Hello, I have a 2007 Chevy equinox with the 3.4l v-6 and the aisin aw33 transaxle. I have been trying to research the process for changing the transmission fluid pan gasket (which is mounted on the front side of the transaxle) The vehicle is leaking from the pan, not excessively when level, but more excessively when parked at an angle. All data had no information that I could find on the procedure. It looks like with removal of enough components, it may be possible to remove the pan without having to lower the entire subframe to gain access. The transmission shifts and functions great as long as I am constantly vigilant about monitoring the fluid level and adding when needed, but I would like to repair it as soon as possible. Has anyone done this at home? Is this something I'm better off trying to find a shop for? Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated!

 

This transmission doesn't really have a pan. There's a cover on the front for access to the shift solenoids, but these seldom leak. Are you sure the leak isn't from the trans cooler lines? Those do have a high failure rate on these vehicles.

 

I'm 99% sure that it is coming from that cover area. I can clean the pan and line area and watch it seep out from around that gasket, which of course eventually trails its way down to appear that it could be coming from the lines (as that is the lowest point).

The person I bought the vehicle from had just installed a remanufactured engine into the vehicle, and he said that while inspecting the transaxle, he believes he had damaged that gasket when he removed the cover.

I can see nothing else in the area which could be the origin of the leak.

 

That's the control valve body cover. There is no gasket for it. You just use a 3mm bead of black RTV silicone. According to SI, you only need to remove the front left transmission mount, left front wheel, left front splash shield, and disconnect the cooler lines from the transmission to remove that cover.

 

​​​​Hey all, so looking for a bit of advice. I've acquired the necessary tools/rtv to perform the control valve body cover replacement but I'm running into an issue that has stopped what should be a straight forward repair in it's tracks.

So the torx headed screws that hold the cover to the transaxle are old, and obviously have never been removed Im having an issue removing them without damaging the screws excessively.

Any tips or thoughts on how I might be able to loosen them up in order to remove them?

Or is my best best going to be to just go ahead and use an extractor to get them out, then replace all the screws?

Thanks in advance