Changing Tranny Fluid On 04 Gmc Sierra

[red10]

i tried to get the tranny pan off and the exhaust is in the way, but not by much. Do you guys drop the exhaust to get the pan down or am i just missing something. i think its the deep pan and the truck is a 2004 GMC Sierra Z71 with the 5.3. Thanks

[tanked_darren]

I got a newer style, but what I did was undo the tranny mount near the rear and jack the tail housing you dont need much to clearance so dont jack it too high.

[txab]

Be very careful when removing the pan. There is wiring and solenoids that can be damaged if you try to slide the pan out and there is not enough clearance.

[red10]

Thanks for the tips, i tried dropping it once and realized there was the wiring and solenoids right there so i was being VERY cautious. Thanks again guys

[Chris03Silver]

i did like mentioned above, take the nuts off for the trans mount and jack the tailshaft up a little. dont need much and dont go too crazy.. and you should be fine...

[ladwign]

I've got an '04 the same as yours and did not have any exhaust interference. The heat shield for the exhaust did give me problems and had to be removed. I unbolted the front drive shaft from the U-joint on the front differential (4 bolts total) and pushed the drive shaft up and out of the way. I had so much mud (clay actually) caked up under the truck that I ended up stripping the torx bolts when trying to remove the shift linkage bracket. Once the drive shaft is out of the way, I bent the bracket slightly to give me clearance to drop the pan. I've done this proceedure twice now with little problems. Just remember to bend the bracket back into position once complete.

[tanked_darren]

Another tip, wipe that grey grime out of all accessable places when the pans off, and the damn seal... Unless you have mad patience and skill don't bother trying to remove it, took me alot of delicate filing and precision pulling to remove the factory one.

[CapitalTruck]

Once I took that shift linkage bracket off (star bits) I was able to very carefully wiggle the pan loose. I almost crapped myself because I had been slam banging until I saw those solenoids! To get the seal out from the filter stem inlet I just put a very small screwdriver between the metal seal and the transmission housing, bent the seal, then used pliers to remove it. In the future I will be reusing the seal (i.e not changing it). Major p.i.t.a.