USLEX

Did you confront him about lieing to you ?

persian451

it seems kind of shady... it always more safe to buy the ATF yourself... for a compelte flush you need about 12 -16 depending on how diry it is... but 90 dollars it alot for just fluid.. he better have put in T-IV for that hefty price.. next time.. you should order it yourself.. I got my a case (12 quarts) for 50 bucks including shipping and took it to toyota for a flush

rybikowsky

Is the lexus fluid a diffrent color or shade then the dexron. If so that would be easy to check.

persian451

its probably red like all the other atf fluids.. i dont know of any way to check.. I know that TIV is synthetic..

azari

nonono, lol, he didn't lie to me for me to want to confront him.. it was just a misunderstanding on my part. It's kind of a long story, but i'm sure i got my deal done right

350z

thanks for all the info guys. i used the method where you disconnect the hose by the radiator and start the car to start pumping out the fluid. It spit out about two quarts. Nowhere close to the 3 gallons stated in the last post. I was a little nervous about hurting the tranny so i stopped. I then jacked up the car and pulled the drain bolt from the tranny pan. Not one drop of fluid came out. I guess i'm a little confused as to how you go from only getting 2 quarts of fluid when there is supposed to be roughly 3 gallons in the system. Anyway, I didn't want to risk any damage to the transmission by pulling the radiator hose off again to try and squeak some more fluid out. I filled it up with 2 fresh quarts of Toyota Type T-IV. It seems to look a little cleaner and I can feel a slight difference (smoother) when shifting. I guess I'll continue to use the 2 quart a time method each time I change the oil, and hope to see the beautiful cherry red color over time.

Pilot

The remaining fluid is trapped inside the converter. What you needed to do was to start adding fluid as soon as you started the car with the hose disconnected! This would allow the old nasty fluid in the converter to be pumped out. You need to add fluid all the while the old fluid is being pumped out! I tried to explain this in the previous message. When you keep adding fluid, while the hose is disconnected, you can also see the color of the fluid. You keep adding, and pumping until the fluid being pumped out is a bright red color. You then stop the engine, reconnect the hose, start the engine again, and fill to the full line using the dip stick.

Pilot

99lsguy

YCHACHAD,

Glad to hear procedure!! I AGREE 100% with all the LOGIC!!! You will never have to worry about a clogged screen - it will be clean.


I purchased an off lease 99 LS400( 53K ) in July and services were all good to that point. I immediately changed the oil, and then did THREE pan drains on the tranny over the next 5K miles. The fluid was pretty clean when I bought the car - but now it is VERY CHERRY RED!!

I plan on doing the pan drain and refill with T-IV fluid every 5K along with the Oil change (use 50-30W synthetic!)

Buy fluid and all the gaskets from Toyota Dealer. BARGAIN WITH THOSE GUYS!! The parts counter sold me a case of T-IV fluid for $3.25 a quart (since I needled them to give a case discount. )

About the T-IV fluid issue: The label does not say anything about being Synthetic. I clearly states it is derived from pertroleum base minerals What it does contain IS SYNTHETIC ADDITIVES . It is a very good product.

Looking for 300K + miles and beyond.........

5ofakind

I have a '92 LS-400. Total flush & fill is 8.7 U.S. quarts & a drain & refill is only 2.o quarts. Pilot's posting of disconnecting return hose will work. Just follow his procedure. For further instructions you can go to www.amsoil.com

99lsguy

Pilot,

more questions....

Do you need to open up 6 - 8 quarts of T-IV fluid and have ready immediately once the car starts?

Is the stream out of the tube not so forceful that its hard to keep up with it by slowing adding new T-IV thru a funnel down the dipstick tube?

Any need for someone else sitting in the car (with brakes on) and shifting between Park, Neutral, Drive, Park, etc.....

Do you have to be careful not to overfill the dipstick tube so it doesn't overflow?


Thanks for the help

Pilot

I did not have any help, and did the whole thing alone. The stream coming out of the radiator is not all that forceful. I slipped a clear peice of flexable tubing over the fitting with the oopen end hanging over the drain pan. I left the transmission in park and started the car. I had the funnel already inserted in the fill tube, with the tops off the trans fluid ready to go. It will not hurt your car to pump out the aprox 3 qts in the system before you start adding the new fluid. Keep looking at the color of the old fluid being pumped out. When it turns bright red, you are now pumping out new fluid. Shut off the engine, and hook the trans cooling lines. Start the car and add fluid until the tip stick shows full. I used 12 quarts of new fluid, but you may use less.
You do not need to shift the trans out of park to drive etc while flushing the fluid. Do make sure you only use Toyota type IV fluid, which is cheaper at a Toyota dealer than at the Lexus dealer, but same fluid, same package.

Pilot

99lsguy

Pilot,

Thanks for the response. Sounds very doable without lots of under the gun pressure.

Yeah, I bought a case (12) of T-IV @ toyota dealer. I needled him for a deal since I was getting a case ( about 3.40 a quart - which is pretty good)

One more thing, is there a gasket I'll need to replace where the cooling line hooks up to the radiator?
I have one for the drain plug but I still havent' used it anyway.

5ofakind

99lsguy - On my '92 the transmission cooler lines are attached to the radiator at the bottom with clamps, just loosen & then tighten back up when job is complete, no gaskets are necessary. Should be the same on your 99. The gasket for my tranny drain plug is actually a small washer. Dont know why Lexus calls that a gasket.

Good deal on the tranny fluid. Got a case too at the San Diego Toyota dealer & paid 3.79 a quart. Much cheaper than Lexus dealer. They are such a rip-off. The Lexus dealer is just banking on the people where money doesnt matter to them. They figured if you own a Lexus you can afford to pay the price there.

Boy, are they wrong.

99lsguy

5ofakind,

Thanks for the info.... I'll probably get under there and look around today - then get to it by mid-week. My fluid is really in good shape, since I've done those 2 pan drains in the last 5K . But, what the hey, I think this will REALLY GET IT CLEAN!! Its just fun to keep the lexus in tip top shape. I've still got powertrain warranty to boot

I hear ya about the Lexus dealers, they want $580 for the 60k service. No Way. I just take a few days(over a month's time) to change fluids, pcv, fuel filter, etc. - and save $400+. They really get the big bucks for the cars and the maintenance!!

BTW, I guess I'd better start a thread for the brake fluid change...

Hope you guys are doing okay with the wildfires....really sad. We feel for all those who have lost their homes and property.

5ofakind

I just flushed 9 qts of tranny oil thru per Pilot's method. Works like a charm. Nice cherry red now. Be sure to top off fluid. These transmissions are very sensitive to fluid level.