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AX-15 Fluid Swap Question

2K views 30 replies 11 participants last post by  WallyDog1 
#1 ·
Hi all,

Just a quick question regarding changing the fluid on my AX-15. The fill bolt is hard to get to because of the wire to the reverse light switch. Does anybody know how to get in there? Can I remove the switch via the 2 bolts its mounted to the tranny with? Also, what size is the fill bolt? Can't get any of my sockets around it.
 
#3 ·
Hi all,

Just a quick question regarding changing the fluid on my AX-15. The fill bolt is hard to get to because of the wire to the reverse light switch. Does anybody know how to get in there? Can I remove the switch via the 2 bolts its mounted to the tranny with? Also, what size is the fill bolt? Can't get any of my sockets around it.
You're looking on the wrong side of the transmission for the fill plug. The AX-15's fill plug is half-way up on the driver's side, the drain plug is on the passenger-side well below the Backup Light switch.

Also, there's a bolt on the passenger-side that if you look at it closely, it says 'Do Not Remove'. You're screwed if you remove it since it holds a part inside that will fall out of position if you remove that bolt.

Also be wary of what transmission lube you're installing, it is fussy about which gear lube it likes to run well on. Exactly what gear lube did you buy for it?
 

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#4 · (Edited)
Yeah, I'm talking about the bolt on the driver side. There's some sort of wired device making it hard to get a wrench in there. I thought it was the reverse light switch but I could be wrong. Here's some pics. It a little hard to see but it is in the way of the bolt just enough so I can't get in there. The wire is also very stiff.

I bought Redline MT-90.
 

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#7 ·
If you don't have combination box end-open end wrenches, buy a set as they're not expensive. Those bolts are metric IIRC.

No need for a torque wrench, just get the bolts snug enough to prevent leaks. Use a small open end wrench to tighten them which due to that type of wrench's short length will help prevent you from over tightening them.
 
#10 ·
If you don't want to buy any open ended wrenches like Jerry suggested (though they are a great investment) there are only two nuts holding that slave cylinder to the tranny and you could easily unbolt it and move it somewhere out of the way long enough to open that plug. Be careful not to overextend the line though. Also, X2 on MT90 for these transmissions, works great in mine.
 
#16 ·
If you want to start looking like you should be under there, go to Harbor Freight. You can get a decent set of sockets and a set of open end box wrenches for under 40.00 and get a set of screw drivers too and have money for coffee and 2 donuts:laugh:. They are not Snap-on tools but the're not too bad for the DYIer.
 
#19 ·
I find that now that I have a really good quality socket set with a long handle (ratchetless) that things come loose much easier than with just a standard length socket handle. Where I use to tap with a hammer and struggle thinking they were seized, I now find they just come loose. Leverage is a wonderful thing, try just using a short cheater pipe to slip over the wrench to give you a longer handle.
 
#20 ·
Got it done today. The combination wrench made all the difference. The whole ordeal took me 30 mins. Much smoother shifting now, I'll see how it handles the cold weather later this week because we have an arctic blast coming for us. The cardboard I used to route the old oil into my drain pain utterly failed and I ended up with all of the oil on my garage floor!
 
#28 ·
Did you notice gold flecks in the drain oil when you drained the fluid originally? If there were then that would indicate the brass wear on the synchronizers. Probably looking at an overhaul down the road sooner or later.
 
#29 ·
Didn't see any gold flakes or any significant debris for that matter. I figured it a synchro. It's not bad if I double clutch or shift real slow, like a truck. What will an overhaul run me if a shop does it? Looks like I can get a rebuilt tranny on eBay for ~$800, with a core return. How hard would it be to put it in myself?
 
#30 ·
Replacing the transmission is relatively straight forward, nothing technical about it. A transmission jack makes it a lot easier, you can get one inexpensively from Harbor Freight Tools where I got mine. The only tricky part is getting the replacement's angle lined up so it slides into place. If its angle is not PERFECT you will think something is in the way. It often just takes a fingertip's worth of pressure on the jack handle to give it the angle required to make it glide into place easily.
 
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