6 speed transmission oil & filter change

[donc]

I just finished changing the transmission oil & filter on my 2014 silverado with 5.3 engine. I tried every conceivable angle and could not slide the pan past the exhaust pipe that sits below it, as others claimed they did. I think its possible there are variations in the exhaust bends that allow some to achieve removal of the pan with no problem. Mine was hanging up on the left rear corner (if looking towards back of truck, right next to what appears to be a wire connector) . But I only needed a small amount of extra clearance and was able to get this by placing a small piece of 2x4 and a couple tapered wood shims between the floor of truck and top of resonator (I think)  ahead of the flexible joint, just pulled down on pipe and wedged in shims by hand , that's all I needed, so I don't think I stressed anything. Really, if your not concerned about replacing that sealing sleeve that the tube of the filter fits into, you can pull the filter down with the pan hanging there and remove it from the pan and also wipe out the pan, change the gasket if desired, clean the magnet, etc.  without too much problem. I opted to change the sleeve and couldn't see how I could get it done with the pan in the way, although I'm not saying it can't be done. At any rate , the sleeve is up inside a cavity in the housing and you can't get to it from the side. I took a big screwdriver, positioned so I caught the edge of the sleeve and adjacent housing , turned it sideways and in doing so crimped the sleeve inwards. Was able to get it out without touching  or damaging the bore that the sleeve slides up into, but it took some time and had me sweating bullets till it finally came out. I used a 15/16 deep well socket to press the new sleeve up into place. I bought a new gasket beforehand but in reality my old gasket looked pretty good and could have been used again. I had done a previous 5 quart change a couple weeks before this by using a vacuum system to draw out the oil via the dip stick tube; actually I pulled most of the oil out the same way before I unbolted the pan, so i didn't have to deal with that mess while laying under the truck. I have 47k miles on the truck. I used 12 quarts of dexron v1 all toll between the two changes.

Edited May 16, 2020 by donc

[16LT4]

I was able to get the pan down on my ‘16 6L80 without issue. I put a bottle jack on top of a piece of cribbing, pressed against a transverse piece of wood that ran between the frame rails. Under the cribbing was a ratchet binder wrapped up over the exhaust. With the bottle jack extended until it just exerted pressure against the vehicle, it served to anchor the cribbing against the ground. From there I ratcheted the exhaust towards the ground a few clicks to gain clearance. 

 

Once the pan was out i drilled a hole and welded in a self-made castle nut on the inside of the on so that I can have a standard GM 14mm hex head drain plug in the pan for future drain/fills. 

 

Next time you drop the pan you may want to consider that, or sourcing a pan with the drain plug. 

[Black02Silverado]

I had to loosen the exhaust at the manifolds to get my pan off.  All the tricks on here didn't work.

[donc]

Yeah, before I started this job, I read many posts & I saw a post where someone loosened the manifold bolts, maybe that was yours. I was lucky , only needed maybe 1/2" drop on the pipe to get the pan out, so just a little flexing needed. There seems to be a lot of variations on how much is needed to get the pans out , if we're all talking same engine , etc. it has to be differences in how the pipes are bent. Installing a drain plug is a good idea, but I borrowed a oil evacuator vacuum system that emptied that sump in 10 minutes or less through the dip tube. It even has a connection to hook compressed air up to it which creates a eductor affect that's probably faster whereas I used the hand pump that's part of it, pretty cool device. But it sure helped reading all the posts on this site so you get an idea of options and what your going to be up against.

[16LT4]

I was able to get that 1/2” drop of the exhaust with the method I described. With the drain plug I’m now good for another 60k until I again drop the pan (I do drain/fills at 30k and filters at 60k for every vehicle that rolls through my shop doors). 

Edited May 17, 2020 by 16LT4