Need Transmission Service Advice

[FredParoutaud]

Hi All,

I'm going to change transmission fluid and filter on our "new" 96 es-300. Is there an article about this already written up? I've got a service manual on order, but I might dig into this before it arrives.

Any help appreciated! :)

Fred

[3ztwint]

Do a search under "transmission fluid change" in this forum, and that should get you a good start. It would be a good idea to have the car warmed up to operating temp when you remove the fluid so that it removes the most buildup, and you might check on doing a few flushes so that the trq conv. gets some fresh fluid, but I'd do a search and see what others have done, as I haven't done the change on my ES - just other cars, so you might see what others have said. Good luck.

J

[jragosta]

Do a search under "transmission fluid change" in this forum, and that should get you a good start. It would be a good idea to have the car warmed up to operating temp when you remove the fluid so that it removes the most buildup, and you might check on doing a few flushes so that the trq conv. gets some fresh fluid, but I'd do a search and see what others have done, as I haven't done the change on my ES - just other cars, so you might see what others have said. Good luck.

J

In case anyone else has missed it, it's probably a good idea to use genuine Lexus (Toyota) transmission fluid. Transmissions are quite sensitive to fluid properties in general, but I believe that these transmissions are particularly sensitive. It's probably not a place you want to try to save a few bucks.

[FredParoutaud]

Do a search under "transmission fluid change" in this forum, and that should get you a good start.

J

Great, now I'm totally confused.

;)

Well, I'm going to dig into the owners manual first. But it does sound like a simple drain and refill (whatever it spits out) is the way to go, and not mess with the screens for now. Si? Maybe do that a couple of times.

Our es300 has 87k miles on it, and transmission fluid is verified as "dirty" by a good shop.

Thanks,

Fred

[SKperformance]

You want to keep the tranny

clean the filter and all the fluid not just a drain and fill, but a flush

find a shop to use a flush mahine on it'

it is much cheaper than a new tranny belive me i know

[Lexusfreak]

I agree with sk, I would do a complete 100% fluid change. Double check the owners manual for the correct type of fluid I think yours should be dexron II or III. If that's the case, you could use a synthetic tranny fluid such as Mobil 1 synthetic ATF.....a little more expensive but it will protect the transmission better. You also should clean the filter (it's re-usable so no need to replace) & replace the transmission pan gasket to avoid leaks down the road.

[SKperformance]

I don;t recommend using basic synthetic fluid as myself and other members who have used mobil one found us needing new trannies from slippage.

I have now used amsoil synthetic and it is much better for a couple of bucks more.

It recommend dex 2 which is no longer made

dex 3 works in it also ,valvoline is used by the dealers, so i would stick with that if using basic fluid.

[FredParoutaud]

Thanks for the info!

Ok, I'm going to bite the bullet and remove the pan, clean the filters, etc. Pan gasket is from toyota?

I'm confused about the "tranny flush" method. Reading the searched tranny posts, it seems to me that some folks have damaged seals caused by the flushes. Is this true?

Also, for some reason I'm a big believer in valvoline. (fwiw) If the dealers are using valvoline, that's good enough for me. I'll check that out too.

So filters are to be cleaned, but not necessarily replaced? How do you go about cleaning them?

And any sealer needed for the tranny pan gasket?

Best regards,

Fred

[mburnickas]

In my 98 I use amsoil and it works good for me. I bought the steel filter and gasket for $24 in a tranny service kit online. Change fluid every 30K miles and the filter every other drain.

You could just clean the filter with brake clean or a nice solvent that does not lean a film.

[SKperformance]

It is easier to take it to a trannny shop with a machine to connect the machine to the tranny cooler and return lines ,it waits for the temp to raise in the fluid then begins the flush to remove all the fluid which has to be removed hot not cold for full cuirculation,which also means the new fluid needs to be warmed as well.

I did mine at walmart $30, me ,bottle of varsol( to clean the filter) 12 liters of valvoline fliud ,their machine and a hoist i took 2 hours but i did drop the pan before and clean it for a while.