MikeT

I have a 2006 Malibu LT with the 2.2L and 4T45 tranny. One of the tranny cooler lines is leaking at the crimp and I decided that if I was going to change out the lines, I would change the filter and put some new fluid in. I first want to say that this Malibu was a mistake to buy. It runs great and is easy to maintain, but GM in it's greedy lack of wisdom decided to save $2 to $3 dollars per vehicle and not put in a tranny dip stick. This makes it impossible to easily check your fluid level and makes it much more difficult to fill correctly. I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER VEHICLE WITHOUT A DIPSTICK TRANNY OR OIL (oil will probably be next). Jacking points are another HUGE peeve of mine on this vehicle as I had to floor jack each side of the rear end and insert the platform part of my ramps under the tires (we have below zero temperatures and 7+ inches of snow, so I couldn't just back it up in my small garage. I found NO other stable way to raise the rear end because I have to raise both front and rear to a level position and pull a hot bolt out of the underside of the tranny while the car is running. WTF???

My actual issue is that I have removed the vent that goes from the grill to the battery compartment (pain in the ###) and I am now having trouble seeing the lower hose clip where it goes into the radiator. One of the radiator hoses is directly in the way and the upper cooler line hose is also in the line of sight. I read where another person was able to do this changeover from the top, but I can't get a flashlight and my hand in there and still be able to see what I'm doing. Has anyone removed the coolant hose in order to actually see what you're doing or is this a do it by feel & experience job? Also, is there "O" rings in the radiator that the cooler line hoses contact and if so should they be replaced?

Sign me extremely unhappy with GM.