Stick trans?

[bikehandle]

How does one fill the stick trans, on the festiva? How much and what weight oil does it take?

[Tim]

Re: Stick trans?

How does one fill the stick trans, on the festiva? How much and what weight oil does it take?

I just put synthetic automatic transmission fluid in mine. Shifts smooth as silk and 2nd doesn't grind any more (unless you shift really fast or when going over 30).

I did that yesterday, and it is a MAJOR hassle. It probably gave me the most difficulty out of anything I ever did to my Festiva.

What you do is unscrew the speedo cable, and there's a 10 mm bolt right next to where the cable is connected. Undo that, and the bracket containing the speedo connector pulls up and off. At least, that's the way it's *supposed* to work. Mine was stuck tight and I spent an hour getting it off, ruining the speedo cable in the process. Eventually I tapped the bracket thingy with a hammer to jar it loose and was able to pull it off.

The gear for the speedo pulls out with the bracket and you pour fluid in the hole where the gear was.

Because of the location of the hole, pouring the fluid in without spilling it everywhere is extremely difficult. I spilt half a quart of fluid all over the transmission while trying to fill it.

Then you have to shove the gear and its bracket back in the hole and tighten it down, something else that gave me a lot of problems.

Since you're going through all the hassle of filling the transmission, you might as well put synthetic ATX fluid in it.


Regards,

Tim

[Safety Guy]

IIRC, the best way to get that thing loose is after you remove the 10mm bolt, climb under the car and tap the bracket upwards with a drift punch and hammer, or a crowbar. That should knock it loose and there are fewer wires and cables and crap reaching from underneath.

To fill the hole, use a long-ass funnel with a thin spout. I had to refill my MTX once long ago when I changed a CV axle.

Right now I'm working on an ATX. Easier to check fluid and refill.

Karl

[darkdan]

Yeah, the funnels that look like horns work really well.

Don't be afraid to remove a vacuum line or two in order to get it to seat.

It calls for ATF. I used AMSOIL's synthetic ATF in mine. If they had been in business before I would have used:

http://specialtyformulations.com/

Their MTFGlide rocks I hear.

But regular ATF will do just fine.

3.6 quarts I believe.

[mechanicaldj]

HERE IS YOUR PICTURE ON HOW TO CHECK AND FLUID LEVEL DIPSTICK:

[Tim]

The funnel thingy would've been really nice to have.

Unfortunately, when I needed it I couldn't drive to the store and buy one.

My arms got really torn up by sharp sutff in the engine compartment, adding to the fun.

But at least I had a great learning experience and can pass on my knowledge for those attempting to add oil to the transmission so they don't have as much trouble as I did.


Regards,

Tim