3 Hour Transmission Fluid Change Job

Today I completed a difficult task on the Eclipse. What started as a simple Transmission Fluid Change, turned out to be a 3 hour ordeal. First I jacked up the car and tried to take off the spring compressors but it seems that its the only thing that are keeping the springs from launching out of my car. So all 5 mechanics and I decided it was a safer bet to leave them on and just replace them once my Tokico Shocks and Springs come in. Now for the rest of story... So I first of all, it is very difficult to maneuver down there when the vehicle is jacked as high as can be. That was mostly the problem, I have decided pretty much if I am working on the bottom portion of the car to just invest on a lift. So I took all 14 bolts off and to my surprise the Transmission Fluid pan is essentially glued to the transmission. I had to take a pry bar to pry away the pan from the body itself. Afterwards there was a lot of left over RTV sealant as well as what was left of the old rubber gasket. So I let the old BLACK fluid drain out. Funny part is that the color of the clean fluid is RED, I guess the threat of transmission fluid getting old is a very real threat. Also, I suggest following what the maintenance schedule on your car. Yes it maybe hard work and might cost a lot of money, but it beats having to buy a new car. Continuing on, I took an air sander to sand down the gunk, old RTV and the old gasket from the pan. After that I took the pan, bolts and the magnet to the solvent tank for cleaning. After all the crap was washed off by the solvent, i proceeded to scrape the underside of the of where the gasket meets the Transmission body. After getting all the crap off, i painted new RTV sealant on the underside and pan where the gasket meets the pan. I place the filter in, pushed the it all the way until you hear two clicks on for each mount. I then placed the pan back to the body and bolted the pan to the Transmission body. Yes that sounds like a lot, but at least I know I did it right.