Gate

Car has been stationary for weeks. New alt, battery, spark plugs, and coolant. 150 amp alternator fuse blew, had to crimp. Yes, the actual alt was the prob, fuse wasn't blown until after new one was put in, just blew when i re connected battery.

I sealed the transmission pan, let the sealant cure for 2 hours until tightening it fully, then let it cure overnight. Added the new fluid, drove in all gears to mix it and until normal operating temp, seemed okay at first...

Engine is extremely rough. L gear seems to work the best, 2nd is a bit worse, everything else awful. Very rough ride.

I only did a partial trans job. Dropped the pan, took off filter, 2 1/2 quarts came out. So 2 1/2 went back in. It's at the proper level. Tried mixing it extra good by driving more, didn't help, so I feared damaging the trans and just parked it back at home.

Just got this car, I think the last person who changed the trans fluid went with the old stuff, Dex II, like in the manual - who could blame him/her? But I went with the new Toyota T-IV stuff straight from the dealership.

What I figure - looks like I mixed some new T-IV with old, dirty, burnt up Dex II. Seems like a logical reason for why everything is rough now. I guess I gotta drop the pan again, change the filter again, but this time due a FULL change, get all that weird mixture out and see if it'll be okay after that.

I drove it about 3 miles and reached up to 60 mph during the test/mixing that I did. Engine makes a weird clicking noise, about 3-4 clicks per second, only audible when parked and I lift the hood.

What would anyone else do in my shoes?

rbigshow04

iTrader: (2)

I would do the full tranny fluid change & filter. Make sure you clean the magnets............My sc400 wouldn't shift from first gear and I would get high revs after I dropped the pan and changed the fluid it shifted better and I was able to drive it again

SC400TT

iTrader: (4)

Take it to the dealership and have them drain it and refill it with Toyota Type IV...You should always and only use Toyota Type IV Transmission fluid in the tranny...Dexron is different and your transmission will not shift as well. The dealer can connect up a vacuum device that will remove all the fluid, including the fluid that is in the torque converter. It costs a couple of hundred dollars, but it is worth it. My .02 cents...

Ryan

TechGreek

iTrader: (4)

Get a full swap's worth of fluid (+ 2 more qts)

Now take off the pump side of the transmission cooler line - run a hose from there to a bucket.

Run the car for a little bit and watch the fluid come out - never let it run dry. Put another quart in, run it again and let the fluid come out.

You'll cycle through all the old fluid in this case.

------

WITH THAT BEING SAID, you changed plugs. I would go for that first.

You also popped a fuse by connecting the battery - if the key wasn't on, then there would be no reason for the fuse to pop and even then it would have had to short internally at the alt or on the outside which may have damaged something else.

Transmission would cause issues like shift flair, or shudder - shudder being a harsh vibration when trying to engage overdrive or shifting (the sound of a clutch pack engaging and disengaging a LOT in a short amount of time).

Gate

All very good advice. I think it's safe to say that the new T-IV I just put in is either not mixing well with the old Dex II that was in there, or maybe there actually was old and burnt T-IV in there and that was bad enough. I should have expected this. However, whatever was in there, it was keeping the tranny in good shape on it's own. I didn't even know the difference because it still performed so well. There was a bit of rough shifting though, that's why I started the process in the first place. Now, with the small amount of new stuff, even though the driving is rougher, the shifting is surprisingly seamless.

It's not any of the other repairs that I did that caused any problems, at least it's not likely because I don't do a series of them before each test run, I go around town after each individual job.

Yes , I will definitely get rid of all the old fluid. I wish I could have them use that vacuum to do it properly, but I'm on a tight budget. Hopefully disconnecting the cooling line on top of dropping the pan and removing the filter again while letting a fresh stream of T-Iv drizzle in and out will be enough. Then I'll just top it off. I should need full case (12 quarts) of T-IV, yikes! Well, in that amount, the dealership should give me a discount. He actually gave me 15% off the total just for buying 3 quarts last time. What a champ!

Well, now to save for that case of T-IV. Until then, I will admire the car from a distance and lay off the key.

Driving this nice old classic relaxes me.

Gate

You saying my brand new alternator might be damaged? Woah, that is really scary... I sure hope not.

account2x

iTrader: (5)

See I knew changing out the pan only was bad idea. Please say you listened when I said use a dealership brand filter.

The transmission requires 8.7 quarts in the system for a full fill. The oil pan holds 2 quarts normally. Drain the old fluid into a graduated bucket. By knowing how much of the fluid has been drained you won't need to worry about needing extra fluid.

xspsi6

iTrader: (31)

The trans filters in our cars are nothing more than screens so even the most generic will be fine as long as the screen micron size is the same as most all of them are.

93MSB

iTrader: (8)

you havent specified what transmission you have, some call for dexIII some call for T-IV

stock sc400 transmission?
stock sc300 transmission?
soarer transmission?
supra/aristo transmission?

are you getting a check engine light?

is the clicking noise still there? if so check to make sure your 02 sensors are plugged in all the way

xspsi6

iTrader: (31)

I think he has an sc400 from what he said in his other thread.

BigBang

iTrader: (1)

I think you should do this. I drained mine out and just put type iv in. And the trans fluid wasn't changed for awhile.

Gate

I just found out that the "rough ride" was due to the need of a new wire set. It was a coincidence that another wire went out sometime near the time I was doing the first 3 quarts. I knew it needed one for a while but neglected them and only got the plugs. It hit me like a ton of bricks because the puffing feeling the engine gave was identical to the one my old Focus gave me when I had a wire set issue.

I completely agree about the full change, I did notice a drastic improvement when it was finally done. I used a total of 15 quarts. Dropped the pan, cleaned the filter, put them back on, refilled with new fluid, had to do that 4 times (I don't know why everyone says that only drains 2 quarts, drains 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 for me) and finally sealed the pan on for the last time and circulated the last 4 extra quarts just by the drain plug, but all the scuzzy residue disappeared by the third pan drop.


No, I didn't use a dealership brand filter. I got one for O'Reilly, forgot the brand. I wish I did get the dealership one, but no problems so far. I'll switch to the better one when I can.

Gate

I have a 92 sc400 and i think everything is stock, I sure hope there isn't some kind of foreign tranny in there but the T-iv seems to doing wonders right now, the check engine light came on for a half hour, went off for an hour, came on for half hour again, and hasn't shown up since then, about 20 miles ago, probably wont come on again but not sure.


yes still clicks but less now, i will check the sensors tomorrow, thanks for the heads up, i know for a fact it needs a new wire set though, i can feel the engine "puff" due to a lack of full fuel delivery, it's gotta be the wires i think