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transmission plan with drain plug avail?

11K views 11 replies 7 participants last post by  andyg 
#1 ·
I have a 2003 T&C with 3.3L V6.

I would like to get a replacement transmission pan with built in drain plug as I don't want to use one of the after market drain kits if possible.

I see tons of pans that stop at year 2002 but find pans for the 41TE transmission on other years of Chryslers such as PT Cruiser. If the description says something like:

03 PT Cruiser Transmission Oil Pan 40AE 40TE 41AE 41TE

would that pan fit?
 
#2 ·
I think that pans are the same for a 2001 to a 2007... I know they take the same filter...

And FWIW, the pan on my 1997 looked the exact same too...

As far as the PT pan, well I have no idea. It may be different since it is a different application...
 
#3 ·
I wonder how I can find out for sure? The only place to get one is online and would hate to try and deal with a return if it wasn't the same.

For reference, all the transmission pans for any town and country come up with this description:

http://www.1aauto.com/1A/TransmissionPan/Chrysler/TownCountry

Other online retails use the same model years. I don't know if that's because there is only one company that makes this aftermarket pan and they are just using their same description.
 
#4 ·
If your existing pan is not rusted out, I would just install a drain plug on it. I don't think you will find one with one installed already. This is because most people would just drain and re-fill, never dropping the pan to clean magnet and replace filter.
 
#5 ·
I really doubt that will keep someone from doing proper maintenance on their vehicle. That's like saying there's people who drain their oil but never replace their oil filter. I bet there are those who do that, but would Chrysler create a design that forced people to do something reasonable like replace their filter?

As it is, a lot of people never service their transmission so I doubt a drain plug would make those same people start replacing the fluid.

The people who would do something stupid like never replace the trans filter are the ones who pull up to Walmart and don't see an option to change the trans fluid so they think it must never have to be done.
 
#6 ·
There is a pan with a plug avaliable from Chrysler. I'm not sure the part number, but I was told there is one.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Go to Napa and ask the guy to crossreference the gasket. If the gasket is the same, the pan will fit.
But to be honest with you, I think there are two better and easier options, depending on what you want to accomplish.
1. If you just want the fluid out, Buy a 6 dollar fluid pump at the store and run the tube down the fill tube and suck it out without even going under the car. I have done it three times when I was switching out my fluid after I had the filter changed at the dealer. If you park on an incline you will get a gallon out, which is just about what you get by dropping the pan.
2. Get the rubber gasket from NAPA for about 6 dollars and use it indefinitely. You can drop and retorque it many times, for years. Just snug it up, don't try to squeeze it in two. This will allow you to clean your magnet and check for any problems. You can change the filter too, if you like.
But that is my opinion.
 
#8 ·
2. Get the rubber gasket from NAPA for about 6 dollars and use it indefinitely. You can drop and retorque it many times, for years. Just snug it up, don't try to squeeze it in two. This will allow you to clean your magnet and check for any problems. You can change the filter too, if you like.
But that is my opinion.
Excuse my ignorance :) I haven't done a lot of my own maintenance over the years. I am now doing it for cost savings more than anything.

So you don't have to use any type of sealer when using this rubber gasket?

The main reason I thought a drain plug would be good is instead of doing a full flush which would be expensive for ATF+4 fluid and for some reason no parts store or even Walmart has more than 3-4 qts in stock any given time. So I thought I'd drain it ever 10k miles or so and in effect get a full fluid replacement between filter changes. Plug dropping the pan is so messy it seems.

I bought the van used and since I've had it I've neglected the trans. so I really want to get all the fluid out.
 
#10 ·
I bought a universal plug to install on my pan. However, when it came time to drill the hole, I chickened out. The pump idea is a very good idea. I have used a pump when I overfilled the tranny.
 
#12 ·
They also make electric pumps for oil. I have one made for changing the oil on boats as its a bit hard to get to the oil pan on an inboard engine. Although I've never put in a drain plug. I usually man up and make a mess. Also I "glue" the rubber gasket to the pan with rtv. It seals perfectly and leaves no mess on the transmission side as cleaning the pan on a bench is much easier.
 
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