How tough is it to do? How do you do it? Should I have the dealer do it? <BR> <BR>thanks

I bought a cheap transfer pump for under $10 at Harbor Freight - I've seen the same one at most auto parts stores. You stick the hose into the dipstick hole and suck it out. Then refill. It only takes me about 15 minutes for tranny. I don't have a V-drive so I can't comment on that.

Ty, <BR> <BR>Depends on the tranny but, trying to get out all the fluid is a tough one. I have a PCM tranny and the hole at the very bottom of the tranny is like 1/8" so, in order to suck the fluid out, I'd have to get a really small tube down there. I know the local dealer has a jig which takes all the fluid out. <BR>You might be able to get a few adapters together in order to get down to the bottom of the case. <BR>As for the V-Drive, I'm not sure. Probably the same deal. <BR> <BR>Chris <BR>get the grip you deserve <BR><a href="http://www.wakejunky.com" target="_blank">www.wakejunky.com</a> <BR> <BR>Also for sale <BR><a href="http://home.surewest.net/cfoye/96sportnautique/96sportnautique.htm" target="_blank">http://home.surewest.net/cfoye/96sportnautique/96sportnautique.htm</a>

thanks. <BR> <BR>and still lovin my gator grip on the gunwales.

V-drive is a piece of cake but can require some seat/floor removal to get to it. Depends on the specific boat. Be sure to get some of that rubberized coating stuff to repaint the parts that you scrape with a wrench when you do the V-drive. It is almost the same stuff that is used from the factory and it totally prevents any corrosion while not freezing up the threads. Works great. <BR> <BR>For the tranny, just make sure it's full, pump out what you can and then put back in that much. You're never going to get all the old fluid out without running the motor and doing a real flush like is done in a car. There are just too many nooks and crannies to suck it all out. You can get about half out in less than 5 minutes. Change it often and don't worry about the rest. <BR> <BR>I use a vacuum pump and changing the oil takes about 15 minutes total and tranny is about 5. I drain the V-drive out the bottom so that takes about 30 minutes to do, longer if I clean the screen, but it's always clean so I'm going to do that every other change now. <BR>

It would be nice to drain out the bottom if possible, at least once to get rid of any metal shavings. I couldn't get to mine easily enough so I just sucked it out the fill hole.

Glad you're still enjoying the gator grip. <BR> <BR>A word of warning on the trannies. At least on the PCMs. DO NOT overfill. Repeat, DO NOT overfill. If you overfill them they tend to blow off the dipstick and then spew tranny fluid all over your boat. If not caught quickly, you'll be doing a hell of alot of clean up and/or carpet/upolstery replacement. <BR> <BR> <BR>Chris <BR>get the grip you deserve <BR><a href="http://www.wakejunky.com" target="_blank">www.wakejunky.com</a> <BR> <BR>also for sale <BR><a href="http://home.surewest.net/cfoye/96SportNautique/96SportNautique.htm" target="_blank">http://home.surewest.net/cfoye/96SportNautique/96SportNautique.htm</a>

On the V-drives (at least the Walter 1999-2000 models, haven't looked at others) there is a large screen at the bottom of the drive where the oil pump lines come in. That should be cleaned every few changes to be sure it doesn't get clogged. It may be hard to get to, but worth the time to prevent a possible clog. <BR> <BR>Like Chris said, it is extemely important to make sure the tranny is not overfilled. Other than making a mess, overfilling is also likely to blow some of the seals. Make sure it's full before you start and then replace the exact amount you pull out. On the PCMs, it'll be about a quart.