Cavalier Transmission

[Northstar9126]

My daughter drives a 2002 Cavalier 2.2 Auto. Yesterday I went outside after she left for work and see transmission fluid on the ground where she parks her car. I called her at work, she says she had no trouble with the car on the 30 mile drive in.
I drove up to where her car is and see ****** fluid on the ground under the car. I crawled under the car and can see where she must have hit something and folded the front lip of the ****** pan back, so I take part of a jack stand and pound the pan back up. I add ****** fluid, have her fire the car up and no leak so I have her drive it home.
Today I put a new filter and new pan on the car and dumped in 6 qts of fluid, car is supposed to take 7 qts with filter change. This car doesn't have a dipstick just a plug in the front of the ****** that you use to check fluid level.
After warming up the car, running it through the gears and parking on level ground I pull out the plug with the car running and in park. I think that the car must have pumped out all of the fluid that I had just put into it through the plug hole. I mean it has gushing out of there. ****** could not have been over full anywhere near that much. After dumping the fluid all over the ground I checked to see how the car was pulling in gear. I have to run the RPMs up pretty high to get the car to move so I assume that it is low on fluid.
Any ideas? A poor college kid and her dad would be grateful.

 

[regguy1]

Does it engage in reverse but not forward ?

I assume you filled the unit throught the cap on top and checked the level with the plug (on right side facing the passenger fender 7/16 hex w/ 1/8 npt thread) You fill unit until fluid drips out plug hole.

You may have not installed filter properly and it fell down out of the neck to case seal. Did you reuse the pan gasket? they are special reuseable gaskets with rubber ribs and hard washers around each bolt hole, the mushy gaskets provided in most auto part store filter kits are improper cheap junk and do not work well.

 

[Northstar9126]

I went and double checked. The plug that I have been removing to check the fluid level is actually facing the front of the car near the starter. If there is another plug facing the passanger fender I am not seeing it. The plug I have been pulling is 7/16.
I used a new gasket when I put on the new pan, I see no leaking.
Car moves both forward and reverse just needs more RPMs to move forward.
Guess I will have to drop the pan back off to see if the filter dropped down although I pushed it up in pretty well I thought.

 

[Northstar9126]

I dropped the pan back off, the filter was stuck up inside the ****** tightly and had fluid inside of it.

Any other suggestions would be greatly welcomed.

 

[930dreamer]

I know you check most auto transmissions while where running that have a dip stick in the engine bay. Is it normal to remove a service plug on the pan while running?

 

[Zack]

The fluid level check plug for the 2.2L w/4spd is located next to the flex joint in the exhaust. It does face the passenger side of the car, the fluid should be at the bottom of the plug hole or slightly into the hole. The 3spds have a dipstick accessible from the engine compartment to check the fluid level. It sounds like you have been pulling the wrong plug. The 4spds do take about 6.5-7qts of fluid while the 3spds 5-6qts. Here a picture of the check plug location for the 4spds from the Haynes manual, I know this is correct as I have done a couple recently.



Edited to add-The car does need to be level, warm, running, and in park to check the fluid in both the 3&4spds

 

[Northstar9126]

Zack you are correct I had the wrong plug. I refilled the car and took it for a test ride. Seems to be shifting better than ever.

Thanks to everyone who responded.