Transmission Preventative Maintenance

[GrayES300]

if you don't mind to tell us

"what type transmission fluid are you using with 265,000 miles car?

Thanks,

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It has been a while but I believe it was Dexron III. I would buy the stuff that was on sale at Walmart. No synthetic.

[monarch]

if you don't mind to tell us

"what type transmission fluid are you using with 265,000 miles car?

It has been a while but I believe it was Dexron III. I would buy the stuff that was on sale at Walmart. No synthetic.

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So once again we see owners who use inexpensive CONVENTIONAL oil and change it regularly are rewarded with monster mileage durability.

[mburnickas]

So once again we see owners who use inexpensive CONVENTIONAL oil and change it regularly are rewarded with 265,000 miles car.

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I would not call 265K "265,000 miles car". No one is saying synthetic is the best in the world case closed here. I use synthetic for the added protection and benefits OVER dino old-dextron 3. Can dino do the job sure. So can an old 486 PC too or analog systems. Some people want more and so are fine with the old stand bye for the lack of a better term.

If you are using dino the key is charging out soon since or not go very long. It subjected to higher then normal heat good bye. For me the 4 qts of Amsoil every 40K is cheap, very cheap and I know it performs better (as the shirts are seemless). Is it the best, no. I also know may that have gone longer with dino and that is them, not me. Samething with oils. You get what you pay for and the oil tests will and do show it.

[camlex]

FYI

I have 99 Sienna @87000

I did transmission flush @30K ,60K and i will do it again @90K with III Type.

No problem ....

[Lexusfreak]

FYI

I have 99 Sienna @87000

I did transmission flush @30K ,60K and i will do it again @90K with III Type.

No problem ....

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cam, nobody is saying that conventional ATF is going to cause a breakdown or your tranny to fail. Were simply saying using a compatable synthetic (in my case Amsoil synthetic ATF...which is also fine for Dexrom III) will give you better shifting performance, last longer & protect that much better is all. ;)

[82DMC12]

You guys have no clue. It's not the FLUSH that ruins the tranny, it's the owner's ineptness with following the maintenence schedule that does it.

How is the flush going to ruin a tranny? Do you know how they work? The machine doesn't flush anything. It simply takes the old fluid and exchanges it by volume with clean fluid. No pressure, no electrical plug in, NOTHING. purely mechanical.

A transmission flush done at the proper intervals (15K-30K depending on what year you have or owners manual recommends) will in absolutely NO circumstance ruin, 'clog', etc ANY transmission on the face of the Earth.

What happens is this: stupid owner has never changed his transmission fluid. He has 100K on it and it's 'starting to shift funny'. The fluid is 'discolored'. So he wants to flush because 'he's heard it might do some good'. He takes it to a tranny shop, they flush it, and two months later the tranny stalls out and he blames 'that stupid rip-off flush'.

Well what happened was the fluid was so crappy in his car that it was leaving major varnish and deposits. Once the good clean fluid was installed, the cleaning agents were replaced, and it loosened up the crap left in the tranny and THAT is what eventually gummed it up, NOT THE FLUSH'S FAULT! If you would have drained it and refilled it 3x in 2 weeks you would have the same result. Kind of like how synthetic oil will loosen debris in a neglected engine that was keeping leaks from being apparent. It didn't CAUSE the leak, it EXPOSED IT!!

So what is the lesson here? This talk of "don't flush Toyota's/Lexus" is completely stupid and urban legend. There's absolutely nothing to worry about as long as you change your fluid BEFORE it gets dark/discolored/burned-smelling. Why change it if it's not bad? Because once it's bad, it's too late!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah there is a filter too. Change it every other time. Why not? It's not expensive and takes 10 minutes.

I hope I don't hear anymore on here about how flushing a Lexus is bad/not recommended. It's all myth and legend. I work in the industry and I know how this stuff goes.

Andy Lien

[NathanOfSeattle]

I would like to do a full flush with Amsoil ATF on my 97 Es300. Could someone contact me (nathan.shih@gmail.com) or write out steps on how to do this properly? I have all the tools necessary but it seems like I will need 12 quarts of Amsoil oil from what I've read. Thanks in advance!

[GrayES300]

I agree with 82DMC12. There shouldn't be any problems flushing the transmission if you keep up with the fluid mainenance. I personally don't use synthetic because I change my fluid regularly and feel the benefits of the synthetic might be waisted in my application. I do agree that synthetic is better than conventional, but might not be necessary. My question is if you change your fluid every 6,000 miles, is a flush even necessary? I would think you would have so much clean fluid that it wouldn't be needed. Just a thought. I'm no mechanic. I just have personal experience to go off of.

I also talked with the guy who bought my '92 and it has about 280,000 miles on it now and he says that he hasn't had any transmission problems. I have a feeling he isn't taking care of it like I did so we shall see how much life is left in it. I also never used synthetic oil in it either. Just changed the oil frequently. I started to use synthetic in my '01, then changed to a blend.

[Lexusfreak]

I would like to do a full flush with Amsoil ATF on my 97 Es300. Could someone contact me (nathan.shih@gmail.com) or write out steps on how to do this properly? I have all the tools necessary but it seems like I will need 12 quarts of Amsoil oil from what I've read. Thanks in advance!

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I agree with 82D as well. Nathan, if you want to do a complete flush......your going to have to take it to a shop with the proper equipment (unless you have the high pressure flushing maching in your home). B) It has to be hooked up to your tranny lines as it needs to 'blow' the old fluid out of the torque converter and such while at the same time, be replaced by new fluid. Unless you have this expensive machine & skills accordingly, you can't do this yourself. ;)

[82DMC12]

I agree with 82DMC12.  There shouldn't be any problems flushing the transmission if you keep up with the fluid mainenance.  I personally don't use synthetic because I change my fluid regularly and feel the benefits of the synthetic might be waisted in my application.  I do agree that synthetic is better than conventional, but might not be necessary.  My question is if you change your fluid every 6,000 miles, is a flush even necessary?  I would think you would have so much clean fluid that it wouldn't be needed.  Just a thought.  I'm no mechanic.  I just have personal experience to go off of.

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Gray,

In my opinion, why not do a drain and fill of the tranny and final drive every time you do an oil change? Change the filter every 30K-50K. I mean why the hell not? Tranny fluid is cheap and the service is easy. I'd rather do it too often than not often enough, personally. My other car is a DeLorean and I change every fluid on the whole car every spring. 2 or 3 oil changes during the summer (stored winters)

Andy

[GrayES300]

I agree with 82DMC12.  There shouldn't be any problems flushing the transmission if you keep up with the fluid mainenance.  I personally don't use synthetic because I change my fluid regularly and feel the benefits of the synthetic might be waisted in my application.  I do agree that synthetic is better than conventional, but might not be necessary.  My question is if you change your fluid every 6,000 miles, is a flush even necessary?  I would think you would have so much clean fluid that it wouldn't be needed.  Just a thought.  I'm no mechanic.  I just have personal experience to go off of.

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Gray,

In my opinion, why not do a drain and fill of the tranny and final drive every time you do an oil change? Change the filter every 30K-50K. I mean why the hell not? Tranny fluid is cheap and the service is easy. I'd rather do it too often than not often enough, personally. My other car is a DeLorean and I change every fluid on the whole car every spring. 2 or 3 oil changes during the summer (stored winters)

Andy

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Certainly, there is nothing wrong with changing the trans fluid more frequently (except for environmental reasons). I choose the 6,000 mark because I drive at least 150 miles per day so if I changed it more often, it probably wouldn't make much of a difference. If you drive a lot of city traffic, changing every oil change would make good sense. I like to change the filter a little more often, because no matter what fluid you use, there will be some metal residue in the fluid and filter. The filter is cheap and easy to change so why not do it often?

How often do you drive your DeLorean? I personally love those cars. I saw a special on the History channel all about DeLorean and how he designed the car. It had a ton of original footage of him in meetings with his design team. Extremely interesting. You should check it out if you get that channel and they re-air it. I think it is very wise to change all the fluids in it when it sits winters. You probably wouldn't have to do the power steering or antifreeze that often, but like you said, it doesn't hurt. Do you keep it up on jack stands during storage? That's important to keep the tires from getting damaged. I have a 1966 Cadillac Coupe DeVille Convertible and 1951 Packard I am working on right now. Earlier this year, I sold my 1978 Porsche 924 (piece of crap!). I love old and classic cars, especially independants.

[Lexusfreak]

I agree with 82DMC12.  There shouldn't be any problems flushing the transmission if you keep up with the fluid mainenance.  I personally don't use synthetic because I change my fluid regularly and feel the benefits of the synthetic might be waisted in my application.  I do agree that synthetic is better than conventional, but might not be necessary.  My question is if you change your fluid every 6,000 miles, is a flush even necessary?  I would think you would have so much clean fluid that it wouldn't be needed.  Just a thought.  I'm no mechanic.  I just have personal experience to go off of.

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Gray,

In my opinion, why not do a drain and fill of the tranny and final drive every time you do an oil change? Change the filter every 30K-50K. I mean why the hell not? Tranny fluid is cheap and the service is easy. I'd rather do it too often than not often enough, personally. My other car is a DeLorean and I change every fluid on the whole car every spring. 2 or 3 oil changes during the summer (stored winters)

Andy

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If were talking about the 'filter' as being the transmission filter mesh screen, why in the world are you changing the filter so often? It's re-usable, as it's a mesh screen, not paper or anything. Your waisting your money huge on that replacement. It's like replacing your moonroof glass every couple years.......why? just clean it! ;)

[82DMC12]

I agree with 82DMC12.  There shouldn't be any problems flushing the transmission if you keep up with the fluid mainenance.  I personally don't use synthetic because I change my fluid regularly and feel the benefits of the synthetic might be waisted in my application.  I do agree that synthetic is better than conventional, but might not be necessary.  My question is if you change your fluid every 6,000 miles, is a flush even necessary?  I would think you would have so much clean fluid that it wouldn't be needed.  Just a thought.  I'm no mechanic.  I just have personal experience to go off of.

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Gray,

In my opinion, why not do a drain and fill of the tranny and final drive every time you do an oil change? Change the filter every 30K-50K. I mean why the hell not? Tranny fluid is cheap and the service is easy. I'd rather do it too often than not often enough, personally. My other car is a DeLorean and I change every fluid on the whole car every spring. 2 or 3 oil changes during the summer (stored winters)

Andy

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If were talking about the 'filter' as being the transmission filter mesh screen, why in the world are you changing the filter so often? It's re-usable, as it's a mesh screen, not paper or anything. Your waisting your money huge on that replacement. It's like replacing your moonroof glass every couple years.......why? just clean it! ;)

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My mistake. Like you said, I meant clean the screen, not actually replace it with a new one. It's been a little while since the last time I was inside the pan on my ES.

As for the DMC, I drive it from around April until October. I don't have to worry about power steering because it doesn't have it. But I do change the brake fluid, coolant, and clutch fluid at LEAST every other year, if not every spring. Only fools let this stuff go forever. I saw one guy's DeLorean who said his brakes were soft - I popped open the brake reservior and it was full of water and chunks of black gel. That wouldn't have happened if he had serviced the car from time to time!! For tire care during the winter I don't put the car up on jack stands because that can cause the bushings in the suspension to flex unnaturally. I air the tires up to max PSI and roll the car a couple times each winter. I've never had a problem with flat spots in the spring and even if I did, I'd rather replace $800 worth of tires than do suspension work!! LOL

And yes, Porsche 924's are major pieces of crap. Did you know it was slated to be a VW originally? Kinda reminds me of the Cadillac Cimmaron!

Andy

[Lexusfreak]

My mistake.  Like you said, I meant clean the screen, not actually replace it with a new one.  It's been a little while since the last time I was inside the pan on my ES. 

Andy

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If your ES is due for a 'complete' fluid change, I'd take this chance to replace the tranny pan gasket while your at it & clean the filter mesh screen at the same time (this should be good for several years before you have to change the gasket again as a preventitive measure). In between that time (sounds like your very fussy like me with fluid changes) I'd just do a 'drain & fill' methon every 30k miles or 2 years whichever comes first........especially if you switch to Amsoil synthetic ATF as it will last much longer than the conventional Toyota Type IV fluid. Just my suggestion as that is exactly what I will be doing. B)

[GrayES300]

I agree with 82DMC12.  There shouldn't be any problems flushing the transmission if you keep up with the fluid mainenance.  I personally don't use synthetic because I change my fluid regularly and feel the benefits of the synthetic might be waisted in my application.  I do agree that synthetic is better than conventional, but might not be necessary.  My question is if you change your fluid every 6,000 miles, is a flush even necessary?  I would think you would have so much clean fluid that it wouldn't be needed.  Just a thought.  I'm no mechanic.  I just have personal experience to go off of.

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Gray,

In my opinion, why not do a drain and fill of the tranny and final drive every time you do an oil change? Change the filter every 30K-50K. I mean why the hell not? Tranny fluid is cheap and the service is easy. I'd rather do it too often than not often enough, personally. My other car is a DeLorean and I change every fluid on the whole car every spring. 2 or 3 oil changes during the summer (stored winters)

Andy

←

If were talking about the 'filter' as being the transmission filter mesh screen, why in the world are you changing the filter so often? It's re-usable, as it's a mesh screen, not paper or anything. Your waisting your money huge on that replacement. It's like replacing your moonroof glass every couple years.......why? just clean it! ;)

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[Lexusfreak]

Gray, you didn't post any message on your last posting.

[es300_1997]

My mistake.  Like you said, I meant clean the screen, not actually replace it with a new one.  It's been a little while since the last time I was inside the pan on my ES. 

Andy

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If your ES is due for a 'complete' fluid change, I'd take this chance to replace the tranny pan gasket while your at it & clean the filter mesh screen at the same time (this should be good for several years before you have to change the gasket again as a preventitive measure). In between that time (sounds like your very fussy like me with fluid changes) I'd just do a 'drain & fill' methon every 30k miles or 2 years whichever comes first........especially if you switch to Amsoil synthetic ATF as it will last much longer than the conventional Toyota Type IV fluid. Just my suggestion as that is exactly what I will be doing. B)

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OK, so let's say that I own an ES300 MY97 that has the discolored tranny fluid and is low mileage for the age, but hadn't had the tranny fluid changed in 40K? Total mileage is about 80K right now. The car has not been abused in the sense of stoplight burnouts (or attempts there of) or acting like it's a manual and unnecessarily shifting from low to drive for instance . All the other fluids, oil, brake, and coolant has been changed at scheduled times, but my wife neglected to do the Tranny fluid afte our last visit to the Lexus shop at 30K. All other work was done third party, i.e. Goodyear or some other shop and that is why no one came out and mentioned anything to her about it. :chairshot: So what options and steps should I take? I do have the smell from the tranny case and the fluid is a dark color. I like to change it out ASAP, but confused whether to flush the system or not. Any suggestions. Also for an older car should synth in the tranny be ok as opposed to the regular dino stuff? Thanks for any help.

- Henry

PS: first post at this forum, hope it will be a start of many.

[Lexusfreak]

My mistake.  Like you said, I meant clean the screen, not actually replace it with a new one.  It's been a little while since the last time I was inside the pan on my ES. 

Andy

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If your ES is due for a 'complete' fluid change, I'd take this chance to replace the tranny pan gasket while your at it & clean the filter mesh screen at the same time (this should be good for several years before you have to change the gasket again as a preventitive measure). In between that time (sounds like your very fussy like me with fluid changes) I'd just do a 'drain & fill' methon every 30k miles or 2 years whichever comes first........especially if you switch to Amsoil synthetic ATF as it will last much longer than the conventional Toyota Type IV fluid. Just my suggestion as that is exactly what I will be doing. B)

←

OK, so let's say that I own an ES300 MY97 that has the discolored tranny fluid and is low mileage for the age, but hadn't had the tranny fluid changed in 40K? Total mileage is about 80K right now. The car has not been abused in the sense of stoplight burnouts (or attempts there of) or acting like it's a manual and unnecessarily shifting from low to drive for instance . All the other fluids, oil, brake, and coolant has been changed at scheduled times, but my wife neglected to do the Tranny fluid afte our last visit to the Lexus shop at 30K. All other work was done third party, i.e. Goodyear or some other shop and that is why no one came out and mentioned anything to her about it. :chairshot: So what options and steps should I take? I do have the smell from the tranny case and the fluid is a dark color. I like to change it out ASAP, but confused whether to flush the system or not. Any suggestions. Also for an older car should synth in the tranny be ok as opposed to the regular dino stuff? Thanks for any help.

- Henry

PS: first post at this forum, hope it will be a start of many.

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Welcome Henry! B) Based on what you have mentioned here, I would do a 100% tranny fluid change, clean the filter mesh screen & replace the tranny pan gasket (as a preventitive means). Then ist's your call if you want to go with dino or synthetic (I recommend Amsoil synthetic ATF as it is compatable with BOTH Dexron III & Toyota Type IV fluid). It won't be cheap with this maintenance item, but then again, neither is about $4,500 for a rebuilt tranny. ;) B)

Here is a link with some detailed info about Amsoil synthetic ATF. I will be switching to this myself later this yearf for my 01 ES. Good Luck!

http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/atf.aspx

[VGR]

es300 1997, instead of taking chances with transmission flushes and "universal" type synthetic fluids, you could care for your transmission the way the Toyota engineers recommend. They recommend:

1. Just draining and refilling the transmssion oil pan with Toyota's own premium Dexron fluid http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mastertech/atfb.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mastertech/atfc.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mastertech/atfa.jpg

Since your existing fluid is on the old side, you could have the pan drained and refilled at eash engine oil change for 3-4 times in a row and then return to a more typical 15,000 - 20,000 mile drain and refill interval.

There is no need to remove the transmission oil pan and clean the magnets or filter screen until the car has about 150,000 miles on it (and even at that mileage the screen will likely still likely be quite clean and unrestricted)

[Lexusfreak]

es300 1997, instead of taking chances with transmission flushes and "universal" type synthetic fluids, you could care for your transmission the way the Toyota engineers recommend. They recommend:

1. Just draining and refilling the transmssion oil pan with Toyota's own premium Dexron fluid http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mastertech/atfb.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mastertech/atfc.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mastertech/atfa.jpg

Since your existing fluid is on the old side, you could have the pan drained and refilled at eash engine oil change for 3-4 times in a row and then return to a more typical 15,000 - 20,000 mile drain and refill interval.

There is no need to remove the transmission oil pan and clean the magnets or filter screen until the car has about 150,000 miles on it (and even at that mileage the screen will likely still likely be quite clean and unrestricted)

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And what makes Toyota Dexron III fluid so different from Amsoil? & how much does it cost to do a 'drain & fill' at your dealer or mechanic? Time that by 3-4 times & you could do a 100% fluid change for the same cost, once! I said to drop the pan & replace the tranny pan gasket as a preventitive measure.....I would not wait until 150,000 miles to do that & why not clean the filter mesh screen at the same time the gasket is replaced since it's right there. :whistles:

[LexKid630]

so lets say for example, i were to buy a 2003 w/ 20k miles on it. Its tranny fluid was never flushed outside of what happens at each lexus service.

do you reccomend i flush the fluid and replace it with new fluid right away? Is the previously 20k miles w/o a flush going to kill it anyway?

[Lexusfreak]

so lets say for example, i were to buy a 2003 w/ 20k miles on it. Its tranny fluid was never flushed outside of what happens at each lexus service.

do you reccomend i flush the fluid and replace it with new fluid right away? Is the previously 20k miles w/o a flush going to kill it anyway?

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I don't think it's due to be changed yet at 20k miles........check the owners manual for the correct interval. B)

[LexKid630]

so lets say for example, i were to buy a 2003 w/ 20k miles on it. Its tranny fluid was never flushed outside of what happens at each lexus service.

do you reccomend i flush the fluid and replace it with new fluid right away? Is the previously 20k miles w/o a flush going to kill it anyway?

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I don't think it's due to be changed yet at 20k miles........check the owners manual for the correct interval. B)

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i mean "should" it be done @ 20k miles.? Sometimes the manual gives an under estimate. It can't hurt to do a flush? can it? rather replace it while the fluid is still good fefore it goes bad!

[Lexusfreak]

so lets say for example, i were to buy a 2003 w/ 20k miles on it. Its tranny fluid was never flushed outside of what happens at each lexus service.

do you reccomend i flush the fluid and replace it with new fluid right away? Is the previously 20k miles w/o a flush going to kill it anyway?

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I don't think it's due to be changed yet at 20k miles........check the owners manual for the correct interval. B)

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i mean "should" it be done @ 20k miles.? Sometimes the manual gives an under estimate. It can't hurt to do a flush? can it? rather replace it while the fluid is still good fefore it goes bad!

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It won't hurt no, preventitive maintenance is a good thing. B)

[LexKid630]

better be safe than sorry...