shumif1

Lexmex,
I always heard to never change all the ATF just what drops from the pan . Is it safe to do this to mine , 2001 with 96k ?

shumif1

is it safe to do this to mine ,2001 with 96k, i always heard not to change the filter just drain it and fill it up.

hypervish

Yes, as long as you are doing a drain and fill only, not a FLUSH. I'd replace the filter the third time around, or rather clean it if you have a screen.

Has the fluid never been changed on your 01'? I suggest changing the ATF every 15k miles.

shumif1

I believe so , i bought the car last year and it has a good service record, i'll check and get back to ya.

tarzan17

First post

Wife's 2000 RX300 with about 100K miles on it tranny slipped badly yesterday on highway.

Symptoms:
- high revs (as if car is in neutral) without car moving or moving extremely slowly
- stalled when coming to a stop
- whirring sound from engine matched to rpm - ie. higher rpm = higher frequency whirring sound
- no DTC codes at all
- dipstick at right level, colour on white paper looks brownish (not bright red like from new Honda fluid)

She found a safe spot to park, and we managed to drive the vehicle home late last night when traffic was at a min. Google brought me here. Only other incident was a few weeks ago, wife said she could not reverse from parking spot, car would rev only then she gunned it and heard a clunk and the car reversed normally after that.

While waiting for the filter kit and 10mm allen key to arrive, I decided to start the drain at "Step 3: Right behind the transmission drain plug is the transfer case drain plug." (which is removable with 10mm wrench). I was expecting fluid to come gushing out when removed but was surprised when nothing came out.

Baseline picture. Note the transfer case drain plug is much closer to flex pipe than OP's - no room for an allen key and just enough room to remove. Also some type of fluid leaking from somewhere - most likely oil since engine burns oil.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8105/8...15dbd2c4_m.jpg


Picture of bone dry bolt. Physical bolt looks different than OP's as well - not magnetized.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8248/8...5d86bdb1_m.jpg

Baetke

You should have gotten some ATF out of the transfer case plug. How did you check the fluid level on the dipstick? There are high and low marks for both a hot and cold transmission on the dipstick and it should be read with the engine running and in Park. I also like to run the transmission through all the gears for about 10 seconds each before putting it in park to take the final level measurement.

tarzan17

IIRC level was near bottom of top two marks (well above the bottom two marks) measured with warm engine off. Didn't know to measure with engine running. Any ideas why no ATF out of transfer case plug?

tarzan17

More pics.

Parts used:
- MAM 35330-21020KT (Mark Automotive Auto Trans Filter Kit)



Pan drain plug removed. Doesn't appear to have as much shavings/dust as others.



Front diff plug removed. A lot more metal crap.

Baetke

My first assumption would be you were low on fluid. You must measure fluid level with the engine running to get an accurate reading on the dipstick. The bigger question is, if it was low, where did it go? Were there any signs of leaks around the pan gasket or did you have any service done on it lately?

hypervish

Look's like you have a rear main seal leak.

The transfer case takes gear oil, NOT ATF. This thread is not for that, there is a separate thread that shows how to change out rear diff and transfer case fluids.

I assume you meant that you want to drain the front diff... it look's like you took out a bolt, (i.e. not a drain bolt). The drain bolt for the front diff is directly behind the transmission drain plug.

It can be seen here (the bolt with the allen key is for the front differential, it is filled through the transmission dipstick) :https://www.clublexus.com/forums/2151972-post63.html

tarzan17

No recent service. Oil spots on driveway.

Thanks for this ! You are correct - now I see the drain plug as per picture.

Did a quick search for rear main seal leak and ended up at possible Auto-Rx fix. Will look into this once done with the tranny filter change (almost have the pan removed). Here is another picture of the front diff. Looks like pink gasket is exposed or that seal is compromised. Weird that it looks completely dirt free.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8103/8...1c7c388c_m.jpg

tarzan17

For those who have installed the odd shaped plastic filter to replace the rectangular one, can you confirm which side of the filter is facing up? I am assuming it is the plastic side that faces up (ie. the metal part faces down). Thanks !

EDIT: OK it only fits one way - plastic side up.

tarzan17

Everything back together and original problems are gone, including whinning noise. During removal process noticed that the pan gasket was leaking towards the rear as a few bolts were lathered with tranny fluid when I removed them.

Here is virgin pan removal photo. Don't have anything to compare with, but I was expecting more shavings in the pan and on the magnets. Wondering if this is indicative of pending tranny failure?

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8529/8...c1503bee_m.jpg


After wiping did once over using the magnets to pickup any leftover shavings.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8387/8...a0861c4e_m.jpg


Final notes (some maybe obvious but wasn't to me ):
- one of the front bolts was a PITA to remove due to location. use the THINNEST extension you have or use in conjunction with swivel socket.
- before removing pan, wipe ALL around the outside edges (you will have to do this anyways) to minimize dirt contamination when re-installing pan
- when I drained the old ATF from the cool outlet hose (car running) I was expecting it to shoot out with force stronger than engine oil drain, however it was not as strong as that, similar in force to about halfway through engine oil drain
- use your fingers to thread first few bolts of pan installation. I also used a 6" extension and socket (no wrench) to thread the bolts further in. after all bolts are threaded then tighten with wrench

Thanks again to OP for detailed and thorough instructions.

For those who have done this due to tranny slipping, how much longer do I have (mileage) before tranny goes belly up? My detective skills maybe off, but it sounds like the whinning noise I was hearing from engine is also heard immediately after I shutoff cabin heater. Anyone else observe this?

Brcobrem

Hi,

This is a great post and threads! I'm keying off of DetMich1's 10-18-07 thread which is on page 7 of the threads. I'm getting ready to do a little fluid changing and thought I'd research 3rd party transmission fluids that meet the Toyota T-IV spec. Here's links to the tech specs that I found :

Mobile (non-synthetic) :
"Mobil ATF™ 3309" :
Main page:
http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/..._ATF_3309.aspx
Specs:
http://www.mobil.com/USA-English/Lub..._ATF_3309.aspx

Amsoil (synthetic):
"Synthetic Multi-Vehicle Automatic Transmission Fluid". (Product Code: ATFQT-EA) :
http://www.amsoil.com/shop/by-produc...ont%2fatf.aspx
Note: Specs are near bottom of page.

Castrol (non-synthetic):
"Transmax Import Multi–Vehicle" :
Main page :
http://www.castrol.com/castrol/secti...tentId=7028224
Product Data Sheet: :
http://www.castrol.com/liveassets/bp...s_ImportMV.pdf

Looking at the specs, it looks to me like they all meet my 2000 RX300's requirements. Here's a link that provides some trans fluid definitions:
http://www.ehow.com/list_7490603_aut...fications.html

Note the Viscosity Indexes :
Mobile = 181, Amsoil = 163, Castrol = 200 .

Here's another post titled "Toyota T-IV vs Generic fluids" at the "Bob is the oil Guy" site. They discuss a couple more 3rd party brands :
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...Number=2340315

I'll hazard a guess that the compatibility issue concerns come from Mobil's claim that, "Specially selected friction modifiers and highly refined base oils to meet the demanding requirements of Aisin slip controlled lock up converter automatic transmissions." Note the spelling of "Aisin", versus the "Asian" we think of as the continent. There actually is a transmission called the "AW-55 Aisin Warner transmission". That's what Mobile is talking about there (see http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...Number=2601880) And coincidentally, the Aisin tranny specs a JWS-3309. That's a good post on a similar topic that I'm presenting here.

Btw, If you note the patent description of "Slip control system for automatic transmission with lock-up clutch" found at http://www.google.com/patents/US5086889, you see that there is nothing mystical about the concept. Briefly, the torque converter locks up when slippage is no longer required. Standard fare these days.

I presented these findings to a representative at Castrol today for their feedback. They told me that they have absolutely no information from Lexus Corporation that indicates that the Castrol product is not 100% compatible with my 2000 Lexus. Castrol said they do maintain that information from vehicle manufacturers and my year RX300 had no warnings. They did mention that their product did not meet the Ford "WSS" specification. For a discussion of the WSS spec, and how that relates to the "3309" fluids, see here: http://www.fordfusionforum.com/topic...tanence/page-2

Hope you find this information useful.

Regards,
Brcobrem.

hypervish

Yes, it's a well known fact that JWS-3309 is the same as Toyota Type-IV.

I've been using Castrol Import Multi-Vehicle ATF (now called Transmax Import Multi-Vehicle) for almost 60,000 miles now and I love the way the transmission shifts. I do a drain and fill every 15k miles and the fluid look's brand new cherry red almost as If I just poured it out off a bottle.