I am in the process of gathering resources for a Mechatronic seal replacement, oil pan and filter replacement, and trans oil cooler flush. I am hoping I have everything I need and am particularly buoyed by the installation of a shiny new 4 post Iift.....(As you can see, the Aston is waiting patiently for it's turn on the operating table)

My new Advantage 9000 XL with rolling jack trays

I think I am about ready but I do have a couple of questions.

I see conflicting views on whether to have the air conditioning switched on when I am running the car during fluid level checks. Other than putting a load on the engine, to make it warm up quicker, what effect could running the AC have on this process?

The second question is on measuring the temperature of the fluid during the level check process. I see the more sophisticated amongst us use fancy OBD diagnostic doohickies to monitor the transmission fluid temperature.... and I have just purchased a Veepeak OBD plug-in but have not explored its capabilities yet ...particularly as to whether I can use it to monitor transmission temps.
If my Veepeak does not have the smarts to read the temps for me, I am destined to use my trusty digital/laser thermometer.... but I am wondering if that will be accurate enough to do the job. It seems like I would have to hit just the right spot on the transmission housing to get a useful reading (?)

I just thought of a third question! ..Has anybody done this transmission service with the exhaust removed during fill-up? It's such a tight squeeze between the filler and the exhaust pipe that it would be nice to not have it there.... but I'm just wondering if I am going to lose an ear-drum or mess up the O2 sensor electronics or something far worse....?

 

I can have a go at the first two...

AC on or not won't matter for the transmission fluid, the only thing that is important for this one is the transmission temp.

OBD is the most convenient way to read the temperature but a laser thermometer will definitely work. There is a temperature range you need to be in and a thermometer is plenty accurate enough to ensure that.

 

Check out https://aston1936.com, Steve just completed this service and it should answer any questions you might have.

Good luck! I'll be doing that service soon myself.

 

aston1936 has just posted a bunch of stuff related to changing the transmission fluid/filters.

 

Yes, thanks guys ....Steve's videos were brilliant resources....I watched them all the way through a couple of days ago and funnily enough, he was the "fly in the ointment" that suggested turning off the AC, where all the other sites I had researched, said to turn your AC on!
I cannot for the life of me, see any reason why the AC would have any influence on the procedure, other than to warm up the engine a little quicker (which probably isn't what I would want to do, if I am jumping in and out of the car topping up transmission fluid.)
It's going to be a while before I get to this service, so I will keep checking back to see if there are any more hints from you guys. Thanks again

 

Just remember the torque converter holds a lot of fluid. My mechanic (ex AM dealership and a very reasonable and knowledgeable guy) said he would have to re fill and flush the system 4 times to get all the old oil out. Cheers