DshngDaryl

I learned this from reading this post from Lex2001, but he does not make it sound as easy as it is. https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...ion-flush.html

The key is to buy 8 feet of 3/8 ID (Inner Diameter) hose, a translucent pitcher, a couple of zip ties, a long neck funnel and Transmission fluid.

1. Basically you use car ramps or jack up your car
2. Pour a quart of Transmission fluid into your pitcher and mark the level. Pout the fluid back into the bottle
3. Zip tie one end of the hose to the pitcher so it does not get loose when it is filling the pitcher. Place it near the driver's door.
4. Run the hose through the cars wheel and over to the radiator
5. Take off the lower shield (this is actually the toughest part)
6. Looking at your radiator, there are two hoses that go into the bottom from your transmission. YOU ARE LOOKING FOR THE HOSE ON THE DRIVER'S RIGHT (The right hand side if you are sitting in the driver's seat)
7. There is a rubber hose that comes out of the radiator and is simply hose clamped to a metal pipe.
8. Unclamp the hose and give the hose a twist with a pair of pliers. This will loosen the hold and make it easy to remove.
9. Remove the hose and drain the very little bit of fluid into a waste container.
10. Hook up the new hose you bought to the metal pipe. It will fit snug and not need a clamp
11. Loosely Zip tie the hose to something under your car so the hose is mostly level.
12. Roll down your driver's side window and arrange the steering wheel so you can turn on and off the car from the outside.
13. Turn on your engine and watch the pitcher until the fluid hits the one quart mark. Turn off the engine.
14. Pour a new quart of Transmission fluid into the transmisson dipstick tube in the engine bay using the long neck funnel
15. Pour the used transmission fluid into a waste container for recycling at your local auto part store.
16. repeat steps 13-15 until you run out of fluid.
17. Unhook the new hose and hook everything back up and VOILA, you are done.

I say this is easier than using the drain plug because it requires all the same materials as a drain plug pull (with the exception of the $3 hose I bought at Lowes), but you get everything done at one time and you don't have to redo it every two weeks.

I bought a case of transmission fluid at my Toyota dealer. They gave me a dollar off per quart for buying the whole case. I got 12 quarts for $65 (after tax)

I used all 12 since I had them (and that is what the dealer does) , but you probably don't need that many.

DshngDaryl

Since I know a picture is worth a thousand words, I have included a couple. Unfortunately the pictures that I took under the car were too dark to be useful, so I borrowed one from MarkLouis I found on the internet.

In this picture you can see the clear pitcher I got from the dollar store and how I zip tied it so this could be a one person job.
The clear tubing is what I bought at Lowes. It has a 3/8 inch inner diameter
The laundry detergent container is what I put the old fluid in so I could easily take it to the auto part store for recycling


This is the picture I borrowed, it shows which of the two hoses coming out of the radiator you need to connect the hose to



I zip tied the hose to the torsion bar under the car in order to keep the fluid from having to flow uphill to go into the pitcher. It did not work out exactly perfect but it wasn't an issue. I ran it through the tire for additional support

Other side of the tire



My long neck funnel was still too short, so I cut off the bottom of a bottle to make a "Funnel in a Funnel"
When I first started putting in the fluid, I would pour more than the funnel could handle. This resulted with fluid on my floor.
I found out if I poured for 5 seconds, stopped, poured for 5 seconds, and stopped; the problem went away.

DshngDaryl

In retrospect, I probably should have used the drain plug and drained the fluid from the pan and changed out the filter before changing all the fluid.

On the plus side, I can still do that and it will only use a couple more quarts of fluid.

mrblister

The 2005 sc430 does not have a dip stick so you will have to go to the drain fill hole and suck the fluid out or else just drain it

Bgw70

Great post dashingdar, did this too but used a gallon milk jug, went much faster replacing a gallon at a time. I also did everything from the front of the car, shorter hoses, and I had a helper.

i never did the filter but I did pull the drainplug first, so I could wipe the magnet.

Bgw70

do you have a drainplug and do you have hoses that travel to the radiator? If yes, it should be easy, just locate a long funnel or funnel and hose to refill the transmission.

Bgw70

One more thing,
Valvoline MaxLife ATF, $17 a gal at Walmart.
It meets or exceeds Toyota specs and can be used in the power steering system too.

Bgw70

Daryl,
let first say, I know your steps apply to the 2002-2005 five speed with a dipstick but they also apply to the 2006-2010 with no dipstick…I need to change the fluid in my 2007.
I have been thinking about this process and based on the information you provided, I think I should use the output/return from the drivers side radiator. I can separate the hose at the red circle and run the hose to the drain Pan.
then I can connect a hose to the metal pipe with a small funnel connected to the hose…I can then drain a quart by starting the engine and refill a quart with the funnel.
my final step will be to slightly overfill then do the steps to confirm the fluid level.

again, why did they remove the dipstick? Rhetorical question…we know why.

Seattle SCone

You do realize that on the 5 speed you can even more easily remove ATF via the dipstick tube? Even the Harbor Freught fluid transfer pump set included the small diameter tubing to fit down the dipstick tubing. That’s how I did a 12 quart exchange with minimal effort on my over 200K SC430

Bgw70

Yes, my 2002 had a dipstick and a drain plug on the pan. Since I do my own oil, I had no problem doing a drain and refill…but my 2007 is a different story…it’s a PIA but must be done.

lexixel

Indeed, this is how I've been doing it (every year). You can get a small electric pump from China for $10 or a hand pump for even less.

DshngDaryl

Thinking through your idea, I think you are correct. Our system "pushes" fluid out through the radiator. It doesn't "suck" it trough, or else we would not get continued flow of tranny fluid after the radiator was empty. I wonder though, if you were to get a connector that you could put into the disconnected hose and put an extension hose to give it height, if you could use gravity to fill your transmission. This barb and a couple of zip ties/hose clamps might do it.

Bgw70

I like it Daryl, thanks for that Idea…should work good…I think I have one or two.

hybridview

Has anyone tried the gravity idea on the 6spd yet? I like this idea better than getting under the car and using a hand pump to pump it into the upper drain plug. It was fine on my Camry hybrid since I could drain the whole system at once and fill it back up, but having to go through this 1 quart at a time wouldn't do my back any favors.

Wilson2000

Pro Tip: Whatever methods, tools, materials are used for changing tranny fluid, make sure everything, including the work environment is "surgically" clean. For instance, don't do the job on a windy day when dust/dirt/debris could contaminate the new fluid. Don't use dirty rags to clean the containers/tools/parts used. Small amounts of contamination can cause big problems in transmissions, which is likely the biggest reason Toyota/Lexus went to the "sealed" design.