This post is about the tubing you'll need to drain the ATF fluid. I just cobbled together, MacGyver-style, bits & pieces of stuff I had lying around until it was enough to get the job done. So before you criticize my 90-degree bends or whatever design-constraints I was forced into just remember... it worked!!! No, it's not pretty and if I lived in California and could walk out of a Home Depot without paying one red cent I would have done a nicer job. But it is what it is.

Where do you connect the tubing to? In this 1st photo the front of the car is to the left and the tubing is connected to the outlet-pipe of the transmission-cooler.



What size tubing do you need? You need 5/8"ID. I used 1/2"ID as that's what I had. That's why my 1st piece is a short one, so I could keep turning it against the threaded connector and force it to work itself on. Take into account that when you turn on the car's engine the ATF pump will force the fluid out at fairly high pressure, so don't take any chances that your tubing will pop off and make a mess. Make your connections such that you are 100% sure your little engineering masterpiece won't self-destruct!





I ran the tubing underneath the car so I could see the milk gallon jug receptacle the fluid was being pumped into. Remember, you're sitting in the driver's seat, so be sure you can manage the entire operation from right there without running all over the place, as 3 liters of fluid only takes about 10 seconds to pump!





I forgot to mention that I used a disposable "turkey pan" receptacle to drain the initial 5 liters of fluid out of the ATF pan.



What else is worth mentioning? The red locking-pin that is inserted into the black "cap" on top of the ATF fill-tube is a huge waste of time. Even though I have 5 spares I did not insert a new one. The black ATF cap has a 0% chance of coming off without your complete pre-meditated intension to remove it. It is just a psychological impediment to plebes like us doing their own maintenance. When you snap the top off of this red plastic "lock" for the very first time you'll next need to use a standard screwdriver blade to force the bit that's left lodged in the black cap downwards until it comes out the bottom. You needn't have any concerns at all that it will drop down inside the fill-tube as that's impossible. Even if you don't catch it it will just fall to the ground.

As I mentioned in a post way above this one, don't forget to put 3 liters of fluid in after your final flush. In my case once the fluid was at full operating temperature the fluid resided right at the fill mark perfectly where it needed to be. You can't tell me that was just happenstance! Yes, I think this drain & fill procedure has a little "designed-in success" that leads me to believe I did the right thing.