instructions for changing transmission fluid on 88 jetta

554 Views 10 Replies 5 Participants Last post by negativl, Feb 6, 2002

Phateless

Discussion Starter · Feb 6, 2002

is this difficult, and any reccomendations on what fluid is best would be great. thanx! -josh

1 - 11 of 11 Posts

Re: instructions for changing transmission fluid on 88 jetta (Phateless)

for the 5sp in your sig?
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=232482

basically, drain the old fluid, put the bottom plug back in, and figure out how to get 2.1qts into your tranny.

Save

The_Jerbel

· #3 · Feb 6, 2002

Re: instructions for changing transmission fluid on 88 jetta (Phateless)

I believe in '88 they changed the fill plug on the tranny to 7mm higher. You undo the 17mm hex bolt on the bottom of the diff. Drain all oil. Preferrably do it after a quick drive to thin out the oil some. Then replace the bolt. There are two ways to do the filling. One is to take off the speedo cable from the tranny with a 13mm (I think) bolt and fill the tranny from there. The other is to take out the nut on the drivers side of the tranny and fill with REDLINE MT90 tranny oil until it's to the brim of the hole. Then ur done. 2.1 quarts is correct.

Save

Tornado2dr

· #4 · Feb 6, 2002

Re: instructions for changing transmission fluid on 88 jetta (The_Jerbel)

^^^ i agree with jerbel on the redline oil... great stuff and well worth the extra cash. just be sure to not let a buddy "help" you and accidentally pour fluid through the timing hole...happened to somebody on here. not me thank god

Save

negativl

· #5 · Feb 6, 2002

Re: instructions for changing transmission fluid on 88 jetta (The_Jerbel)

It was for the 88 model year, but started in 87. According to Haynes (see? knew there had to be some value in their book

) the cutoff date is 8 Sept 87, with a date code of 08097 or later - of course, I think that's missing a digit, so Haynes value only goes so far.

Anyway, it's easy to tell which tranny you have. Pour 2 quarts in via the speedo hole, and if any spills out the fill hole, it's too low.

Otherwise, add that last .1qt or so until it does spill out, let it stop, and close it all up. I found it easiest to pour via the speedo anyway, coz you can just upend the bottle and walk off while it drains (slowwwwly).

See less See more

Save

The_Jerbel

· #6 · Feb 6, 2002

Re: instructions for changing transmission fluid on 88 jetta (negativl)

I'm not disagreeing, the speedo hole is definitely the easiest route, but for precision, the fill hole is the way to go. Personally, I did it through the speedo cable hole. Just poured 2 quarts in, then added a "little" more

I guesstimated 0.1 quarts. Do it whichever way suits you best.

See less See more

Save

negativl

· #7 · Feb 6, 2002

Re: instructions for changing transmission fluid on 88 jetta (The_Jerbel)

didn't think you were disagreeing, just trying to add. I think the easiest/best way is to fill via the speedo hole, but leave the fill plug out. That way, you get easy filling AND precision. Too bad I didn't find a later date tranny when I did mine. I really don't feel good having to measure the "extra"

Save

The_Jerbel

· #8 · Feb 6, 2002

Re: instructions for changing transmission fluid on 88 jetta (negativl)

well with the new ones, leave the fill plug out and fill till it starts coming out, then ur done

With the old kind, fill till it comes out, then add 0.4 quarts more (or something like that. Your precious haynes should say

) then ur done, not that bad.

See less See more

Save

negativl

· #9 · Feb 6, 2002

Re: instructions for changing transmission fluid on 88 jetta (The_Jerbel)

Yeah, the Haynes says, .5L actually.

I do own a Bentley too, ya know.

See less See more

Save

Crispyfritter

· #10 · Feb 6, 2002

Re: instructions for changing transmission fluid on 88 jetta (negativl)

What about for those us blessed with the Auto tranny?

Chris

See less See more

Save

negativl

· #11 · Feb 6, 2002

Re: instructions for changing transmission fluid on 88 jetta (200HP4dr)

Get a Bentley.

I think the ATs all have the correct fill plug, but my rather hazy memory (I already forgot the downshift cable in another thread) says it's over by the diff instead of on the end. You should be able to remove the plug that sticks out sideways, stick your (CLEAN!) finger in there and verify the fluid comes up flush with the fill hole.
All the trannies use the same 17mm hex plugs (use a 17mm allen to get them out).
You should be able to remove the bottom plug on the diff (it stays in the same place because that's the lowest point in the tranny), drain all the fluid out, then replace the bottom (drain) plug, and fill through the sideways (fill) plug. You use ATF of course. Redline does make several ATFs too, dunno which one you need.

See less See more

Save

1 - 11 of 11 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.

Top Contributors this Month