How do change the Transmission filter on a 1996 Isuzu Rodeo?

Answer 1

I am answering your question about a 1996 Isuzu Rodeo using my work notes from
changing the transmission filter on my 1993 Isuzu Trooper. Your 1996 may have a filler plug on the automatic transmission whereas my older Trooper has to be filled by pouring ATF down the dipstick tube.
This article tells how to do the job.

The transmission filter and 6 quarts of ATF cost $68 in 2009.


How to change a 1993 Isuzu Trooper transmission filter


Overview:

Because the Isuzu trooper is a 4 wheel drive car, there are some differences from working on a plain passenger car. The filter change job is different in these ways:
You have to remove three skid plates.
You also need to remove the rear transmission crossmember.
Watch out for rusted crossmember bolts. The frame is a closed box making broken bolt removal difficult.
You will need to lift the rear of the transmission about 1.5 inches to remove the transmission pan. The V-6 engine exhaust pipe blocks removal of the transmission pan.
The drained ATF needs to be disposed of responsibly. Determine your local procedure for disposing of used automatic Transmission Fluid.

Tools and supplies:

Transmission filter kit.
6 quarts Dexron III type automatic transmission fluid (ATF).
Bolt remover liquid like WD40 for crossmember and skid plate bolts.
Fastener locking liquid like Loctite medium strength blue.

Socket wrench, torque wrench and combination wrenches with these sizes:
17 mm, 14 mm, 13 mm, 10 mm

Nut driver 10 mm.
Car support blocks, transmission support block and floor jack.
Slightly longer hex bolts for lowering the transmission pan without a big spill. I use 4 pc. metric hex bolts, 6mm dia x 15 mm long from my toolbox.
Plastic bus tray (Smart and Final sells them) or 18x24" tray to catch ATF when pan is unscrewed.
Sheets of cardboard to lay on. Use to absorb ATF drips also.
Two sturdy empty plastic gallon jugs for waste ATF. Empty windshield washer jugs are suitable.
Funnel that fits the waste ATF jugs.
10 rags, 1 work shirt, 6 pairs of mechanics rubber gloves.
Work light.
Cleaning supplies:Spray bottle of degreaser like simple green, parts brushes, tub for cleaning the skid plates and crossmember, newspaper

Procedure

Jack up front of the car.
I used 6" high wheel blocks to avoid having jack stands blocking access to the transmission, also block the rear wheels and set the parking brake.

Apply WD40 or other penetrating oil and wire brush the following under car fasteners.
Rear transmission support cross member: Four bolts into frame on each side of car.
Three transmission protection skid plates. A total of about 8 bolts.

Remove three skid plates.
Use 14 mm combination wrench and ratchet wrench. The skid plates may be coated with sound deadening undercoat. Don't remove the undercoat when cleaning up the skid plates.

Put a support block to hold the rear of the transmission.
Remove the rear transmission support cross member.
Use 17 mm combination wrench and socket wrench.
If you have rusted bolts, use lots of penetrating oil to minimize the risk of breaking a bolt. From other internet posts, a broken bolt requires a removal procedure: drill, screw extractor, re-tap, new bolt.
The large crossmember bolts are 12 mm diameter x 1.25 mm pitch thread x 25 mm length.
The skid pan bolts are 10 mm diameter x 1.25 mm pitch thread x 23 mm length.

Clean the outside of the transmission pan.
I put degreaser and water in squirt bottles. I use a the degreaser with a parts brush to knock off sand, grit and oil film.

This is a good time to clean the crossmember, bolts and skid plates.
Amateur mechanics get extra brownie points for cleaning with zero oil runoff. Dry cardboard and newspaper absorbs ATF and degreaser spray.

Unscrew transmission pan bolts.
Here is a gradual scheme that helps avoid bending the pan and spilling ATF:
Go all the way around the pan and loosen all bolts 1 turn,
Remove 4 corner bolts completely and put in 4 longer bolts from your toolbox. This allows you to lower the pan and remove the other bolts without the pan dropping.
Using fingers, remove the corner bolts and gradually tip the pan and spill the ATF into the bus tray.

Raise the rear of the transmission about 1 1/2" so the transmission pan can be removed.
There are different ways of doing this. I used the floor jack, leaving the support blocks ready to hold the transmission when the pan was removed.

Open the new transmission filter package with clean hands and verify your replacement parts are the right shape.
Remove the old transmission filter, it has 3 bolts with 13 mm socket size.
Clean the transmission pan. Remember to put the round chip magnet back in the pan (I forgot!)
Clean the transmission gasket mating surface.
Reassemble. See your shop manual for torque specifications. Here are torque specifications I used:
Filter bolts ( 13 mm socket size) torque 15 ft-lb.
Transmission pan bolts ( 10 mm socket size ) 96 inch-lb.
Crossmember bolts, due to the absence of lock washers I used Loctite on all crossmember bolts. I couldn't get a torque specification so I pulled the bolts to a solid engagement at about 65 ft-lb.

Refill the transmission.
You can estimate the quarts of ATF needed to refill the transmission by carefully looking at the quantity of used ATF you collected in the clean empty sturdy gallon jugs you were so lucky to use as I mentioned above. My 1993 Isuzu drain volume was 5 or 5 1/2 quarts of drained fluid.

The filler on the 1993 Isuzu is the dipstick tube.
Use a small funnel to assist pouring fluid into the dipstick tube.
Get the exact fluid fill level using the instructions in the owners manual.