I've heard that yanking the seal is a PITA. Is tehre a away around this? If i just wanted to change fldui but not filter woudl i still have to screw around with the seal?

 

I never heard of having to change a seal when changing the fluid. You have to replace the pan gasket but that is all, and that is not hard. Also if you are changing the fluid, it is kinda useless unless you also change the filter.