complete transmission fluid change.

[alpinekid]

I'm making the first fluid change after picking up this bus at action. So far I'm feeling good about the quality of the maintenance that our government/school did on this bus.

I'm cleaning the outside edges of the torque converter cover, getting ready to remove it to get at the drain plug that is suppose to be on the converter. The cross-over tube on the exhaust pipe goes right under this pan about an inch away but that is not what this is about.

There is a bolt on this pan that is high on the right-hand side, behind to starter motor, almost impossible to get to; That bolt missing on this bus. The previous mechanic had placed silicon sealer along the joint between the tc pan and the block.
Please forgive the image, I had to crawled under the bus and was shooting almost straight up.

Is this a normal hack when someone didn't want to take the time to replace that bolt.
I'm guessing that the cover would vibrate without that bolt and that is why the silicon was needed. I also noticed that the same sealer was applied along the upper joint on the other side too.
Currently there is no vibration noise and by the amount of dirty oily stuff it has been like this for a long time.

What does the committee of the whole think about this?

[alpinekid]

well I have the tc cover out, after much wiggling, it sorta rotated out sideways. The cross-over tube is right in the way.

Now I have a better look at this thing. It is NOT silicon sealant. It's a real silicon gasket of-sorts. It is clearly part of the tc cover, it goes along the while top edge and down both sides. It does seem to be stuck to the pan.
On mine is has partly worn away.
It just seems like it is about 2ft of some standard edging material.
Just replacing it will some silicon sealant is not a real possibility because of how it has to go in. It would all wipe off as the pan "slides" back in.

So, the question is;
is this a replaceable thing?

[alpinekid]

Just to update,
I've completed the transmission fluid change. It went real smooth and everything looks great. I'm road testing it today.

I think that the previous mechanic was very responsible. So far I have not found anything that indicates any short cuts. There was fine particles around the magnet, the filter was clean and only very very minor fine dirt in the pan.
The fluid was not pink but I have seen much worst on the web. As soon as I get time I'll post some images. The filter came out with the o-ring, so I didn't even have to go fishing for that.
The only tricky part was the bolt on the torque converter pan that is above the starter. What a pain. The previous mechanic did leave it out and I can see why It was a standard 5/16-18x3/4 long. The original bolts had a reduced head but there was room enough for the standard head on a standard bolt.

I used NAPA premium performance ATF
part number NP-75203; 5 gal bucket
The label claims for use where
dexron, dexron II, dexron III, mercon, and allison C4 is recommended.

I have about a gallon left so I'm wondering if it can be used in the power steering. I've seen conflicting reports. I haven't been able to find a manual for my year to see what is recommended.

I'll post some images later,
thanks to everyone for their advise and support.