Transmission Cooler

[sgriffith]

Just a brief note in support of the tranny drain & fill....I have been doing mine for quite some time now (every 15k) and when I went to get my water pump, timing belt, and other drive belts changed, the Toyota service guy looked at all of my fluids with me. I didn't mention that I drain & fill the tranny every 15k, nor did I mention that I flushed all other fluids at 30k, but he noted that he had never seen a car 6 years old with such fresh fluids (not a very positive statement for other Toyota owners in the area)....including the tranny fluid. I owe all I have learned to the forum, but the drain & fill on the tranny seems to be working for me. Just make sure you put the proper amount back in ;-) No disrespect at all to SKPerformance....he obviously knows what he is talking about....I guess we all do what works for us & what we are most comfortable with.

[ajvenuto]

SKperformance,

Thanks again for clarifying my confusion.

[monarch]

To VGR,

I thought I read somewhere that a transmission oil change involves a flushing procedure. Is this true or is a tranny oil change just as simple as an engine oil change, where you just drain out the old oil and put in the new? In other words can it be done at home or does it have to be done by the dealer to do it right?

←

Yes, changing the transmission oil is about as simple as changing the engine oil. But it's a bit tricky to get the fluid level correct because tranny oil expands and contracts alot depending on fluid temperature. Therefore the idiotproof method of changing the tranny oil is to first check the fluid level on the tranny dipstick when the engine is fully warmed up to verify it's within the "hot" range. Then drain the fluid and measure the amount drained in a cheap plastic juice pitcher. Then pour back an identical amount of new fluid.

Start engine and slowly shift from Park through all the gear ranges ending back in Park. Now check fluid level. It should be within the "Cold" range or between Cold and Hot. If not, add or remove a little fluid as needed. Next drive car normally about 10-15 miles and recheck fluid level. It should now be within the Hot range. It is extremely important not to overfill above the hot range and also extremely important to use the Toyota fluid stamped on the dipstick (either Type T-IV or Dexron II or III - whichever is stamped on your dipstick). If Type T-IV, it's much cheaper to buy it from Toyota dealer parts depts. in 1 quart bottles. You need 2-3 quarts.

"Flushing" is not recommended by corporate Lexus, or the older, wiser, experienced Toyota gurus, because there is a small risk of catastrophic ($4,000) transmission failure. Instead, just drain and refill the tranny oil pan 2-5 more times over a period of days or weeks as necessary until the fluid on the dipstick is reddish rather than brownish.

[SKperformance]

no problem AJ

an no disrespect taken

as you said whatever works

[RX in NC]

Be aware that transmission "flushes" involve more risk than doing a simple drain-and-fill. When you flush, there is always a possibility that the process will dredge up safely-settled debris that can lodge in the nether regions of your transmission or torque converter and create an entirely new set of problems for you. Also, most of these shops don't use the actual Toyota Type T-IV transmission fluid that Lexus recommends as the only fluid that should ever go into your transmission pan. Most flush shops start with a universal, all-purpose fluid and then add additional contents and chemicals to it until the fluid supposedly matches the chemical composition of whatever your factory fill was. I find this hard to believe because these tranny flush technicians are not chemists and are not working in sterile laboratory conditions. I doubt very seriously if any fluid they mix up for your vehicle is going to be the identical twin of Type T-IV transmission fluid.

I'll continue with my routine drain-and-fill process every 30,000 miles for as long as we own this vehicle. While the flush-and-fill concept sure sounds like the best way to clean your transmission system as well as to get 99% of the old fluid out of there, I've spent considerable time researching the process and I believe that the risks are greater than the rewards. Good luck to all of you who decide that the flush-and-fill concept is the way to go, but I recommend that you research it very carefully before you decide to pull the trigger for it.

[jgr7]

It can be done at home but is a bit of work, you need to open one of the trans cooler lines and put some clear extensions on to give you better access to them. You put the side coming from the tranny in a five gallon bucket and the other end needs to be long enough to get you to a secure place to attach a funnel. Start the engine and leave it in park the fluid should be running out of the tube in the bucket, let a couple of quarts run out and then start putting new fluid in the funnel. It should run in pertty fast so have a bunch open and ready. When the fluid starts to run bright pink into the bucket stop pouring new in and let another pint or so run out then shut off the engine. Put the hoses back together, start it up, look for leaks, with your foot on the brake and idleing go through the gears then back to park and check fluid level. If it is within the cold range leave it alone if not add some and go for a ride to get it up to hot range and check again add more as needed. If it is over full at hot, open the line again and remove some fluid as you don't want to run overfull.

Jeff

[SKperformance]

ACtually a proper flush cannot be doen at home as their is a tempurate switch whish closes once the cold new fluid enter the system .

The new fluid needs to be the same temp as the exiting fluid

[jgr7]

Can the switch be disabled? or you could just let all the fluid drain out and then add new. It won't hurt the pump to run to empty as long as it is not trying to engage any gears, and you turn it off as soon as the fluid is almost stopped.

Jeff

[SKperformance]

it is internal and is a thermostatic switch

so no

[mh6]

Hi All,

well I had my transmission power flushed at my Toyota dealer and I talked with the tech on this issue. He seemed to be well educated on things and said that they do quite a few of them and that thier suggestion is power flush once every 30,000.

I wanted to start with a clean slate with my maintenance on this Transmission.

They service several of the Lexus folks in my area.

Mine cost me 150.00 and took about 1.2 hours, T-IV was filled correctly.

16 quarts as mentioned by a few fellow forum dudes. No debre was found but definitly needed to be changed. Was reddish brown and smelled a little burnt, however he said he had seen far worst and felt that I would be good to as long as I changed it every 30,000.

I will change it every 15,000 to be safe.

This procedure definitely not done at home.

But it shifts better and smooth