CVT oil analysis.

[mohammad]

Hello all,

I preformed a CVT oil analysis on my car. A photo of which ive attached below, this is my first time doing something like this so ive attached some fun-facts in a list below:

1. when i removed the pan, there was no gasket. Not even a gasket making sealer or adhesive or anything. Just straight metal on metal pan to transmission. I never noticed it leak, maybe the gasket is unnecessary. Its unclear to me if this has ever had a CVT fluid change before so i asked the lab and there response is in the photo.

2. the pan gasket I bought was metallic it would stick to magnets. i wasn't expecting this

3. I had only minor issues changing the aux filter without removing anything but the driver-side tire. I could visually see it for the most part but I got stuck up on trying to get the weird metal tab around the electrical connector. Took me awhile to figure this out.

4. I wish we had one of those tubes instead of a drain plug to ensure I put back in the correct level of fluid(like the corolla). I put in 4 quarts + 20 OZ or 4.35L into the transmission after changing both filters. Its unclear to me if this is the correct fluid level or not. when hot it appears to go up to the first bend of the dipstick after following all instructions and checking it while running. The fluids hard to read as it is thin but also im also unsure how level my parking spot is.

5. the first time i drove it 100ft straight then going up a slight incline it made a very loud sqeak for about a second like the belt was slipping. I thought the transmission was gone then and there but all is well.

6. the first time i drove it "fast" there was a big shudder shifting from first gear to second

7. the first few times i checked the fluid it appeard frothy i.e hundreds of bubbles were on the dipstick. After a couple hundred km checking it today I only saw about 5 or 6 fairly big bubbles on the dipstick. Im unsure how normal this is as i never really checked fluid level before changing it.(i obtained the car used so i do not know if it was originally full of OEM fluid or not)

8. the car feels substantially quieter and i no longer really hear the engine while idling although this maybe the placebo effect.

9. I never realized/thought that the other end of the pan bolts would be exposed. I can now understand how people overtorque these bolts and strip them. It also made them slightly harder to remove/install due to corrosion.

9. i bought a 1/4 torque wrench and torqued everything to approx 8 n.m. This was not a confidence inspiring amount of torque. Without the torque wrench, I am highly confident i would have stripped the **** out of everything. Rear pan bolts were very hard to reach as i only have 2 jack stands so im not comfortable jacking the front up too high.


10. COST:
$119.67 for 5 bottles of OEM fluid.
$31.23 for 2 aux filter O-Rings,
$43 for the pan gasket and drain plug crush washer from partsouq.com(that includes the import dues i didnt realize i had to pay separately to Fedex),
$35 for both Raybestos filters off Rockauto for a 2015 spark.
For a grand total of $229.90 CAD. Not including the cost of new tools(1/4 torque wrench, special funnel to pour oil down dipstick tube. brake clean to clean the pan and magnets)

11.I recorded myself changing the pan filter, if theres any interest i can crop the parts together and start my Youtube career.

UPDATE: My YouTube Career has launched, Video is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erlbDUi48Jk

12. I now have a spare brand new aux filter o-ring, If anyone wants it measured i can do that but i don't own any precision equipment. The o-ring had a surprisingly loose feel to it and amazingly sits in a grove much wider than the o-ring itself. I have no idea how this creates even a half decent seal, let alone a seal from high pressure oil.

13. Id like to thank everyone on the forum for providing me the confidence to do this myself. It was a moderately scary experience