Removal of Sonata under shield ... and maybe leave it off.

Discussion in 'Hyundai Sonata' started by Voyager, Nov 21, 2010.

  1. Voyager

    Voyager Guest

    I am going to change the transmission oil in my 2006 Sonata with manual
    transmission. The car has 70,000 miles and I had it changed at the
    dealership at 60,000 miles as I don't believe in the "lifetime fluid"
    approach for "normal" service that many now recommend. Anyway, I went
    to the dealership just a few weeks before they shut their doors. I
    thought things looked a little sparse on the lot and in the shop given
    that it was May. Anyway, since then the car is hard to shift into
    second gear, especially when cold. I am hoping that they hadn't run out
    of the correct 75W85 GL-4 and put in a heavier GL-5 fluid and possibly
    caused damage to the yellow metal parts.

    I am going to put in Amsoil synthetic GL-4 as I couldn't find a GL-4 at
    the local auto parts stores. Apparently, almost nobody uses it anymore.

    Anyway, it appears that the only easy way to access the fill plug is to
    remove the under shield. I thought this only had 4 bolts that held it,
    but a quick look under makes it appear that there are more than 4 bolts
    and I was seeing Phillips head screws as well. Can anyone tell me if
    all of these fasteners are for just the shield or do they hold other
    parts above the shield that may come loose? Also, leaving the shield
    off would certainly ease future oil changes and such. Has anyone left
    their under shield off? Any side effects such as additional air noise
    or overheating? I can't imagine it has significant functionality other
    than to smooth the air flow under the car for better mileage and less
    noise, but if the cooling system depends on it that would be a different
    story.

    Matt
     
    Voyager, Nov 21, 2010
    #1
  2. Voyager

    Mooron Guest

    I've driven a number of cars over 150k without ever
    changing manual transmission fluid. I don't think
    it's necessary.
     
    Mooron, Nov 21, 2010
    #2
  3. Voyager

    Voyager Guest

    I am not sure it is necessary either, but I always find a fair bit of
    metal on the drain plug magnet even after 50K or so and I'd rather not
    have that stuff circulating through the gears and synchros. And I tend
    to keep my cars well past 150K unless they get wrecked (which has
    happened to my last two high mileage vehicles), so I figure it is cheap
    insurance even if not absolutely necessary.

    I got the undershield off and mine had 9 10 mm bolts and two plastic
    Phillips head screws that got into expandable plug nuts. Of course, one
    of them was stripped (probably when the dealer changed the tranny oil
    10,000 miles ago) and would not come out. I had to break the head off
    with pliers. And this appears to be a special fastener that I can't
    find locally. I have an email into Hyundai Parts Online to see if they
    can get these.

    I drove the car for 30 miles today with the shield off and noticed no
    unusual air noise nor any difference in operating temp, but I will
    probably put it back on as it does keep things much cleaner up under the
    front of the engine.

    Matt
     
    Voyager, Nov 22, 2010
    #3
  4. Voyager

    hyundaitech Guest

    I don't know what these thingamabobs are called, but they're pretty
    standard fasteners. I'd imagine that just about any local dealer (any
    brand) would have some spare ones lying about (or some in the parts
    department they could sell you) or some Christmas-tree type fasteners
    that you could just push in. Realistically, I think these plastic
    fasteners were simply for assembly at the factory. Considering their
    position, if you leave them out, I doubt the cover will hang down. Or
    you could just leave the cover off altogether. Aside from dirt, I
    think the worst potential side effect is that there's a greater
    probability for something to come up and damage the engine or
    transmission.
     
    hyundaitech, Dec 2, 2010
    #4
  5. Voyager

    Voyager Guest

    You may well be right about the purpose. I was just afraid the front
    might flap in the breeze, but I left the one out and so far haven't
    noticed any unusual noise.

    I decided to put the cover back on for the reasons you mention.

    A question for you if you have another minute: Are you aware of any
    problem with synchros on the Hyundai manual transmission in the 06
    Sonata? I had the local dealership change the tranny oil at about the
    60K mark and shortly after that the tranny got very hard to shift into
    second gear, particularly when cold. Now, I own two standard shift
    vehicles at present and have driven them all my life so I know they all
    shift harder in the cold, but this is unusually hard and affects only
    2nd gear. Shifting into the other gears is still fine.

    The dealer went out of business less than a month after I had the work
    done. My fear is that they were using up supplies at that point and may
    have used whatever gear oil they had on hand. I know this transmission
    calls for GL-4 which generally means the tranny has
    "yellow metal" (brass or bronze) parts, typically the synchro cones.
    And I know that most GL-5 oils will eat at these yellow metal parts.

    The reason I had the cover off was to change the tranny oil. I put in
    Amsoil Gl-4 synthetic gear oil in 75W-90 viscosity which is close to
    what Hyundai calls for. It shifts better, but second is still hard to
    engage when cold and not completely normal even when warm.

    Any thoughts as to what might cause this? Do you think it could be oil
    related? Is this a known failure mode for this transmission? I will
    probably try to get it back to the dealer (the new one though is nearly
    40 miles away) and have them take a look as I at least want to lodge a
    complaint before the 100K warranty expires. I also saved the oil I
    removed so that I can have it analyzed should the tranny have to be
    replaced at some point.

    Matt
     
    Voyager, Dec 2, 2010
    #5
  6. Voyager

    hyundaitech Guest

    I haven't seen enough of these transmissions to know of any common
    failures. Changing the oil again was my immediate instinct, but
    you've already done that, so I think it's time to plan a dealer visit.

    I hadn't realized I'd been away for so long.
     
    hyundaitech, Jan 20, 2011
    #6
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