The red cap is just an extra measure to retain the cap.
The cap itself has some "grip" using the tabs you mention. You should be able to pull the
cap off with a little effort. There are two o-rings on a shaft as part of the cap. These o-
rings provide the real seal and keep dirt out of the pan. The fluid itself isn't under
pressure, nor is the fluid level anywhere near the o-ring seals, so they're just for dirt
exclusion.
As long as the cap is in place, you should have been fine for the past 50K.
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--- In ev_update@..., "TJC" <thomasjcook@...> wrote:
I finally worked up enough DIY courage to try the tranny drain/filter
replace/refill task and I hit a problem right at the start.
My filler tube does not appear to have the red cap shown here:
and here
Most likely one of the two previous tran services I have had done (one
at the dealer and one at an independent shop) broke it and did not
replace. It is also possible that it was not there when I purchased
the van a few years ago since the van had ~130k on it when I bought it.
How does the remaining cap come off? Does it just pull up and off?
Do the push tabs on the side grab anything? Since I have been driving
for at least 50k without it how necessary is it? Or does my low fluid
level and moist area around the tranny pan provide that answer for me?
I was able to open the allen bolt for the drain tube but that is as
far as I was able to get before I ran into the filler cap problem.
Thanks for the help-
TJC
1997 EVC - 188+ on original engine and tranny
