Slightly overfilling the manual transaxle would not cause any harm. In a perfect world the fluid should sit 3/16" below the bottom fill hole when the Patriot is flat on the ground.

Capacity is 2.4-2.7 Liters (2.5-2.8 Quarts).

Did you have the Patriot up on ramps? You can fill using the upper hole, however the lower one must also be open. Keep filling until fluid comes out the bottom hole then plug both.

Again, a bit extra will not harm anything, however more than 500ml is probably not a good idea as you run the risk of foaming and aeration.

 

Thanks Guys,

My Pat was level. Filling from the lower hole seemed like a real pain. It would require an extra funnel or a piece of hose. The job was really easy after I got the procedure down. I spent an hour looking it over and 5 minutes doing it.

FWIW, the old fluid was very dirty as expected. You just don't break-in gears without metal flushing into the fluid. Shifting seems to have improved. I used 3 qts. of Castrol and 1 qt. of Valvoline. I'll likely change it again at 10000 miles.

 

I plan on doing mine tomorrow. Probably get the Mobil Super ATF+4 we can get here in Canada, only one I can find that comes in a jug.

 

So, what is up with the additional quart of fluid? Did I make a serious error using the upper hole? I ended up mixing two name brands of ATF+4 which I didn't want to do.

Depending on the temperature of the fluid and the pathways it needs to take from the upper fill hole to the side fill hole, it could take a few minutes for it to flow down there. I would set a large pan under it and remove both plugs again and just let it sit. In 10-15 minutes time you might find that extra quart slowly seeped out of the lower fill hole (or take it for a quick spin to heat it up, then do the above).

 

Thanks Todd,
I considered that too. This one sat with both plugs off for at least 15 minutes and had stopped dripping. I'm going on a road trip soon and I'll pull that plug one last time before I go. The hardest part of this was pulling the splash pan. That won't be needed for this level check. I think maybe the spec is to bring the level up to that 3/16 inch. minimum. It's like the engine oil spec where the level comes half way up the range mark on the stick.

 

Did mine today, and I'm not convinced the 2.5 quarts is accurate. The manual says to fill within 4mm of the hole but doesn't give a capacity. I could not feel fluid from the side hole prior to draining, drained it out, then flushed with 500ml of new fluid. A little over 3 liters came out in total including the 500ml I flushed with.
I had purchased 4L thinking I would have enough, and when I put the 3.5L in, it still wasn't up to the hole. I took it for a spin, and all seems fine, but I can't get another liter until tomorrow. I'll see how much more it will take to come out the hole.

 

I think you are right Hitzy. When I did mine I had more than the published capacity too. I just kept pouring unit it came out the bottom hole. I believe it was about 3.2 L.

After driving around and checking again the level stayed the same (just under the hole). Not sure where they get that capacity from.

 

It's not that funny, but I found a thread on another board where a few of the 5 speed Patriots came from the factory 1/2 quart low. I guess I'm glad I did the change now and not at 80,000kms like the manual calls for.
Edit***
My fluid was pretty cloudy and more of a purple color, but didn't really have any silver tint to it like what comes out of my lawnmowers so I don't think there was too much metal in it. This is the WORST smelling tranny fluid I have ever come across though....nasty stuff.

 

Took another 150ml to fill it. 3.5 quarts would be a good starting point and top up as needed. I'm glad I did this, it was very easy and I got to spray down some rust spots that the Krown guys miss because of the splash shield.
I also changed the plugs out, these ones had 25000kms on them, and I was waaayyy too early pulling them. The OEM ones I took out at 20000kms and they were almost seized so I thought I would get these ones early. I put a drop of moly oil on them when I installed them and they came out right easy. Good thing they are cheap! I'll leave these ones in for 40 or 50k now.
Still can't get over the stench of that ATF+4.

 

....
Still can't get over the stench of that ATF+4.

I noticed that too. My whole basement stunk.