Ok guys thanks to all your help I am getting ready to change the tranny fluid/sleeve, coolant tank, hood liner, front brakes (current pads leave lots of dust on rims) this weekend.

I used CCC's link for the great deal on the tranny fluid and parts, so wanted to say thanks for that CCC much appreciated. After reading the forums I decided to go with Akebono front pads as well. Couple final questions that i couldnt find answers to on the forums already.....

1. the bulletin regarding the "squeal" when shifting states the procedure to change the fluid. But as I kept reading I found it actually repeates the process, telling me that they are recommending a psuedo flush of the transmission. I am interested to hear what the forum has to say about the need to flush the tranny vs. refill/new pan. Also, if I need to flush, do I need to use the $18/unit fluid to flush with or can I use something different since It will only be int the tranny for a few minutes running.

2. I am thinking since I am changing the coolant tank I might as well drain the whole system and start new. Can I just drain the system and start over or is there some sort of flush procedure I should do?

Thanks again folks!!

 

Go ahead and search on this topic but I'll just add what I do with these sort of systems. I don't even know if there's are engine block drains on this car but one look under the hood tells you it's going to be a SOB to get to. Plus disturbing ANYTHING plastic on this car is a dangerous proposition.

The plastic stuff breaks easily. Be extremely cautious as just bumping into a piece or stressing a hose can make plastic fittings crack. Especially at you car's mileage and age.

Also, I use Dow Corning 111 silicone grease (Napa has a cheaper version) on all the coolant hose-to-fittings spots, just a small amount. Things assemble easier so less stress on the plastic and for metal fixtures it helps to prevent corrosion due to dead eddy pockets of coolant.

I just drain the radiator and then top it up with distilled water followed by a warmup up cycle. Look up the procedure for the heater circuit.

You repeat this many time until what drains out looks reasonably close to water. You'll never get it all.

Then top it up again with coolant as follows:

Look up the capacity of your system, figure out how much comes out with each drain and from that you can figure out how much pure coolant to add and then top off the rest of the way (if necessary) with a 50/50 mix so that the overall mixture is now 50/50.