draco

I decided to check my automatic gearbox oil level (possibly related to symptoms I am experiencing on https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es3...d-problem.html), but then again it may be different.

My car has been sitting in the driveway since yesterday night, so it's been sitting there all night and all day. Enough time to let gravity do it's thing with oil. So the gearbox oil dipstick when I remove it tonight appears to be well above the "HOT" level on the dipstick. The car is cold, but the oil level on the dipstick telling me that it's above the HOT level.

Looks like this may have been overfilled? Would I be correct in assuming this? I will check it again tomorrow evening just to see if it needs an extra day to draw down, but I wouldn't have suspected so.

What problems can come from an overfilled gearbox? More importantly how do I rectify this?

llcoolpass

a leak of coolant into it

your car not being level

it being overfilled with atf

a weird qwirk

more importantly
you're supposed to check the fluid following procedure[common sense]. why didn't you follow a manual if you didn't know what you were doing?

you're supposed to warm up the car to operating temperature [drive it around for 15 minutes make sure youre not babying it or stressing it].
then you park on level surface. then you apply parking brake. then you apply the brake. then you move the selector from park(P) to R to N to D to 2 to 1 then 1 then D then N then R then P, slowly [so about 1.5 second for each one]. then you pull the dipstick out, clean it, insert it fully, remove it and see the level.

GEORGE_JET

Follow the process as IIcoolpass describes. If you let is sit overnight, the oil will drain back, so of course it will be high. I do not think there is any problem with the tranny. Recheck it the correct way and see where it is at. Does the fluid look normal?

llcoolpass

you forgot to describe normal :>
lol
means it doesn't smell burnt, and doesn't look black or 'other'... should look red or a shade of red

draco

I will do that procedure. In all my previous cars, when the gearbox was cold (i.e. sat overnight) the fluid level would drop down to around the "COLD" level (as that's what it's supposed to say on the dipstick). Obviously once the car has been warmed up the fluid would show at the "HOT" mark. This is what I have done on my previous 4 SC's!!! Obviously this car has a different procedure to check it, so I will follow that and check the fluid levels.

llcoolpass

SC meaning SC300 or SC400 made by lexus?

why do I doubt that

draco

I have owned 4 Soarers (which were exported to the US as a Lexus), including what was known as a SC400 over in the states. Same engine, chassis, body, gearbox - need I go on?

llcoolpass

well why did you do the procedure wrong on so many cars