A/T drain bolt torque number?

[Cougar Vibe]

I'm doing a drain & fill on my Vibe and I'd like to torque that hex-head drain plug down correctly. Unfortunately, my Haynes (or is Chilton?) guide doesn't have the torque number.Any help is greatly appreciated!Cougar Vibe

[Cougar Vibe]

Never mind...I found it in this thread:http://forums.genvibe.com/zero...9438713 ft lbs. Now lets hope a 3/8" hex socket works in place of a 10mm. Otherwise, there will be cursing...much cursing.Cougar Vibe

[lovemyraffe]

Quote, originally posted by Cougar Vibe »Never mind...I found it in this thread:http://forums.genvibe.com/zero...9438713 ft lbs. Now lets hope a 3/8" hex socket works in place of a 10mm. Otherwise, there will be cursing...much cursing.Cougar VibeI don't think a 3/8" will fit. It will probably be too small. If you do the work on your Vibe, you should know better than to try to do it with only SAE tools.

[Cougar Vibe]

Quote, originally posted by lovemyraffe »I don't think a 3/8" will fit. It will probably be too small. If you do the work on your Vibe, you should know better than to try to do it with only SAE tools. Au contraire: The 3/8" hex socket worked! 3.25qts later, the world is now super-duper. Things went so quickly that I went ahead and changed the oil too...

[jasonvibe]

my 2005 is AWD. The spec. on the AT drain plug is 36 ft/lbs. Thus it depends on which tranny you have. The AWD has a steel pan like the engine. The drain on the engine is 27 ft/lb so the 36 ft/lb torque the manual says for the larger plug makes sense. I suspect the 2wd cars have an aluminum AT pan...?

[Cougar Vibe]

Quote, originally posted by jasonvibe »The spec. on the AT drain plug is 36 ft/lbs. Are you sure that's not the torque spec for the rear diff plugs? I mean, I get the logic about 13lbs for the A/T plug vs. 27lbs for the oil plug...doesn't seem right. However, I've been searching both here & various Matrix forums and I can't get an answer for the AWD.Surely someone here has to have an OEM shop manual.Thanks.Cougar Vibe

[jasonvibe]

I have the OEM manual. The page for Specs on the AWD u341f A/T. Shows the "oil pan drain plug" as they call it. 36 ft/lbs. Yes, I know this seems like a common spec. But that is clearly what they show and what I set my torque wrench at when I changed the fluid in MY '05 AWD w/ U341F tranny. I marked the drain bolt and it stopped in the same spot and felt secure and not over-torqued. I do know the trannys from AWD 03-06 are the same.What year AWD do you have? Again, if you have the 2wd, it is a different spec. ONLY A/T U246 is the spec. 13 ft/lbs. I believe this is a steel vs. aluminum issue or drain size difference. I have not been under a 2wd tranny.

[Cougar Vibe]

Mine is an '05 AWD, like yours.I found a .pdf of the Matrix OEM shop manual and it confirms what you said all along (4WD "oil pan drain plug" torque spec of 36 ft/lbs), so thanks! I guess I'll have to get under the Vibe again and tighten things up.BTW: There isn't a crush washer for the plug, is there? I didn't see one on the bolt nor the face of the pan...

[jasonvibe]

There is a thin crush washer. Either you did not notice it because it may have stuck to the plug , or fell in your drain bucket. If yours is missing, it will likely have a sloooow leak. First use a STRONG flashlight to look, maybe with a mirror to allow you to see around the drain bolt. If yo are not sure. Then loosen and look . FYI, the owners manual says 3.1 qts. not the 3.25 you put in. Where did you get that number? ALSO I believe the service manual has ONE misprint. It states the AWD drain and fill is 2.2 qts. vs. the owners manual stating 3.1 qts. When I drained mine I poured all the drained fluid into a gallon milk jug...it was filled 3/4 high. So I believe 3.1 is the correct amount. 3.2 qts. is for the FWD trans. Buut I doubt a tenth of a qt. is an issue here.

[Cougar Vibe]

Quote, originally posted by jasonvibe »There is a thin crush washer. Either you did not notice it because it may have stuck to the plug , or fell in your drain bucket. If yours is missing, it will likely have a sloooow leak. First use a STRONG flashlight to look, maybe with a mirror to allow you to see around the drain bolt. If yo are not sure. Then loosen and look.I've got a strainer on my drain pan and I didn't notice a washer, so it must have been on the drain bolt (I wiped the drain hole clean, so it wasn't there). Unless a slow leak develops, I'll wait to check the bolt until my next drain & fill next March.Quote » FYI, the owners manual says 3.1 qts. not the 3.25 you put in. Where did you get that number? ALSO I believe the service manual has ONE misprint. It states the AWD drain and fill is 2.2 qts. vs. the owners manual stating 3.1 qts. When I drained mine I poured all the drained fluid into a gallon milk jug...it was filled 3/4 high. So I believe 3.1 is the correct amount. 3.2 qts. is for the FWD trans. Buut I doubt a tenth of a qt. is an issue here.As for the 3.25qts, I had drained into a new drain pan and then measured the old ATF w/a graduated measuring cup; sort of (removed), but I wanted to be as accurate as possible. Perhaps the reason for the extra .15 is that I jacked up the front driver's side and let it drain for about 15 minutes, then I let it back down to drain for an additional 15; anyway, it's spot-on on the dipstick. Thanks again for you help.CougarVibe

[jasonvibe]

If you drained it hot...that may account for the slight dfiffernce in amount. Tranny fluid expands a lot. That's why it's to be checked warm. After a 5 minute drive, mine shows on the lower half of the "safe zone". I think the manual says drive 20 minutes. But, the serv. manual states measuring the temp. somewhere?? But in reality. 5-10 minutes and it's in the safe zone is good enough. Mine surley shifted better after changing the fluid. It's the easiest thing to do. And considering the tranny does not have a "true filter". It's something that should be done more often than the manual says. I wish I had done it sooner than 50k.