There are explicit instructions not to use an infrared thermometer. In this video (
) they found a fifty degree (Fahrenheit) difference between the infrared-measured external and the actual internal temperature.
Transmission Fluid Change - 2015 GMC Canyon 3.6L
UPDATED BASED ON SOME FEEDBACK - DO NOT use a laser temp sensor as the Actual Transmission Temp can be different than the pan temp. Use the dash DIC.
Wow..... so what an event it was changing the tranny fluid in my 2015 GMC Canyon. Ill give you my experience and share some of the incorrect information out on the web. I could not find a tutorial anywhere so I want to share this and hopefully I can attach some pictures later. Total cost in materials for me was about $100. Online prices can save you as much as 40% if you find the right deals so that is about $60.
First thing to remember is that it is beneficial to get the truck up to temp before draining the fluid. Also I recommend jacking the front of the truck up first to get as much drained out as possible. IMPORTANT: The exhaust has to come off! AND be sure to do it while it is warm AND use some penetrating oil (WD40). I rounded one of them off on the driver side that is really hard to get to with a regular 1/2 ratchet and the tools I had. I had to grind it off and now I have the joy of drilling and replacing soon
Take your time and get the right tool which would probably be a 1/2 inch pass-thru 15mm socket and ratchet. Don't make the same mistake I did.
Tools Needed:
1. 14mm, 10mm and 15mm Pass-thru for the difficult nut on the driver side exhaust. When you get there, you will know exactly what I am talking about.
2. 3/8 and 1/2 ratchet and 1/2 Breaker Bar
3. 3/8 Torque Wrench
4. large oil catch pan. (I got one at Autozone that was called a splash pan. I put this under my regular oil catch container)
5. Between 6 and 7 quarts of Dexron VI Certified Transmission Fluid. I used Valvoline Max Life Synthetic. Went with Synthetic because of the great reviews on smooth shifting.
6. New Transmission Filter - I paid extra and got the OEM from the GM Parts Department at my local dealership.
7. Oil fill tube and pump. You will not be able to fill without a pump. I bought a couple cheap hand pumps from Amazon.com Longer the better. Mine was only about 3ft and hard to manage.
8. Lots of shop towels and patience
Step 1: Jack the front of the truck up. The higher the better for draining purposed. Remove the 6 -15mm nuts holding on the exhaust connected to the header down pipes. This was my first lesson. I thought I could unbolt the pan and slide it off, but it will not remove because it catches on the "fill pipe" that is connected to the drain plug. Basically the drain plug is connected to a pipe on the inside, so when you fill it later with the pan level, it allows you to properly fill the transmission. More on that in Step 9.
Step 2: With the exhaust pipe removed, remove the transmission 14mm drain plug and let her drain and drain and drain.
Step 3: Remove all of the transmission 10mm pan bolts. They are only torqued at 80in lb so a 3/8 air ratchet is perfect for speedy removal. Be sure to have a large catch pan or lots of newspaper. Even with the front of the truck jacked up, a lot of fluid will still be left in the pan unless you vacuumed it out I measured my total drain and given I lost to spills, I estimate it drained about 6qts even though service manual says a drain and pan removal is about 6.7 qts. That was not my experience. You can save yourself a lot of time by spilling as little as possible and measuring the amount of fluid removed and then replacing that same amount. I would find this impossible as I tried really hard and still lost too much on the floor.......
Step 4: With the pan off, be sure to clean it and wipe it down. Remove the round circle magnet and wipe off any metal shavings and replace it. Inspect the pan gasket and replace it if needed. I kept the old one largely because it was ok and the dealership was out of stock.
Step 5: Pull straight down on the old filter to remove it. It does hold some fluid so be careful. The filter seal will stay in the transmission and I did not try and remove it. I reused the same seal as I seen others do. Not sure how difficult it would be to remove, but I suggest feeling the rubber with your finger and as long as there are not splits or cracks to just to leave it be.
Step 6. Push the new filter in, as mentioned, I used the old seal without issues.
Step 7. Replace the transmission pan and tighten using a staggering approach on each 10mm bolt to 80in lb. I tightened mine to 7ft lb or 84in lb. (7x12=84 for you math wizards) Because my torque wrench doesn't do inch pounds and I figured the extra 4in lb was not going to hurt. For any perfectionists out there, I am sure you have a reason for why I am wrong......go pound sand
Step 8. Replace the 6-15mm exhaust nuts and tighten the **** out of them But not too much unless you want to have to grind and fix them later.
Step 9. Drop the front of the truck. Go to the back of the truck and jack it up until the truck is level! This is how you fill. The drain plug has an internal pipe for proper filling. There is a metal tube on the opposite/inside of the pan. This was the first bit of information I found on the web that was completely WRONG as most said to make the pan level. I know this is correct because after replacing my fluid it took almost the same amount back as I measured after removing it. (+/- anything I spilled, but was almost right on.)
Step 10. With the truck level remove the drain plug if you had replaced it. Locate the fill hole on the top passenger side of the transmission. It can be hard to find but it is a little rubber plug that you pull up on the center plastic tab to release and then remove the plug.
Step 11. Push your plastic tube into the fill hole enough that it won't fall out and stays in place. Begin pumping fluid into the transmission until transmission fluid comes out of the drain plug. (I know this seems counter intuitive, but refer to the sticker on the bottom of you pan that has a nice graphic explaining how this works.) Let it drain until it stops. (The reason I do this cold fill first is because the fluid temp can reach or exceed threshholds before you have time to get it all in.)
Step 12. Replace the 14mm drain plug and torque enough that it doesn't come off for the next step.
Step 13. Inside the truck the Driver Information Center can be configured to show Transmission Temperature. Navigate to settings and then go to info. Click to the right to then navigate and select Transmission to show the Transmission Fluid Temperature. No when you cycle through the infor list, you should see Transmission Temp.
Step 14. Start the truck and cycle through the gears with about a 3sec pause on each gear. Let the truck warm up until the DIC shows at least 30C or 86F. Fill temp is 30C to 50C. 30C is the place to start because by the time you get out of the truck and setup for filling, the temp will continue to climb. Pump the fluid in until it begins to drip out of the drain plug. If you over fill that is ok just let it run out until it stops.
Step 15. Replace the Drain plug and torque to 18ft lb. ENJOY THE SMOOTH SHIFTING! I actually drove the truck for a short trip and then let it cool down to 40C and repeated step13 again just to make sure it was filled properly.
This was a 5 hour job, but with the right tools and this tutorial, it can be done in as little as 1.5 to 2 hours. I do think the transmission shifts better than before, but my truck had 56k miles at the time of change and the fluid looked like it was still in pretty good shape. There was a nice bit of metal on the magnet. Either it just needed changed or the synthetic does make a difference.
I hope this helps someone else as I had to go the trial and error route. Good luck!
Wow..... so what an event it was changing the tranny fluid in my 2015 GMC Canyon. Ill give you my experience and share some of the incorrect information out on the web. I could not find a tutorial anywhere so I want to share this and hopefully I can attach some pictures later. Total cost in materials for me was about $100. Online prices can save you as much as 40% if you find the right deals so that is about $60.
First thing to remember is that it is beneficial to get the truck up to temp before draining the fluid. Also I recommend jacking the front of the truck up first to get as much drained out as possible. IMPORTANT: The exhaust has to come off! AND be sure to do it while it is warm AND use some penetrating oil (WD40). I rounded one of them off on the driver side that is really hard to get to with a regular 1/2 ratchet and the tools I had. I had to grind it off and now I have the joy of drilling and replacing soon
Take your time and get the right tool which would probably be a 1/2 inch pass-thru 15mm socket and ratchet. Don't make the same mistake I did.Tools Needed:
1. 14mm, 10mm and 15mm Pass-thru for the difficult nut on the driver side exhaust. When you get there, you will know exactly what I am talking about.
2. 3/8 and 1/2 ratchet and 1/2 Breaker Bar
3. 3/8 Torque Wrench
4. large oil catch pan. (I got one at Autozone that was called a splash pan. I put this under my regular oil catch container)
5. Between 6 and 7 quarts of Dexron VI Certified Transmission Fluid. I used Valvoline Max Life Synthetic. Went with Synthetic because of the great reviews on smooth shifting.
6. New Transmission Filter - I paid extra and got the OEM from the GM Parts Department at my local dealership.
7. Oil fill tube and pump. You will not be able to fill without a pump. I bought a couple cheap hand pumps from Amazon.com Longer the better. Mine was only about 3ft and hard to manage.
8. Lots of shop towels and patience
Step 1: Jack the front of the truck up. The higher the better for draining purposed. Remove the 6 -15mm nuts holding on the exhaust connected to the header down pipes. This was my first lesson. I thought I could unbolt the pan and slide it off, but it will not remove because it catches on the "fill pipe" that is connected to the drain plug. Basically the drain plug is connected to a pipe on the inside, so when you fill it later with the pan level, it allows you to properly fill the transmission. More on that in Step 9.
Step 2: With the exhaust pipe removed, remove the transmission 14mm drain plug and let her drain and drain and drain.
Step 3: Remove all of the transmission 10mm pan bolts. They are only torqued at 80in lb so a 3/8 air ratchet is perfect for speedy removal. Be sure to have a large catch pan or lots of newspaper. Even with the front of the truck jacked up, a lot of fluid will still be left in the pan unless you vacuumed it out
I measured my total drain and given I lost to spills, I estimate it drained about 6qts even though service manual says a drain and pan removal is about 6.7 qts. That was not my experience. You can save yourself a lot of time by spilling as little as possible and measuring the amount of fluid removed and then replacing that same amount. I would find this impossible as I tried really hard and still lost too much on the floor.......Step 4: With the pan off, be sure to clean it and wipe it down. Remove the round circle magnet and wipe off any metal shavings and replace it. Inspect the pan gasket and replace it if needed. I kept the old one largely because it was ok and the dealership was out of stock.
Step 5: Pull straight down on the old filter to remove it. It does hold some fluid so be careful. The filter seal will stay in the transmission and I did not try and remove it. I reused the same seal as I seen others do. Not sure how difficult it would be to remove, but I suggest feeling the rubber with your finger and as long as there are not splits or cracks to just to leave it be.
Step 6. Push the new filter in, as mentioned, I used the old seal without issues.
Step 7. Replace the transmission pan and tighten using a staggering approach on each 10mm bolt to 80in lb. I tightened mine to 7ft lb or 84in lb. (7x12=84 for you math wizards) Because my torque wrench doesn't do inch pounds and I figured the extra 4in lb was not going to hurt. For any perfectionists out there, I am sure you have a reason for why I am wrong......go pound sand
Step 8. Replace the 6-15mm exhaust nuts and tighten the **** out of them
But not too much unless you want to have to grind and fix them later.Step 9. Drop the front of the truck. Go to the back of the truck and jack it up until the truck is level! This is how you fill. The drain plug has an internal pipe for proper filling. There is a metal tube on the opposite/inside of the pan. This was the first bit of information I found on the web that was completely WRONG as most said to make the pan level. I know this is correct because after replacing my fluid it took almost the same amount back as I measured after removing it. (+/- anything I spilled, but was almost right on.)
Step 10. With the truck level remove the drain plug if you had replaced it. Locate the fill hole on the top passenger side of the transmission. It can be hard to find but it is a little rubber plug that you pull up on the center plastic tab to release and then remove the plug.
Step 11. Push your plastic tube into the fill hole enough that it won't fall out and stays in place. Begin pumping fluid into the transmission until transmission fluid comes out of the drain plug. (I know this seems counter intuitive, but refer to the sticker on the bottom of you pan that has a nice graphic explaining how this works.) Let it drain until it stops. (The reason I do this cold fill first is because the fluid temp can reach or exceed threshholds before you have time to get it all in.)
Step 12. Replace the 14mm drain plug and torque enough that it doesn't come off for the next step.
Step 13. Inside the truck the Driver Information Center can be configured to show Transmission Temperature. Navigate to settings and then go to info. Click to the right to then navigate and select Transmission to show the Transmission Fluid Temperature. No when you cycle through the infor list, you should see Transmission Temp.
Step 14. Start the truck and cycle through the gears with about a 3sec pause on each gear. Let the truck warm up until the DIC shows at least 30C or 86F. Fill temp is 30C to 50C. 30C is the place to start because by the time you get out of the truck and setup for filling, the temp will continue to climb. Pump the fluid in until it begins to drip out of the drain plug. If you over fill that is ok just let it run out until it stops.
Step 15. Replace the Drain plug and torque to 18ft lb. ENJOY THE SMOOTH SHIFTING! I actually drove the truck for a short trip and then let it cool down to 40C and repeated step13 again just to make sure it was filled properly.
This was a 5 hour job, but with the right tools and this tutorial, it can be done in as little as 1.5 to 2 hours. I do think the transmission shifts better than before, but my truck had 56k miles at the time of change and the fluid looked like it was still in pretty good shape. There was a nice bit of metal on the magnet. Either it just needed changed or the synthetic does make a difference.
I hope this helps someone else as I had to go the trial and error route. Good luck!
1 - 20 of 57 Posts
Thanks for the follow-up. Can you provide a link to a tutorial explaining how to change the transmission fluid in a 2015 GMC Canyon 3.6L step by step? I couldn't find one. My intent was to share my experience. I knew there would be some sideline commentators, so thanks for the feedback
Will post more than one link here!
www.coloradofans.com
Transmission pan removal 2018 Colorado 3.6 LGZ 8spd
OK Guys, and cool chicks, I finally did it. My 30K mile gift to El Trucko: another drink of Mobil1 LV ATF HP and a trans pan with a drain plug. Yes I had to have it welded in. The pan was $50, no biggie. The weld work was more, but worth it IMHO. To do this I first sucked out the pan with a...
www.coloradofans.com
Transmission fluid change LGZ/8L45
I decided not to replace my pan this time but do a fluid exchange. No, it's not as thorough as a flush, but its good enuf for DIY. The first thing I did was measure out and mark the quart levels in the vacuum reservoir by pouring in quart by quart of water and marking the levels. I used...
www.coloradofans.com
This tutorial is a completely different transmission which requires different fluid than the 2015 GMC Canyon. Fluid required needs to be Dexron VI. Personally I would not considere this a step by step for my truck.
Transmission fluid change LGZ/8L45
I decided not to replace my pan this time but do a fluid exchange. No, it's not as thorough as a flush, but its good enuf for DIY. The first thing I did was measure out and mark the quart levels in the vacuum reservoir by pouring in quart by quart of water and marking the levels. I used...
So you are saying the the frame not the Trans Pan needs to be level?UPDATED BASED ON SOME FEEDBACK - DO NOT use a laser temp sensor as the Actual Transmission Temp can be different than the pan temp. Use the dash DIC.
Wow..... so what an event it was changing the tranny fluid in my 2015 GMC Canyon. Ill give you my experience and share some of the incorrect information out on the web. I could not find a tutorial anywhere so I want to share this and hopefully I can attach some pictures later. Total cost in materials for me was about $100. Online prices can save you as much as 40% if you find the right deals so that is about $60.
First thing to remember is that it is beneficial to get the truck up to temp before draining the fluid. Also I recommend jacking the front of the truck up first to get as much drained out as possible. IMPORTANT: The exhaust has to come off! AND be sure to do it while it is warm AND use some penetrating oil (WD40). I rounded one of them off on the driver side that is really hard to get to with a regular 1/2 ratchet and the tools I had. I had to grind it off and now I have the joy of drilling and replacing soon
Tools Needed:
1. 14mm, 10mm and 15mm Pass-thru for the difficult nut on the driver side exhaust. When you get there, you will know exactly what I am talking about.
2. 3/8 and 1/2 ratchet and 1/2 Breaker Bar
3. 3/8 Torque Wrench
4. large oil catch pan. (I got one at Autozone that was called a splash pan. I put this under my regular oil catch container)
5. Between 6 and 7 quarts of Dexron VI Certified Transmission Fluid. I used Valvoline Max Life Synthetic. Went with Synthetic because of the great reviews on smooth shifting.
6. New Transmission Filter - I paid extra and got the OEM from the GM Parts Department at my local dealership.
7. Oil fill tube and pump. You will not be able to fill without a pump. I bought a couple cheap hand pumps from Amazon.com Longer the better. Mine was only about 3ft and hard to manage.
8. Lots of shop towels and patience
Step 1: Jack the front of the truck up. The higher the better for draining purposed. Remove the 6 -15mm nuts holding on the exhaust connected to the header down pipes. This was my first lesson. I thought I could unbolt the pan and slide it off, but it will not remove because it catches on the "fill pipe" that is connected to the drain plug. Basically the drain plug is connected to a pipe on the inside, so when you fill it later with the pan level, it allows you to properly fill the transmission. More on that in Step 9.
Step 2: With the exhaust pipe removed, remove the transmission 14mm drain plug and let her drain and drain and drain.
Step 3: Remove all of the transmission 10mm pan bolts. They are only torqued at 80in lb so a 3/8 air ratchet is perfect for speedy removal. Be sure to have a large catch pan or lots of newspaper. Even with the front of the truck jacked up, a lot of fluid will still be left in the pan unless you vacuumed it out
Step 4: With the pan off, be sure to clean it and wipe it down. Remove the round circle magnet and wipe off any metal shavings and replace it. Inspect the pan gasket and replace it if needed. I kept the old one largely because it was ok and the dealership was out of stock.
Step 5: Pull straight down on the old filter to remove it. It does hold some fluid so be careful. The filter seal will stay in the transmission and I did not try and remove it. I reused the same seal as I seen others do. Not sure how difficult it would be to remove, but I suggest feeling the rubber with your finger and as long as there are not splits or cracks to just to leave it be.
Step 6. Push the new filter in, as mentioned, I used the old seal without issues.
Step 7. Replace the transmission pan and tighten using a staggering approach on each 10mm bolt to 80in lb. I tightened mine to 7ft lb or 84in lb. (7x12=84 for you math wizards) Because my torque wrench doesn't do inch pounds and I figured the extra 4in lb was not going to hurt. For any perfectionists out there, I am sure you have a reason for why I am wrong......go pound sand
Step 8. Replace the 6-15mm exhaust nuts and tighten the **** out of them
Step 9. Drop the front of the truck. Go to the back of the truck and jack it up until the truck is level! This is how you fill. The drain plug has an internal pipe for proper filling. There is a metal tube on the opposite/inside of the pan. This was the first bit of information I found on the web that was completely WRONG as most said to make the pan level. I know this is correct because after replacing my fluid it took almost the same amount back as I measured after removing it. (+/- anything I spilled, but was almost right on.)
Step 10. With the truck level remove the drain plug if you had replaced it. Locate the fill hole on the top passenger side of the transmission. It can be hard to find but it is a little rubber plug that you pull up on the center plastic tab to release and then remove the plug.
Step 11. Push your plastic tube into the fill hole enough that it won't fall out and stays in place. Begin pumping fluid into the transmission until transmission fluid comes out of the drain plug. (I know this seems counter intuitive, but refer to the sticker on the bottom of you pan that has a nice graphic explaining how this works.) Let it drain until it stops. (The reason I do this cold fill first is because the fluid temp can reach or exceed threshholds before you have time to get it all in.)
Step 12. Replace the 14mm drain plug and torque enough that it doesn't come off for the next step.
Step 13. Inside the truck the Driver Information Center can be configured to show Transmission Temperature. Navigate to settings and then go to info. Click to the right to then navigate and select Transmission to show the Transmission Fluid Temperature. No when you cycle through the infor list, you should see Transmission Temp.
Step 14. Start the truck and cycle through the gears with about a 3sec pause on each gear. Let the truck warm up until the DIC shows at least 30C or 86F. Fill temp is 30C to 50C. 30C is the place to start because by the time you get out of the truck and setup for filling, the temp will continue to climb. Pump the fluid in until it begins to drip out of the drain plug. If you over fill that is ok just let it run out until it stops.
Step 15. Replace the Drain plug and torque to 18ft lb. ENJOY THE SMOOTH SHIFTING! I actually drove the truck for a short trip and then let it cool down to 40C and repeated step13 again just to make sure it was filled properly.
This was a 5 hour job, but with the right tools and this tutorial, it can be done in as little as 1.5 to 2 hours. I do think the transmission shifts better than before, but my truck had 56k miles at the time of change and the fluid looked like it was still in pretty good shape. There was a nice bit of metal on the magnet. Either it just needed changed or the synthetic does make a difference.
I hope this helps someone else as I had to go the trial and error route. Good luck!
1 - 20 of 57 Posts
