I use the Amsoil ATF with the big jugs (insert joke here) when I do mine, so it's a snap. Disconnect the line as mentioned in previous posts, have your helper start the truck when you're ready, and just slowly add fresh fluid through the fill as the transmission pumps it out, being careful not to dump it in faster than it's being pumped out. Have the helper kill the motor when you see the fluid change color. Reconnect the line, restart the truck, and top off the fluid to the needed level. Voila.

 

I did a B&M Deep Pan (#70295) when i did mine since you have to drop the pan anyway. I gets you 3 qts more capacity, some added cooling and - the best part - a drain plug for future fluid swaps.

 

ETA: forgot to mention you may need to shim your transmission on it's mount if you do the deep pan - I did. It only needed about 1/8-3/16" more - I used 3 flat washers when I first installed it, which will be replaced with a cut steel plate shim since I have the crossmember out at the moment.

 

So, pull pan replace filter and gasket, pan back. Then pump all to replace, then top off??

 

And where is the fill?

 

You fill through the dipstick tube.

 

The trick is to measure what comes out and fill with that same amount. You can do it all at once, while leaving the engine running (as cvandegna suggests), it's just a little riskier. However he is right about less mixing of fluid.

 

The trick would be to have a 2 gallon container on the floor with 1 qt intervals clearly marked so that the person pouring the new fluid down the dipstick tube is keeping pace with the fluid being expelled. It really wouldn't be that hard because the fluid comes out at a rate of ~ 1qt every 10 seconds. 8 qts would take 1 min 20 seconds.

 

After there the fluid changes color, shut off the engine and check the level. If there is too much, you may have to pull some out. Remember, you are checking the level cold.

 

It would be best if you could find a tall, clear, 2-3 gallon container.

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