Transmission Issue

[chilphil]

I am new to the board and would like a little advice from you Lexus experts. My tranny is having a slight problem engaging once placed in reverse and then it takes a little longer to engage once placed in drive. Play-by-play:

press brake shift to reverse and then a slight half second hesitation (very little "jump").

press brake shift to drive and then about a full second hesitation (little more "jump" but still very slight)

However, the transmission still functions great while accelerating (no hesitation whatsoever). My car currently has 78,000 miles on it and I am the 2nd owner. As far as I can tell, all fluids look to be in good condition (tranny oil is a little dark but not what I would call dirty). I don't have the service records to back whether or not the previous owner serviced the car at all recommended service checkpoints. I have seen this question posed in a couple of other post and the common answer seems to be let your car warm up properly or at least wait until the RPMs get down to 8K. Well I have tried this and it doesn't really seem to help. I have also heard that all Toyota transmissions do this but my father has a camry and it doesn't have this problem. Do you think that a tranny flush would do the trick or has anyone encountered other variables that may cause this issue?

thanks,

Philip

[chilphil]

Sorry about the typo on the subject line.....

......chilphil, I fixed it, steviej

Edited March 25, 2005 by steviej

[Tousij2]

If your trans fluid looks more black than red than yes it is time to change it. Do the flush and fill and fill with toyota trans fluid this will certainly help.

JT

[ArmyofOne]

If your trans fluid looks more black than red than yes it is time to change it. Do the flush and fill and fill with toyota trans fluid this will certainly help.

JT

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check your mounts, spcifically the dogbone mount. run a search to find out where its located, as im not entirely sure, i just know i dont have one becuase my car is a 1990. when they designed the mcv10 in 92 i think they added the dogbone mount.

[juanspagan]

If your trans fluid looks more black than red than yes it is time to change it. Do the flush and fill and fill with toyota trans fluid this will certainly help.

JT

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If changing the transmision fluid you should use Toyoya Type 1V transmision fluid. Try to take out all the old fluid. If the crank is taken out, clean the filter and the crank. I put an outside transmision filter to prevent metals from flowing.

[m2pc]

Check your dipstick or manual, but I believe the 97 es300 takes Dex III.

[chilphil]

If changing the transmision fluid you should use Toyoya Type 1V transmision fluid. Try to take out all the old fluid. If the crank is taken out, clean the filter and the crank. I put an outside transmision filter to prevent metals from flowing.

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Thanks....could you elaborate a little further on "I put an outside transmission filter to prevent metals from flowing".

[SKperformance]

their is are many large threads for this question

please search and you will find pics and otehr info all infront of you

key words are

tranny

and

filter

[chilphil]

Thanks for all information in the thread. I took her to the doctor last Thursday and the diagnosis was repairing the dogbone mount and the rear motor mount. My father owns a NAPA auto parts so I went through him to see what quote he could get me on the parts. He would have had to special order them through Atlanta and the shipping would have over-ridden any discount I would have received. Instead I opted to call the parts manager at the local Lexus dealership to haggle. I explained my background in parts to him and that I knew what type of profit he would be making on these parts. He ended up giving me a 15% discount on the OEM parts. I wanted to replace all 3 of the motor mounts (front, rear, and dogbone) due to the fact that my mechanic would have already had the labor underway. The parts manager was going to charge me $154 for the front mount but he did not have it in stock. I could have waited until the next day for the part to come in but I really wanted the work done now and there was nothing wrong with the front mount on my car (except the fact that it is probably weakened due to the stress of having bad rear and dogbone mounts).

Okay, so what I decided was to get a rear mount, dogbone mount, and new transmission gasket to go along with a transmission fluid change.

PARTS:

rear mount - $27 (I am assuming that it was $27. He only quoted me on the dogbone and the gasket and I didn't look at the full reciept when I payed for the stuff. I know that the total was $96 and I just subtracted this from the other quotes))

dogbone - $56

tranny gasket - $13

total - $96

LABOR:

Mounts - $105

Transmission Gasket/Fluid change - $50

Engine Oil Change for good measure - $20

Total - $175

Total Job - $271

The car is now shifting considerably better. I can still feel a slight jerk when shifting while cold. Once warmed up, there is no considerable movement at all. Really a clean shift. Auto-shifting while accelerating is still a thing of beauty...Hit 80K on the ride home from the shop!

thanks again,

Philip

[Lexusfreak]

I would do a 100% tranny fluid change, along with cleaning the filter mesh screen & replacing the tranny pan gasket.......make sure you use the correct tranny fluid. For what it's worth, you can use Amsoil synthetic ATF which is compatable with both Dexron III & Toyota Type IV fluids. Good luck! B)

[chilphil]

I would do a 100% tranny fluid change, along with cleaning the filter mesh screen & replacing the tranny pan gasket.......make sure you use the correct tranny fluid.  For what it's worth, you can use Amsoil synthetic ATF which is compatable with both Dexron III & Toyota Type IV fluids.  Good luck!  B)

 

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Well I replaced the pan gasket, washer, drain plug(for good measure) and had the filter cleaned. I didn't do a 100% tranny fluid change because I read some threads where people discouraged it. What are your thoughts on a Transmission flush?

thanks,

Philip

[camlex]

As long as you don't use chemicals with flush you okay.

You change the filter, no cleannnig because you cann't clean like new.

Thanks,

[Lexusfreak]

I agree you shouldn't use any special chemicals when doing a 100% flush......a few qt's of the correct type of tranny fluid will need to be wasted in the process of the complete fluid change.......that's what helps clean the inside of the tranny, along with the fresh fluid. B)

[chilphil]

I agree you shouldn't use any special chemicals when doing a 100% flush......a few qt's of the correct type of tranny fluid will need to be wasted in the process of the complete fluid change.......that's what helps clean the inside of the tranny, along with the fresh fluid.  B)

 

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Got you! thanks for the help.....

[monarch]

A couple Toyota Tranny myths:

Myth #1. You need a complete fluid flush because the old fluid makes

the insides of the transmission dirty.

Reality: Even the old fluid is still a superb metal parts cleaner so the insides

of a 17 year old transmission with 153,000 miles still looks brand

new like this one: http://www.saber.net/~monarch/tranny.JPG

Myth #2 You need to take off the transmission pan every time

you change or flush the transmission fluid because

the metal filter screen and the magnets inside the pan need to be cleaned

Reality: It is extremely rare for the metal filter screen to become

clogged (unless the transmission was wildly abused)

Usually the screens look as clean as this one was after

17 years and 153,000 miles: http://www.saber.net/~monarch/tranny.JPG

Magnets as well are still fairly clean after 150,000 miles

TAKE HOME MESSAGE: Don't make transmission maintenance difficult,

complicated and expensive. Simply drain and refill the 2-3 quarts in the

transmission oil pan about every 15,000 miles. Super simple,

super cheap and a proven way to get 300,000+ miles of transmission

life. RX 300 all wheel drive owner should probably change the fluid

in the pan every 10,000 miles because the fluid appears to run

hotter on these models.

Roughly every 100,000 - 150,000 miles remove the transmission oil

pan to inspect the filter screen and magnets and clean if necessary.

No need to buy a new screen unless the old one is torn (very rarely happens)

[steviej]

A couple Toyota Tranny myths:

Myth #1. You need a complete fluid flush because the old fluid makes

the insides of the transmission dirty.

Reality: Even the old fluid is still a superb metal parts cleaner so the insides

of a 17 year old transmission with 153,000 miles still looks brand

new like this one: http://www.saber.net/~monarch/tranny.JPG

Myth #2  You need to take off the transmission pan every time

you change or flush the transmission fluid because

the metal filter screen and the magnets inside the pan need to be cleaned

Reality: It is extremely rare for the metal filter screen to become

clogged (unless the transmission was wildly abused)

Usually the screens look as clean as this one was after

17 years and 153,000 miles: http://www.saber.net/~monarch/tranny.JPG

Magnets as well are still fairly clean after 150,000 miles

TAKE HOME MESSAGE: Don't make transmission maintenance difficult,

complicated and expensive. Simply drain and refill the 2-3 quarts in the

transmission oil pan about every 15,000 miles.  Super simple,

super cheap and a proven way to get 300,000+ miles of transmission

life. RX 300 all wheel drive owner should probably change the fluid

in the pan every 10,000 miles because the fluid appears to run

hotter on these models.

Roughly every 100,000 - 150,000 miles remove the transmission oil

pan to inspect the filter screen and magnets and clean if necessary.

No need to buy a new screen unless the old one is torn (very rarely happens)

←

omg!!!! for once I totally agree with monarch.

steviej

[ArmyofOne]

A couple Toyota Tranny myths:

Myth #1. You need a complete fluid flush because the old fluid makes

the insides of the transmission dirty.

Reality: Even the old fluid is still a superb metal parts cleaner so the insides

of a 17 year old transmission with 153,000 miles still looks brand

new like this one: http://www.saber.net/~monarch/tranny.JPG

Myth #2  You need to take off the transmission pan every time

you change or flush the transmission fluid because

the metal filter screen and the magnets inside the pan need to be cleaned

Reality: It is extremely rare for the metal filter screen to become

clogged (unless the transmission was wildly abused)

Usually the screens look as clean as this one was after

17 years and 153,000 miles: http://www.saber.net/~monarch/tranny.JPG

Magnets as well are still fairly clean after 150,000 miles

TAKE HOME MESSAGE: Don't make transmission maintenance difficult,

complicated and expensive. Simply drain and refill the 2-3 quarts in the

transmission oil pan about every 15,000 miles.  Super simple,

super cheap and a proven way to get 300,000+ miles of transmission

life. RX 300 all wheel drive owner should probably change the fluid

in the pan every 10,000 miles because the fluid appears to run

hotter on these models.

Roughly every 100,000 - 150,000 miles remove the transmission oil

pan to inspect the filter screen and magnets and clean if necessary.

No need to buy a new screen unless the old one is torn (very rarely happens)

←

omg!!!! for once I totally agree with monarch.

steviej

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Ditto!

[Lexusfreak]

omg!!!! for once I totally agree with monarch.

steviej

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I'd never thought I'd see the day!!! :whistles: