Thanks for the information. I intend to change the fluid in our transaxle within the next few days.

So the first thing to do is remove the UPPER hose from the nipple on the cooler, and then press a clear vinly tubing onto that nipple that is long enough to go into a clear container or whatever. What should the INNER diameter of the tubing be? (Is any "stray" fluid going to come out of the dangling end of the upper hose as the fluid is coming out of the nipple and through the new clear vinyl tubing? Is air going to be sucked into that dangling open end and, if so, is that OK?)

Do you first have to remove the plastic shield underneath the front of the vehicle to do this job? How easy is it to get at those oil cooler lines/nipples? Is it possible to disconnect that upper hose by reaching down from under the hood?

Thanks.

 

Today I took the push-in clips/fasteners out of the driver's side of the splash shield covering the front of our vehicle's undercarriage. This was necessary in order to even see the transmission oil cooler and the two hoses illustrated in the first post of this thread, let alone work on them.

(The fasteners are a bit of a PIA to remove and a few of them should be replaced, so, using a caliper, I measured the dimensions of two examples and I think these are going to do the trick: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/312577987681 The problem is that their delivery will take several weeks, but I can deal with it for the savings over the ridiculous prices of either the OEM or alternatives around here. Call Mitsubishi for a price on just one fastener and you'll understand what I'm talking about.)

Because I had not already selected a properly-sized clear poly tubing, today's bit of effort turned out to be purely exploratory -- getting "the lay of the land", so to speak. I figure that either a 5/16" or 3/8" ID should fit snugly enough over the nipple on the cooler (famous last words). I'll buy five or six feet of each at Princess Auto and a proper transmission-fluid funnel that will fit in the filler tube.

Loosening the hose clamp on the upper hose is going to be challanging because of the limited space to get at it, but I think it's doable. I'm hoping that not too much fluid comes out of either the hose or the nipple when I separate the hose from the nipple with the engine not running, but I can't believe that there will be no leakege at all.

 

I realise this is an old thread but would like to contribute by saying that our 12 year old Outlander CVT (resides in Australia) is still going strong just turning over 200,000 km, on its original CVT transmission (maybe overdue for its 2nd CVT oil change @ 180,000). It's been a tough little b*****d! A brilliant workhorse.
The CVT trans oil still looks brand new after 100,000 since last change.
Although tempted by cheaper so called 'compatible' cvt oils, I would not risk it. Use genuine for this particular transmission and pay the extra for peace of mind.
It's had no breakdowns, problems or major repairs so far just usual wear items.
The wagon gets a very hard time sometimes towing our 1300KG pop top caravan a few times a year.
I take my hat off to you Mitsubishi engineers. You created a beaut!
I wonder whether the post GFC designed and built cars have the same durability. Only time will tell.

 

I changed the transaxle fluid today. There were approximately 35,000 kms (21,750 miles) on the fluid.

Before I go into the details of the change, I'd like to mention a couple of things.

First, our owner's manual's capacity section states that the capacity of our transaxle is 8.2 litres (8.7 quarts). Second, the Mitsubishi procedure in the first post of this thread states that one should drain about 3.7 quarts (about 3.5 litres) from the cooler while idling the engine, and about 2.1 quarts (just under 2 litres) when draining from the transmission "pan", making a total drainage/removal of about 5.8 quarts (just under 5.5 litres). Therefore, if the normal capacity/volume of the entire transaxle is 8.2 litres, the volume of fluid in the un-drainable torque converter and the un-drainable other parts of the tranny must be 8.2 litres minus 5.5 litres equals 2.7 litres (2.85 quarts). In other words, you can't drain 2.85 quarts of the "old" fluid in the trans. How much that "old" fluid contaminates the newly-added fluid is something I cannot answer. Maybe someone else can. Regardless, I think that this is a normal situation when chaning fluid in traditional automatic transmissions that have torque converters.

Now on to what happened today.

To get access to the transmission fluid cooler, I once again lowered the driver's side of the front splash cover. I used a pair of needle nose pliers to grasp, squeeze and slide the UPPER hose clamp securing the UPPER hose to the cooler. I then slid the hose off the cooler's nipple. Thankfully, no fluid came out of either the nipple or the hose.

I then pushed a 3/8" ID clear plastic tube, 5 feet long, over the nipple and secured with a 1/2" SS screw-type hose clamp. I placed the other end of the tubing into a graduated container. My wife put the transmission in Neutral and started the vehicle. Fluid came streaming out the the tubing into the graduated container. After about 1 minute and 15 seconds the flow stopped. Close to 3.750 litres (3.96 quarts) was drained

I then removed the trans pan drain bolt and only 0.5 litres (0.53 quarts) drained out. (I was a bit concerned because the procedure states that over 2 quarts should drain. However, more than the stated amount of fluid drained out the cooler while the engine was idling, so I was not that concerned.)

Therefore, the total amount of fluid drained from the transaxle was 3.750 plus 0.5 litres equals 4.250 litres -- about 4.5 quarts -- and 5.8 quarts minus 4.5 quarts equals about 1.3 quarts LESS that what the Mitsubishi's procedure claimed should have drained.

I then added to the tranny slightly more than the amount that had drained -- 4.5 litres rather than 4.250 -- and repeated the entire procedure.

I then re-installed the trans drain plug, removed the drain tube from the cooler, re-installed the upper cooler hose and re-fastened the splash guard.

I then added 4.5 litres of Havoline Full-Synthetic Multi Vehicle transmission fluid (previously linked in this thread as a replacement for J3) to the transmission, ran the engine for two minutes and, with the engine indling and in Neutral, checked the "C" (cold fluid) level. Thankfully, it was only very slightly above the mark.

My wife and I then went for a bit of a drive around the neighborhood to heat up the fluid. (Even though I've been an atheist for over 40 years, I said a little prayer to Zeus before we left.) Very thankfully, the transmission shifted perfectly -- very smooth, very quick, very solid shifts.

When we returned to our garage, I left the trans in Neutral with the engine idling. I then checked fluid level and, thankfully, it was only slightly above the "H" (hot fluid) mark. I turned off the engine and that was that.

I used almost exactly 9 quarts of new fluid. The case contained 12 quarts, so I have 3 quarts on the shelf. The Havoline was $95, including tax and environmental fee. That's $7.92 CAD per quart. Diaqueen J3 is over $40 per 946 ml at the local stealership.

We only put betwen 4000 and 5000 km on our vehicle per year, so I change the engine oil only once per year, usually in May. I use Mobil 1 full synthetic, which usually costs about $33, on sale. I think I'm going to change our transmission fluid every three years, which will mean between 12,000 and 15,000 kms of use on the fluid, and the cost for the fluid will be approximately what the engine-oil changes will be during those three years, around $100. I think this will be money well spent for our still-pristine-looking 2010 which has only 122,000 km (75,800 miles).

BTW, I have determined that this job can be done without jacking the vehicle. Even the drain plug can be reached quite easily.

 

I also completed my 2012 GT change.
Thanks to outlaader and this post was very helpful. I read this so many times.

I also used a 3/8 tube
i shut it off at exactly one minute got 3.3 qts
then drain plug got 0.7 qts
then again one minute got a little less 3.1 qts.

I had 10 bottles of J3 and have a little less than 3 bottles left. All I knew is that if I repeat the bleed I would have not enough fluid to fill. I guess I could have shut off the car before the minute as it is pretty well controlled. But I wasn’t thinking enough. The fluid wasn’t completely clear like new but I could see a little red again.

I just marked the drain plug and turns it to the original position so I would not overtighten the tiny drain plug. It is a few ft lbs only.

I got the J3 fluid from EBay. The jug is just awesome and is from amazon.

I have seen people done it with aluminum pans and pour into used engine oil containers to measure but this is so much better.

At 45k miles, the original oil In the jug drained looked quite brown. Checked with the dipstick before I started I don’t feel it looked bad at all. It wasn’t red but it looked clear oil on paper i didn’t notice any odor or smell.


Update: I was able to start and idle the car but not have time to go for a drive yet. Instruction is to shift through ranges (D,R,P, etc) and then in Neutral. I did it without moving the car. I checked the dipstick while the engine is running in Neutral. it was between the end of stick and C line, but the scraping down he tube makes it hard to read. I started pouring in some more J3, very little at a time. it took about 4 oz (about 1/8 qt) to hit the C line. By this time it had been about 5 minutes and figure fluid was starting to expand and raise. I used a laser thermometer at the transmission bottom near the drain and measured it is already around 78F (garage was 68F and I parked for days). Since it is aluminum it should be a good conductor to give some idea of the fluid temperature. It makes sense because I spilled some drops with the hoses and I was never able to pour every last drop out of the jug. Resulting in a little short on fluid

My point is, make sure you check the level, it's actually not that hard to read. The fluid looked like clear oil when wiped off the dipstick. I still have a long test drive due.

 

So today I was able to drive out today, only about 14 miles round trip.

When I got back I figure the easiest to get a temperature reading is at the ATF cooler, because of the thin metal.
The laser is reading about 199F at the inlet and outlet of the cooler.

So to get the manual recommended 158-176F probably doesn't take that much driving at all. I went on the freeway for few miles so it was already over that temperature.

In neutral I read the dipstick again. it is a little over the H line and covering the letter H. So that's a little high, but no panic, I did a little extension of the chart to see where I should be, the next horizontal grid on the chart should be able 90C or 194F. So it seems to be meeting about with where I am at the dipstick.

According to the chart, it should hit the H line at 70C, or 158F. I would like to drive around the block, slowly reading the temp of the cooler and get a reading at that temp.

Car drives great, no complain there.

 

I brought home a 19 Sport today. I am a former mechanic so I will do all I am possible to on the car. My maintenance schedule "2" (as I do not drive in adverse conditions or heavy traffic) does not specify any CVT oil change nor is there a brake fluid flush called for, it even specifies "NOT OUTLANDER SPORT". Since I have no miles I always do my homework to anticipate future procedures. Has any one else noticed these omissions.?

 

This seems to be a very informative thread ... thank you to all the contributors.

I'm just about to do the 90,000km service on my MY16 DiD (direct injection diesel) with 6-speed AT. I'm based in Australia. I was quoted $2400 for this service which includes a "check valve clearance". Not sure why the valve clearance needs to be checked every 45,000km.

Using non OEM fluids will save me a bit as will doing the work myself.

 

My advice is to use genuine trans oil when you change it. It is called DIAQUEEN J3 and it is expensive but worth it for peace of mind. You only get 3.5 litres out if the drain plug, so if it is excessivly dirty you might need to change it twice. Just drive it for a few minutes to mix the oil from the convertor with the fresh and check the colour on the dipstick.

Do you have the special feeler blade to check the inlet valve clearances?

Do you know the procedure for tightening the valve cover when refitting?

Do you know the injector tightening procedure?

Do you know the injector pipe tightening torque?

you will need 4 new injector washers, 4 new seals for the leak pipes a the top of the injector, and the manual states you also need 8 new washers for the injector bolts.

 

Yep, all these are in the list of parts for the 90Kkm service. The injector washers must be gold-plated at Aus$6 each

Can anyone help with the valve clearance settings and torque settings?