why are automatics so messy

[65LoveAffair]

Taurus is my favorite Ford car because of how they hold up in a bad wreck. having worked in the salvage business I saw a lot of them totaled but the cabin always stayed pretty much intact even in a roll over. Of course we didn't have one that collided with a semi or ran off a mountain either.

I agree with you on their cabin structural strength. My wife was driving my mom's 95 Sable (same thing) and got t-boned by a full size FedEx delivery truck. My wife was 7 months pregnant with my son at the time. Aside from some soft-tissue damage (torsion whiplash) my wife walked away from the accident without a scratch. Sitting inside the car after the accident, you couldn't even tell the car had been in an accident, aside from the broken glass in the back seat. I was very impressed.

My wife, even though the car saved her life, does not like Taurus' or Sables anymore, simply because of the negative connotations they have with her now.

 

[DaveBonds]

The actual reason given by Chrysler, is because when they bought the the Torque Flite transmission design and comissioned the automatic transmisson to be made, they were convinced that it would not need to be maintained during the lifespan of the car. Remember, the oils used were not multi-grade, gasoline and the cars would not push nearly as many miles on the same drivetrain, as we see now.

I put a drain plug in the 904 pan on the Scamp, even though it's coming out for an 833 soon.

The best way that I've discovered to drain a trans pan is to pull all of the bolts from it, except for two at the ends of one side that you leave tight, pry on one corner and let it drain from that corner. If you loosen the two bolts up a bit, it will allow more flow. Sometimes I leave something, like a flat blade screwdriver wedged in it and the fluid will follow one corner.

 

[iScamp]

The actual reason given by Chrysler, is because when they bought the the Torque Flite transmission design and comissioned the automatic transmisson to be made, they were convinced that it would not need to be maintained during the lifespan of the car.

I

+1.
From an early '70's Chrysler Service Manual it reads something like:
The transmission should not need filter or fluid changes, except for fleet use vehicles, taxi cab, police. Then the filter and fluid should be changed at 100,000 miles.

I had a 1970 Plymouth with a 904, trans. pan not removed from new, shifted great, 225,000+ miles.

 

[cudavert]

You gotta get one of these stucco mixing tubs from Home Depot for draining automatics. Only $5.75 and it's 24" X 19.5". They even sell a bigger one too. Automatics are a pain for this reason, and I feel like I failed if I spill a drop. Although I DO like the fact that you can drop an auto trans straight down, not like a stick shift trans with that input shaft fiasco......

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Plasgad-Medium-Mixing-Tub-887101A/202086173#.UeN70tK-pcs

 

[Princess Valiant]

Although I DO like the fact that you can drop an auto trans straight down, not like a stick shift trans with that input shaft fiasco......

very very true ....i know what you mean

on a big block that is handy .....i have had to separate the bell from the trans to get it all out on a BB A-body before.

 

[cudavert]

I always wanted to make my own vacuum setup to vacuum out the trans pan before dropping it......like, the night before. I know companies make these because I've used them to change oil on buses at my work. Clean as a whistle!

Run some of this tube right down the dipstick tube!