3-second answer: Pan drop + filter + ~5 qt of Dexron-III / Mercon (pan-drop capacity), 45 minutes. Buy: filter kit (with gasket), two gallons of Valvoline DEX/MERC (a gallon is 4 qt — one gallon is a quart short of the pan drop; see fluids), a pan gasket (or reuse the rubber one), and a torque wrench. Check the OD-light codes first — if there's a stored code, fix that too, because fresh fluid won't fix a solenoid.
The service
- Warm the trans, then on level ground: remove the pan bolts (leave 2 corners loose and drop one corner to drain controlled).
- Drop the pan — inspect the magnet and the pan bottom for metal. A little fine gray sludge is normal; chunks are not (chunks = hard-part damage, see rebuild vs swap).
- Replace the filter (it's held by one bolt; the new one clicks in). Clean the magnet.
- Reinstall the pan with a new gasket — torque the bolts to 10-12 ft-lb in a star pattern (over-tightening warps the pan).
- Refill with ~5 qt Dexron-III / Mercon (Valvoline DEX/MERC gallon) through the dipstick, then: run it through every gear (brake held), check level HOT in NEUTRAL/PARK per the manual, top off.
- Reset the shift-adapt memory by disconnecting the battery for a few minutes (or the E4OD relearns over a few hundred miles).
What this fixes (and doesn't)
- Fixes: shudder from degraded fluid, rough 1-2 shift, OD-off-light codes from low fluid.
- Doesn't fix: a slipping transmission, hard parts, a dead solenoid pack. See the E4OD page for diagnosis.
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