imherenow

so i was doing a transmission drain n fill and to remove the 10mm( i think) bolt required a 10mm allen wrench so as i was turning it slipped so i tried again and agian it slipped and then i noticed on the bolt on the pan got screwed, So now i can't use basically any wrench to remove that bolt. It messed up the shape (like the groove).
anyways so what can i do to remove it. Do i have to unbolt the whole pan now? any ideas?

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

ez-out...

http://www.ehow.com/how_5127433_use-easy-outs.html

imherenow

ya i was thinking of that but scared not to mess up the actual sensor...also i have noticed this for some time now..just the tilt for thigh region doesnt work. the motor seems to work (from that noise) but the shaft thing is not moving..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-Dcr...layer_embedded

sprocket

Time to drain & refill the tranny on my 2004 GX470.

My local shop who I have used for years says they can use a specific Valvoline fluid instead of the WS. I have also used a local Toyota dealer in the past.

The local shop is well run and not a cheopo shop by any means. Any thoughts on the Valvoline suggestion? Should I take it to the Toyota dealer? Lexus dealer?

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

In general, those fluids are fine. Are they as good as the Toyota fluid? Hard to say, maybe better, maybe worse... Toyota did design the car, though, they know what goes best in it, but, like oil, there are many compatible options... Those guys (fluid manufacturers) would have a whole crapload of lawsuits if there fluid was killing trannies, but, hard to say long term...

IMO, you should do this yourself - it is a hard one to screw up...

put a drain pan underneath, then remove the drain plug

allow everything to drain out, then reinstall plug

guesstimate how much fluid came out, if no idea, add 3 quarts to dipstick tube

start car, let idle, check fluid level after 30 seconds or so

if close to the correct area, allow car to warm up completely, if very low, add until close to the marks... once warm completely, check fluid level and adjust accordingly...

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

without even seeing the video, those things are notorious for breaking... easiest way is to find a set of seats and rob the parts from them...

sprocket

Thanks Mitsuguy. That answers the question regarding choice of fluid.

I've read a little about the drain & refill process. If it is simply a matter of removing the drain plug, allowing it to drain, replacing the plug and refilling through the dipstick tube I may tackle it. When doing it this way, am I correct that only a portion of the fluid actually drains? Would this cause 2 different fluids to mix? Also, does it make sense to do it multiple times to get more fluid out?

Edit - I do have the factory tow package if that affects the job.

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

No problem... tow package has no effect, except for maybe having a slightly larger trans fluid cooler... the fluids are compatible with one another, in fact, aside from the friction modifiers in them, the fluids are all pretty much the same thing anyways...

some people swear by the incremental fluid change, meaning 3-4 quarts every so often... either way, you are changing 25% of the fluid, give or take, each time, you would never get it all, but close, after about 6 drain and fills... just be sure to locate the fill tube and drain prior to doing anything - some newer vehicles don't have dipsticks at all...

08lexus350

hello people/friends, i have a 08 is350 and my turn signals don't turn off automatically after completing a turn, any ideas what it can be? thanks a lot

str8lucky

iTrader: (11)

I have an issue with the car dying while in idle. For instance I was in a drive-thru and the car started shaking (sputtering like lost fuel possibly) then all the dash lights went on and the car died. I immediately put the car in park and it started right up and had no error codes or in-dash lights that turned on. Then again 4 days later exact same thing happened. I have done all scheduled maintenance.
Any solutions would be helpful. I am not under any warranty and would like to have an idea of what it could be, before taking to dealer and having to pay their ridiculous fees.

sprocket

Sorry to come back to this, but the 25% thing has me wondering how much benefit there is from a simple drain and refill as 75% of the old fluid is still in there. Also, if I don't use the same fluid, is there a problem mixing two? any thoughts?

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

It isn't as much benefit, for sure, but, it also lessens the chance of a problem happening inside the transmission... Even a flush may not remove all of the fluid, as it is not all in a single tube, large amounts are simply held inside the torque converter and the pan... It is probably closer to 90 % though, but you could get to 90% by doing the drain/fill a couple times, and it end up being about the same amount of fluid as well...

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

it ~never~ resets? most cars have a gear of some sorts which interacts with the lever to reset it... there is a chance one of the two is broken or out of adjustment... it is all inside the steering column and may not be easy to diagnose... still under warranty?

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

Very interesting... Sounds like an intermittent cam / crank sensor to me... a good scan tool might be able to pull a history or pending code, as if the check engine light is not on, cheapie scan tools might not be able to see the codes from the past...

unfortunately, without an existing code and a problem that only repeats itself seemingly only every 4 days, it might be difficult to pinpoint the issue exactly...

08lexus350

I'm out of warranty, and yes it never resets, for example i pick up the turn signal up to turn right and after the turn is complete the signal is still going blinking, this is for both left and right turn. if i change the whole turn signal assembly would that fix it, i found couple used ones on ebay for about 150$ shipped..