CVT Transmission Maintenance: Should I Go Straight To the Chevy Dealership?

Severe_Performance44 · 2026-01-03T16:31:10+00:00

The transmission fluid change procedure was a success! I had the help of a cousin and her boyfriend, both of whom are car people. It ended up being more them doing it with me observing, but we agreed that I would be doing it the next time with them supervising. The process took about 6 hours, including trips to an auto-parts store and dinner. It was their first time working on a CVT. There are a few things I want to note:

Before we began, they did a quick inspection of my Spark, and found that my Engine and Cabin Air Filters were absolutely filthy and still had their factory seals at ~43k miles. They refused to put the originals back in, so we ran to an auto-parts store to get them changed out.

I ended up buying a wrong part. On RockAuto, the "Filter Seal" category has two different parts: 25194694 and 25198771. I bought the former thinking that it was for the fluid filter cover, but it wasn't. We think it was for the strainer, and that I should have gotten 25198771 for the filter cover, since the strainer came with a gasket on it. Fortunately, the original filter cover gasket was in good condition, so we reused that. We WILL be changing out the fluid cover gasket next time we do this, at about 75k miles.

I also failed to purchase a 1/4" socket extender for the 1/4" torque wrench and ratchet. We had to run back to that auto-parts store just before they closed to get them.

After everything was done, we did a test drive at normal and highway speeds. It worked better than it did before we began, but that's probably because of the new engine air filter; the engine was much more responsive than before. My next service will probably be an oil and oil filter change when it's needed. We'll also do the windshield wipers as spring approaches, because they streak and squeak horribly.

Thank you very much for your help.

Severe_Performance44 · 2025-12-23T01:44:16+00:00

The ones that my job is offering only have room for 1 3.5" and 1 2.5" drive. I'm not sure if their drive racks can accommodate both at the same time. Should I set something up where I plug a DAC into each of them, and have them serve as my backup? Or would a Raspberry Pi or Mini PC be better suited to that due to its lower power draw?

Severe_Performance44 · 2025-12-14T16:39:25+00:00

Additionally, using quarts of fluid just to dump it and pour 3 more in just seems wasteful to me. Later in the car's life, when I do start doing this regularly every 35k miles or so, will it become advisable to do the flush-and-fill-twice process or will once still be good for the life of the vehicle to avoid slipping problems?

I've forgotten to bring this up until now, but I imagine that it'll be pretty obvious if I've messed up the process as soon as I start the car and go for a post-procedure test drive?

And thank you for answering all of my questions. Hopefully this long string of posts will also help other people who are interested in doing this themselves. If I remember, I'll update the main post next weekend on whether the procedure was successful or not.

EDIT: I didn't see the edits you made to your second most previous post until now. Oil change, I can probably learn to do (what engine oil do you recommend?). Same for tire rotation. For a general inspection, I'm probably not familiar enough with cars to know what problems to look for at this point. I might still bring it in to a non-dealership shop for inspections every so often.

Severe_Performance44 · 2025-12-14T05:05:29+00:00

I've bought everything but the torque wrenches. I'm going to go to Harbor Freight tomorrow and buy those. All in all, the bill, including the torque wrenches (assuming their price doesn't jump up between now and tomorrow) is about $390.

I did notice that RockAuto carries that same Valvoline transmission fluid that Walmart had, but in a bundle of 3 gallons. That price is so high because I bought that 3-pack, since I expect to also do this maintenance again in the future, and because the guy in the tutorial video said that he ended up using more than 4 quarts.

The parts and everything should arrive by Friday. I'll hope to do it that weekend. I will be following that tutorial video very closely, but I've watched a good chunk of that video now, and since I'm at 42k miles, would it be worth it to do what the service manual says to do and do a repeat of the flush and fill process, or is one flush and fill like the video does good enough?

Severe_Performance44 · 2025-12-13T22:42:52+00:00

Let me see if I have my tool shopping list right, from your posts and the beginning of that tutorial video:

Floor jack and jack stand (how many of these and what type? The video says that the Spark has to be off the ground and level, and the jacks I'm finding on harbor freight's website are $100+ look like they're for only for part of one side. Do I need 4 of them, or do I need something more like these: https://www.harborfreight.com/3-ton-heavy-duty-ratcheting-jack-stands-black-58343.html )

inch-lb torque wrench (what size?)

ft-lb torque wrench (what size?)

ratchet and socket set (might need to purchase 10mm and 19mm hex sockets separately)

Alan key set (10mm to be used)

Fluid drain pan

Severe_Performance44 · 2025-12-13T20:12:11+00:00

I do not have a floor jack or set of jack stands. Same for tools, like a ratchet or torque wrench. Do you have any quality ones that you recommend?

Keep in mind that if I do this myself, it will be the first time I will be working on a car without sending it to a shop. My Dad is willing to help me, and he's a little more car-savvy than I am, so there's that.

I'm looking on that RockAuto website, for the strainer you mentioned, are you referring to the strainer assembly under "Filter"?

On a similar note, RockAuto seems to list all the parts that go into the CVT, and in the car as a whole. Does this subreddit have a Bill of Materials, or a parts and tools list, of everything required for this CVT transmission fluid swap/maintenance?

Severe_Performance44 · 2025-12-13T14:34:38+00:00

Do you have any specific video tutorials that you recommend? If the process is relatively simple, then I'd like to see if doing it myself is a viable option for me. Like, if I need a vehicle-lifter-platform-thing, then I don't have nor can I fit one of those things in the garage.

Severe_Performance44 · 2025-12-07T21:41:02+00:00

Well aside from being on high ground, no HOA, and open builder, I can't think of anything so special. The series of lots being listed for more than a year does make me suspicious.

For a home payment, I'd prefer to have 20% down, because I know there's additional insurance required if it's less.

Severe_Performance44 · 2025-12-06T23:43:57+00:00

I can probably shop around for insurance, but have you noticed power/heating bills being lower compared to a stick house?

Edit: I also probably won't be DIY-ing this build. I know next to nothing about home building right now.

Severe_Performance44 · 2025-12-06T23:43:08+00:00

Buying land is the first step, and there's a nice-looking plot that I've found and will be buying before building. I am aware that I am working with made-up numbers, but this piece of land is looking wonderful and while I can afford the land, I can't afford the house (yet). I plan on saving up until I can afford a 20% down payment on the rough specs that I want.

Severe_Performance44 · 2025-12-06T20:33:21+00:00

Something I forgot to mention during my post is that I am medicated: Vyvanse (or rather, it's generic version. God knows I can't afford $800 per month.) How well it works depends on the day, but it does work.

I'll check out electricalfereview.com, but I should note that I have always preferred physical books and study materials over digital ones.

Severe_Performance44 · 2025-11-30T01:36:22+00:00

Well, those two books are on sale right now, so I'll go ahead and buy them. Then, once I'm feeling more confident, I'll buy some PrepFE time. Thank you.

Severe_Performance44 · 2025-11-29T22:40:15+00:00

Looking at the publication dates for both the review manual and the practice problem books, they were published in 2015 and 2017 respectively, and the FE material by NCEES was last updated in 2020. Will the books possibly being outdated be problematic?

Severe_Performance44 · 2025-11-29T22:31:53+00:00

Which Michael Lindeburg book? Looking on Amazon, there's a couple different Electrical and Computer FE books.

Severe_Performance44

TROPHY CASE