Transmission Fluid Change Question

[Belaflek]

Well..I see how to take off the tranny pan..is there any graceful way to drain it cos I see myself unscrewing all that and getting covered in fluid since there is no drainhole on it.

[chips229]

Hi,there is a tranmission drain hole on my uk car,changed to tranny fluid the other week,JUST MAKE SURE YOU USE LEXUS TRANSMISSION FLUID,or you will damage the box ;)

[Belaflek]

Toyota Type IV

[mbpgawest]

Belaflek, yes use Toyota type IV, and yes there is a drain plug. Make sure to replace the metal gasket on the drian plug also.

[Lexuslvr]

Where can you find Toyota Type T transmission fluid for the LS400?

(other than the dealer....)

Can't find at NAPA, or any auto parts store.

[vyhanh]

Any Toyota dealer stocks it

[monarch]

Where can you find Toyota Type T transmission fluid for the LS400?

http://www.saber.net/~monarch/typet.jpg

[Belaflek]

Ya..I just went to the Toyota Dealership and got 3 quarts for 5 bucks each

[99lsguy]

Clean the three magnets in the pan to get the metal shavings off........well, actually, clean the whole pan!!

And check/clean the screens too......let us know how they look.

Why are you taking the pan off????? Leak around gasket????

Good Luck!

Torque on those 19 bolts is only 65 inch lbs...........so be careful and use a pattern to tighten.

[99lexo]

whats up everyone, this is my first post.(newb here, yaaay !!) I was just looking for this topic because I need to flush my tranny as well. does anyone know how much type IV I might need to do this? I've heard our tranny only holds about 2 quarts, but to do a flush you need to drain and fill about 3 times... is this correct? Also, does anyone know if the Toyota dealership carries this, or do I have to go to Lexus? thanks..

[vyhanh]

I am not sure (until Thursday from dealer) that I now have a transmission oil leak becasue I flushed the trans ? I read that I may have been caught with a dilemma: if you don't flush then it may be bad for the trans but if you do, then the old crud will damage the seal. *&%$S if you do and %%^$# if you don't :cries:

[wandawoods]

was it a complete 16qt tranny flush? if yes, that's what I worry about for my SC4 w/168K:

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...howtopic=10228&

if just drain-&-refill, did u change the pan gasket? the old gasket usually doesn't re-seal very well after u remove it.

[vyhanh]

It was a JiffyLube machine that did a complete flush

[wandawoods]

It was a JiffyLube machine that did a complete flush

too bad!

both firestone and jiffy lub guys told me the samething: complete tranny flush by machine can damage seals for high-milleage tranny, and they would disclaim reponsibity if that happened. did your jiffy guy warn u about this!?

so, I would rather spend $225 to get it done at dealer who will take responsibility if tranny seal breaks or leaks.

[RCRFAN3]

Ihave been told by a dealership tech that it is 2 qts to top it off.

[wandawoods]

just to be clear, pan drain-n-refill is little bit over 2qt, but entire tranny oil flush is 16qt which mostly is trapped inside tranny when engine is off.

[Belaflek]

so a drain and refill really doesnt do much at all?

[wandawoods]

so a drain and refill really doesnt do much at all?

correct, unless u do that at least close to 10 times to change out all 16qt. keep in mind that the 2qt new after drain-n-refill is adding to the old fluid, so the math is NOT 16/2=8. can some1 figure out the math for us?

however, with the potential disaster of blown seal while doing full flush by machine in mind, drain-n-refill 10 times may be safer for high-milleage tranny.

I am not sure (until Thursday from dealer) that I now have a transmission oil leak becasue I flushed the trans ? I read that I may have been caught with a dilemma: if you don't flush then it may be bad for the trans but if you do, then the old crud will damage the seal. *&%$S if you do and %%^$# if you don't

vyhanh,

have u figured out the leak issue was actually caused by machine flush or not? I need to do something about my 168K 96 SC4 soon....

[99lsguy]

I've pan drained my tranny FOUR TIMES since I've had the car (10K miles total).....the fluid is perfect!!! Current odometer is @ 63500 miles.

A bit overkill I suppose.........but now I can skip and drain it every other oil change(10k) if I wanted - maintenance sched. calls for this procedure every 30K........

This certainly takes the risk out of blowing seals instead of having the tranny full of fluid and under pressure to push it all through.......

It's just so easy to do while your changing the oil!

[vyhanh]

I don't think that the rear main seal leak (confirmed by dealer yesterday) was caused by trans machine flush.

[dcfish]

Lexus does not recomend a complete flush , Only drain and fill via drain plug , If this is done every 30k you should'nt have any probs . Use toyota tranny fluid only . :D

[wandawoods]

Lexus does not recomend a complete flush , Only drain and fill via drain plug , If this is done every 30k you should'nt have any probs . Use toyota tranny fluid only

well, my service rep at dealer told me that lexus does recommend complete tranny fluid flush at 10500 miles for my 97 LS4.

[dcfish]

Good luck with the seals in the future ! :cries:

[vyhanh]

Wandawoods: Why don't you try draining and filling first and wait to see what happens? Beter to take the less risky route IMHO

[wandawoods]

Wandawoods: Why don't you try draining and filling first and wait to see what happens? Beter to take the less risky route IMHO

I don't really worry about my LS4 w/98K, but I do worry about the 169K SC4.

the porblem to do drain-n-fill is that we drive SC4 so little (3.5K in last 10 months). we need to do at least 10 times the 2qt refill in order to change out the whole 16qt, that will take us at least 5~7 years to drive 30K at current rate. even we do it at every 1.5K, that will still take 2-3 years.