Anyone change/flush transmission fluid themselves?
04-19-15, 09:23 PM
#16
Lexus Fanatic
you guys think that measuring the drain amount and refilling it with the exact amount of fresh fuid will save you the hassle of doing the temp test.
04-20-15, 04:10 AM
#17
Pole Position
Thanks Doublebase. When you do your drain and fill, perhaps you can post the steps you took to get the replacement amount exact. Seeing how the only way to replace the fluid is via a hand pump, it may pose some challenges. It is certainly nice to have knowledgeable guys on this forum!
1. Remove the fill plug on the driver's side of the transmission. It's a big plug, I used the box end of a wrench because it was able to fit between the tranny and exhaust system.
2. Then prepare the empty washer fluid bottle - place the funnel on top of it - then remove the drain plug (there are two plugs, remove the one facing the rear). Make sure all the fluid pours into the washer fluid bottle, then mark the exact level with a sharpie. Empty the bottle. Reinstall plug. (note: the transmission should be cold when you do this procedure).
3. Fill up washer fluid bottle with new WS transmission fluid to the mark you made with the sharpie (you might want to go a half inch above it because you might lose a little fluid inside of the pump).
4. Place one end of the pump into the fill hole on the side of the transmission and the other end of the pump will be submerged in the WS fluid. Pump slowly, get all the fluid in. Reinstall fill plug. You can replace the washers for all of the plugs if you want, it's up to you, I'd probably recommend it, but to be honest I have not done it in the past and they didn't leak.
^^^The pump is $8.00 dollars at Walmart and Harbor Freight
04-20-15, 07:19 AM
#21
You're the man Doublebase. I appreciate the step by step procedure. I think I'm just going to do the 'cold drain and refill' procedure first, to dilute whatever is left in the tranny and the torque converter with the new fluid. Either way, that will be much better than just leaving the 'lifetime' fluid in there. After becoming familiar with the drain and fill and a few thousand miles later, I'll tackle the filter. Again, great info and I greatly appreciate it.
Good to know - I have 118k and I think just like with the tranny, it won't hurt a bit to do a simple drain and refill on the rear end. It will only prolong the life of the components.
Regarding the differential: I changed the gear oil at about 55k and it was super clean. I felt foolish for doing it. I changed the differential oil in my sons Infiniti at 50k and it was extremely dirty, so I thought I should do the lexus - not the case.
I have 111K on the trans fluid and need a change - you guys think that measuring the drain amount and refilling it with the exact amount of fresh fuid will save you the hassle of doing the temp test.
I have 111K on the trans fluid and need a change - you guys think that measuring the drain amount and refilling it with the exact amount of fresh fuid will save you the hassle of doing the temp test.
04-20-15, 07:38 AM
#22
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It's a piece of cake, what you'll need is a funnel, sharpie, fluid, empty washer fluid bottle, a hand held pump and a lift (if you don't have access to a lift you'll need four safety stands...and a lot more patience)
1. Remove the fill plug on the driver's side of the transmission. It's a big plug, I used the box end of a wrench because it was able to fit between the tranny and exhaust system.
2. Then prepare the empty washer fluid bottle - place the funnel on top of it - then remove the drain plug (there are two plugs, remove the one facing the rear). Make sure all the fluid pours into the washer fluid bottle, then mark the exact level with a sharpie. Empty the bottle. Reinstall plug. (note: the transmission should be cold when you do this procedure).
3. Fill up washer fluid bottle with new WS transmission fluid to the mark you made with the sharpie (you might want to go a half inch above it because you might lose a little fluid inside of the pump).
4. Place one end of the pump into the fill hole on the side of the transmission and the other end of the pump will be submerged in the WS fluid. Pump slowly, get all the fluid in. Reinstall fill plug. You can replace the washers for all of the plugs if you want, it's up to you, I'd probably recommend it, but to be honest I have not done it in the past and they didn't leak.
^^^The pump is $8.00 dollars at Walmart and Harbor Freight
1. Remove the fill plug on the driver's side of the transmission. It's a big plug, I used the box end of a wrench because it was able to fit between the tranny and exhaust system.
2. Then prepare the empty washer fluid bottle - place the funnel on top of it - then remove the drain plug (there are two plugs, remove the one facing the rear). Make sure all the fluid pours into the washer fluid bottle, then mark the exact level with a sharpie. Empty the bottle. Reinstall plug. (note: the transmission should be cold when you do this procedure).
3. Fill up washer fluid bottle with new WS transmission fluid to the mark you made with the sharpie (you might want to go a half inch above it because you might lose a little fluid inside of the pump).
4. Place one end of the pump into the fill hole on the side of the transmission and the other end of the pump will be submerged in the WS fluid. Pump slowly, get all the fluid in. Reinstall fill plug. You can replace the washers for all of the plugs if you want, it's up to you, I'd probably recommend it, but to be honest I have not done it in the past and they didn't leak.
^^^The pump is $8.00 dollars at Walmart and Harbor Freight
I was going to use Rhino Ramps to lift the front of the car only. This way (I believe) the angle of the car will cause more transmission fluid to drain out. Do you see a problem with the front elevated only and leaving the rear wheels on the ground for the drain and fill?
04-20-15, 09:04 AM
#23
Pole Position
Thanks Doublebase, great info!
I was going to use Rhino Ramps to lift the front of the car only. This way (I believe) the angle of the car will cause more transmission fluid to drain out. Do you see a problem with the front elevated only and leaving the rear wheels on the ground for the drain and fill?
I was going to use Rhino Ramps to lift the front of the car only. This way (I believe) the angle of the car will cause more transmission fluid to drain out. Do you see a problem with the front elevated only and leaving the rear wheels on the ground for the drain and fill?
Good luck.
04-20-15, 09:11 AM
#24
Pole Position
You're the man Doublebase. I appreciate the step by step procedure. I think I'm just going to do the 'cold drain and refill' procedure first, to dilute whatever is left in the tranny and the torque converter with the new fluid. Either way, that will be much better than just leaving the 'lifetime' fluid in there. After becoming familiar with the drain and fill and a few thousand miles later, I'll tackle the filter. Again, great info and I greatly appreciate it.
Good to know - I have 118k and I think just like with the tranny, it won't hurt a bit to do a simple drain and refill on the rear end. It will only prolong the life of the components.
Good to know - I have 118k and I think just like with the tranny, it won't hurt a bit to do a simple drain and refill on the rear end. It will only prolong the life of the components.
There are videos on youtube of people doing this service to their Toyotas - it's similar and uses the same fill plug, I'd check those out. And you can buy all the washers at toyota if you want.
04-20-15, 09:18 AM
#25
Pole Position
Regarding the differential: I changed the gear oil at about 55k and it was super clean. I felt foolish for doing it. I changed the differential oil in my sons Infiniti at 50k and it was extremely dirty, so I thought I should do the lexus - not the case.
I have 111K on the trans fluid and need a change - you guys think that measuring the drain amount and refilling it with the exact amount of fresh fuid will save you the hassle of doing the temp test.
I have 111K on the trans fluid and need a change - you guys think that measuring the drain amount and refilling it with the exact amount of fresh fuid will save you the hassle of doing the temp test.
I ended up doing mine at 70k and it looked fine...there was the usual stuff on the magnet, etc, but it was fine. I ended up using mobli 1 synthetic.
07-23-15, 01:04 PM
#26
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I did it myself a year ago. There are some key facts you should know before you try it.
1. The temperature of the fluid is vital for proper level, and you NEED that level to be accurate.
2. The filter in the transmission is a felt style, not screen mesh
3. I think you'd be better of doing a simple drain and fill
4. The gasket on the pan is high quality and probably reusable
5. You are going to need some sort of hand held pump
6. If you can find a reputable guy to do it (that knows what he's doing), bring it therre and save yourself the trouble
7. You are right, it's not a lifetime fluid
1. The temperature of the fluid is vital for proper level, and you NEED that level to be accurate.
2. The filter in the transmission is a felt style, not screen mesh
3. I think you'd be better of doing a simple drain and fill
4. The gasket on the pan is high quality and probably reusable
5. You are going to need some sort of hand held pump
6. If you can find a reputable guy to do it (that knows what he's doing), bring it therre and save yourself the trouble
7. You are right, it's not a lifetime fluid
07-24-15, 12:03 PM
#27
Pole Position
Be very very careful if you're planning on checking the fluid level this way - if you're doing a simple drain and refill, you can measure the exact amount you take out and replace it with the same amount, plus a tiny bit more...and not have to worry about pulling the overflow plug and making sure you are at the right temp.
07-24-15, 02:56 PM
#28
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Engine is idling.
Be very very careful if you're planning on checking the fluid level this way - if you're doing a simple drain and refill, you can measure the exact amount you take out and replace it with the same amount, plus a tiny bit more...and not have to worry about pulling the overflow plug and making sure you are at the right temp.
Be very very careful if you're planning on checking the fluid level this way - if you're doing a simple drain and refill, you can measure the exact amount you take out and replace it with the same amount, plus a tiny bit more...and not have to worry about pulling the overflow plug and making sure you are at the right temp.
Thank's for confirming! I bought LS460 2007 two months ago and slowly changing all fluids, filters etc on it. I actually dropped pan, changed filter and gasket --before doing i exercised how to measure correct fluid temperature by shorting ODB2 connector PINs and activate temperature mode and also by using techstreams --all was pretty easy. I also measured the amount of oil I drained from the pan and it was around 4.7 liters!!! It was too much and I couldn't rely anymore on "put back exactly what you drain". So installed new filter, gasket, put the pan back and filled with 3.5 liters of WS fluid. Now, by measuring the level my mistake was I did it with correct temperature but with engine off (getting older, forgetting the rules). Out of 3.5 liters 2 came back thru the "check" plug and I was confused. Just to be kind of safe I added some fluid making "Pan change" to be 3.8 liters while AllData says 2.8-3.2 liters. I knew it's not a good way and I was looking for hints what I did wrong. Half day later I realized "what a dumb -it's transmission, engine of course should be running". I posted here and today morning did all things again --warmed up the transmission and opened the "check" plug with engine running --the amount that came out was about 1 liter i.e. "Pan/drain removal refill" came to about 2.8 liters --exactly up to spec. Not sure why so many people scared about such fluid change -- i don't see anything super special about it-just follow the instructions )))
P.S. I am 2nd owner of the LS460 and I see that the previous owner did everything at dealer --all oil changes, wiper blade changes, tires change etc etc and in records of what was done there is no mentioning about transmission work. Could the transmission be overfilled by the manufacture? I don't think so. Could the previous owner serviced transmission somewhere else and not by dealer? I doubt it... I bet it's dealer work -- it's not the first time I see them trying to silently screw something so you come back. Doing alignment on my previous LS430 they said "they have to check all fluid and filters".
Though I was insisting "don't touch anything, just do the alignment" they somehow disconnected hose that goes to air filter box --2 days later "check engine" came on and inittally I couldn't relate it to visiting "dealer for alignment". techstream showed something like air leak (5 years ago) and somehow I found the hose lying disconnectred. I was "how it could get off"??? Impossible. Put it back cleared the code and couple hours later "remembered dealer alignment + full check". Never ever since then check engine was on. ]
Now did transmission work myself, fluid amount matches the spec, car drives fines, transmission not overheating and I am more satisfied then if it was done by dealer and i would be just "blind"
Last edited by berezleon; 07-24-15 at 03:15 PM.
07-24-15, 03:31 PM
#29
Roadfrog posted a thread that had a video showing how to change the transmission fluid using the service tool. It appears that the tube that levels out the fluid is higher then the tube that sits on the transmission pan.
I would think that if you opened the transmission fluid drain plug at temp without the service tool straw in place then you will be draining out more fluid. This could be bad and it would take hundreds if not thousands of miles before a problems could occur.
I would think that if you opened the transmission fluid drain plug at temp without the service tool straw in place then you will be draining out more fluid. This could be bad and it would take hundreds if not thousands of miles before a problems could occur.
Last edited by Devh; 07-24-15 at 03:34 PM.
07-24-15, 04:05 PM
#30
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Roadfrog posted a thread that had a video showing how to change the transmission fluid using the service tool. It appears that the tube that levels out the fluid is higher then the tube that sits on the transmission pan.
I would think that if you opened the transmission fluid drain plug at temp without the service tool straw in place then you will be draining out more fluid. This could be bad and it would take hundreds if not thousands of miles before a problems could occur.
I would think that if you opened the transmission fluid drain plug at temp without the service tool straw in place then you will be draining out more fluid. This could be bad and it would take hundreds if not thousands of miles before a problems could occur.