El_Mono

Ok, so let me start this off by saying I am an idiot. That way everyone can see that I acknowledge the fact without flaming.

The maintenance warning light came on in the wife's gx470. In the past we have taken it in to the dealership and let them change the oil, but after spending 100+ bucks per oil change I decided to do it my self. Let me precurse this with the fact that I am not mechanically declined, and I have changed many oils in the past.

So I crawl under the gx. First mistake was not doing a little more research, but I feel confident with my prowess. I find what looks like an oil drain plug. I think to myself it seems a bit far back, but it looks like a drain plug, and oil comes out of it. I start the drain. In the mean time I'm searching ALL over for the stupid oil filter. I can't find it. I do some more searching on the forums and there is reference to removing the front skid plate. I do it, and look ANOTHER drain plug. BLEH ..

Ok so this is what I know. I am pretty confident I drained the transmission fluid. Not a really big deal because the vehicle hasn't moved, and I haven't added any additional "oil" to it yet. But this is where the help is needed.

1. Where is the transmission fluid dipstick / fill spot.

2. Where is the damn oil filter. I know its under there, but I can friggin find it.

At this point I'm pretty frusterated with myself for completely botching up this seemingly simple task so any help would be greatly appreciated.

El_Mono

ok Ifound the filter, black and comletely hidden from the under side. Now if I can just find the transmission fill line I will be done with this botched diy job

Tammy

Most Toyota/Lexus have a orange "T" pull dipstick. This is the fill tube. Remove the stick, using a small funnel, fill it with ONLY toyota Type IV transmission fluid. Insure the dipstick says use only Type IV fluid.Check your owners manual for the amount needed. I would suspect four quarts, for your "drain and fill". Search the forum for instructions on checking the fluid level with the engine idling. Insure your seal comes off with the old oil filter. Use grease on the new filter seal, rather than motor oil. The toyota oil filter is a good replacement. The GX is Tundra based.

peterGX470

Tammy, Is it ok to use Mobil one automatic transmission fluid on the GX?

Where is the oil filter located at, i still unable to fine it.

thank!

El_Mono

OK the oil has been changed; I'm an idiot. I can't for the life of me find the transmission line. I thought that the colored handle would be a dead giveaway. This handle is in the engine compartment right? Drive side, passenger side? Or by any other discernable landmarks?

El_Mono

The filter is on eht driver side front end of the enginer. With your hips at about where the headlight is, looking straight down with a flashlight you should be able to see it. The Toyota filter was black and looked just like some of the hoses that are down there. I'm sure it would be easier to take off the front skid plate but I just did it from above "with the help of the wife". Now if I can just find that fill line.

caha14

Sorry to hear about this... As far as I know, the GX does not have a filler tube in the traditional sense. Several manufacturers are now doing this with transmissions that don't require frequent servicing. I don't think there's a dipstick either.

But of course, there's got to be a way to fill it, so while you're under the car, I would look at everything around the transmission to try to find this thing. I wouldn't be surprised if the fill point were down there, and you had to remove all the skid plates to see it and get to it. It might fill up like many transfer cases, from a plug on the side.

Other than that, my only other suggestion is that you subscribe to the Toyota online documentation site for a day for like $10 or $15. You'll definitely find the answer there. Finally, double check the fluid type in your owner's manual. I think the GX uses a newer formulation of the one mentioned earlier in this thread.

caha14

This is for an '02 Explorer, but you get an idea of what to look for under the GX.

http://www.alldata.com/techtips/2005/20050816a.html

El_Mono

http://www.yotatech.com/showthread.p...smission+fluid

Well, I didn't drain the transmission dry according to this thread, but I'm still not going to drive it. I am going to call the dealership tomorrow and find out how much I am going to get raped. I am hoping that the Lexus Road Side Assistance tow will be sufficient, as I know that I will need a flatbed. Oh well, live a little learn a little.

JWS3

This would require a pump, of course, Usually fluid is pumped until it just starts to flow out the fill hole or slightly below it. Be advised, however, that I know NOTHING about this vehicle and my comments are pure speculation.
Whatever you find, please share it with us and good luck.
Don;t feel too bad- there should be no permanent damage and many of us could have made the same error!! Blowing up the tranny would have been far, far worse..........

gs400jon

Thanks for making me not feel bad about paying the dealer $65 to service my truck

El_Mono

Ok ... so here's the deal.

Called Lexus Road Side Assistance. The flatbed came and took my GX down to the dealership. The Mrs called the dealership and got quoted 1hr of labor, and parts.

Went to pick up the GX at 4:30, and was told it wouldn't be ready until 5:30, oh well time to burn. Got there a little before 5:30, and waited 45 minutes. I don't know if they just didn't get to it or if they had no idea what the hell they were doing .. (I'll explain more on this).

I walk around to the back of the shop and see the GX on a lift, no big deal. A few minutes goes by, and I see it go down the road. Test drive .. cool. minutes minutes, I see it go back to the back of the shop, and not to the front where they normally drop it off. Now I'm getting worried. I walk back there again, and it looks like they are putting on the skid plate. So I rationalize, that they left it off so they could check for leaks. Out it goes again, according to the SA they did something and it wasn't shifting right.

So this is where I start talking to him. According to him the transmissions are lifetime fluid filled. They had NO idea on how to fill the transmission. They have never done it, and I was the first. He said they were going to charge me for 6 qts of transmission fluid. I laughed at him, because I knew that I only took out maybe 2 qts of the stuff. And at almost ten bucks a qt, it's expensive. He gets cocky with me, but I realize what they did.

I assume that there is no "fill" procedure for the transmission. Since I drained the sump dry, they had to fill/flush the transmission. Which makes sense as to why it shifted weird on the first attempt because they didn't get all the air out of the "line".

In the end of the day, I spent 170 incl tax to repair the mess up I did. While it's a bit steep, I'm glad it wasn't more.

The Mrs said that she felt the transmission shifted even smoother than before. So this may be something to think about considering Lexus/Toyota's claim for lifetime tranny fluid.

Note to self, oil pan is under skid plate. If it seems like the oil pan is too far back, then you are looking at the tranny sump.

I hope my pain and heartache provides some insight for the members or the board.

caha14

Man, I'm glad it got resolved! I may end up changing the fluid sooner than the manual suggests, though not at 15k intervals like the dealer says . I think it's typically done at 90k, no?

Thanks for the update!

JWS3

Or at least reasonably well... Could have been WAY worse than $170!!

angelslex

Que clase de embarrada Mono. sorry to hear about your problem so late but for next time here it is. I have done this on my 4runner. P.S This is the specs for the GX tranni.