I could of sworn i saw a DIY for tranny fluid im looking to change mine

Does anybody have a step by step process i can save to my computer for the future or any tips of what to do lol

Thanks in advance

 

There's a drain plug on the bottom of the pan. It's basically just like an oil change, though you won't get ALL of it out.

 

Yes its very simple. As has been said its a simple drain plug on the transmission pan. There's no changeable filter to be worried about, its just a mesh. You'll get around 4quarts out, maybe a little more/less. Fill it back up with the car idling.

 

There is a mesh filter and a metal filter box and if you can change the metal filter box..CHANGE IT!. Otherwise if your clutch packs have been shedding/wearing away, the clutch material will block the screen in the filter, which leads to a blockage for the passing fluid. Then the tranny fluid temperature ends up rising way too high and you end up burning out your transmission. I think for the A341E automatic transmission there are 2 types of filters.(Not sure, but i think one has a square sized inlet(mine) and the other is different)

I have just replaced mine(very skilled professional changed it) and it drives better. I paid 2.5 years ago(when I first bought the car) for the fluid to be changed, bought a new water pump, new timing belt, and wheel bearing and paid for the labor, but that shady mechanic did not change anything and took all my purchased items(found out 1.5 weeks ago).

So I've been driving for the last 2.5 years thinking I'm cool, and now was just told that the fluid was never changed out of the whole cars life!


At first when the car would shift, you would feel it.(kinda like a very good driver, driving a manual transmission..It didn't bother me as I love manual transmission feel, but I felt that may have been the sign of a needed fluid change.)


So after a head gasket change, the symptoms now were the car would not pull hard when floored. It was as if the engine was revving but the power was slowly being transferred to the wheels. kinda like a semi-slipping clutch.

So I took it to this great tranny shop called "certified transmissions" in the city of chino(off of central av). the guy has been in the transmission industry for 32 years and has had his shop for 27 years.

for under 100$ I got a new transmission filter, a fluid change, a secondary fluid change in 1 months time(my fluid was BAD!) and most importantly KNOWLEDGE. I bought 12 quarts for 60$ from toyota which he used some of instead of his own fluid.

-(I found out I could have saved some money here too by using over the counter fluid instead of toyota....I will explain later why. )

-(Also, He does not recommend a transmission flush machine, as the car will have to be running while the machine is forcing new fluid through an old and dirty transmission....I'll explain later as well.)


He told me to drive around for a month and come back so he can drain the fluid again(~2.0 quarts when just drain and fill, but ~8.5 quarts for a completely empty transmission.) to remove the filter, check it, and also drain and fill again.


This is to remove the new fluid containing clutch pack disc particles and contaminants that have been cleaned from the interior walls and parts of the transmission due to the initial(first fluid change) fresh 2.5 quarts of toyota T-II fluid cleaning out the transmission. I'll let you all know how what is found in the second drain and fill.

-(remember that new fluid contains detergents that are intended to clean and contain dirt, grime, and loose particles).






Now for the explanation of Different types of ATF(Automatic Transmission Fluids) that are approved for imports and equivalent to toyota type T-II fluids. He broke it down to me that he had a customer a few years back that had his fluid changed and took a large sample of it(it was non-toyota made ATF) and sent it back to the East Coast to a special automotive lab test facility. He also sent a fresh batch of newly purchased Dealer ATF. They did some testing and found that the required criteria in which they needed to operate was virtually the same across the whole board.(cleaning, heat capacity, viscosity under heat, etc)

The difference between non-delaer ATF, and dealer ATF was in the shift of the transmission. If someone wanted a virtually seamless shift(where you could not even tell it shifted), you could use ATF-X. Or if you wanted quick biting/grabbing shifts you could use ATF-Z. And if you were looking for something in bewteen you could mix them (providing they are approved for imports etc...I say this because there may be ATF that was common back in the 60's that may not work with your 95' lexus) to get just the shift feel you wanted.










The reason why he(and 4 other diff. transmission mechanics) did not recommend a transmission flush machine was because of this.

A transmission flush machine will force new transmission fluid into the transmission, while at the same time suck fluid out. It sounds like a great option on paper, but when you really think about it, it can be considered risky.
As the Flush machine is pumping new fluid in, this new fluid is cleaning out your transmission and breaking down any contaminants that are stuck inside the tranny and moving them towards your replaceable filter(metal filter box, not the mesh filter). As this is going on your old fluid and now somwhat new fluid is being sucked out while the grains and contaminants are still building up on you tranny filter.

So as more new fluid is being pumped in, more contaminants are being removed and even more are getting stuck in the filter as this is what the filter was designed to do. So now as the filter is being "blanketed" with gunk and now not letting the fresh new fluid pass through freely, add to that the fact that there is now a pressure force pushing on a blocked up filter, and a vacuum force trying to pull the fresh fluid through as well, whilst your engine is running, and the mechanic is shifting through the gears. This all can be a lot of stress/strain on the system. And not only that, but he and 1 other diff. tranny mech. said many times customers come back saying the tranny doesn't drive right.
Not to mention the most important parts are the thin passages which will also could possibly be blocked up too.

Now I am not saying this will happen to your our A341E tranny and filter, but I did not want to risk it. Even the Parts dept at Toyota told me that toyota just calls for a simple drain and fill.




I hope all this info helps you or at least someone in the future.








Extra info for a much better understanding:
(under specifications it talks about ATF for soft shifting and for hard shifting)

http://www.castrol.com/liveassets/bp...uids_B1191.pdf



Just some info to better understand your transmission(although it says LS it applies to all A341E lexus trannies, the A350E is a 5 speed so not sure)
http://staticfrost.com/manual/90-94%...AT%29/at-1.pdf

 

Stickyyyy!!!!!

 

Don't change the filter. Seriously. It's wire mesh - take it out and clean it with brake cleaner until it's nice and clean. The only way you would have to replace it is if it is torn - but I've never seen one torn. The majority of replacement filters are paper, so be aware if you DO have to change it.

 

Cleaning the Pre-filter(mesh filter) with brake cleaner is totally fine, but the actual main internal filter I would change and not try to clean.

Also I forgot to add.. there are 2 filters on the A341E, and i believe the A340E, and A350E(5 speed).

There is a pre-filter which is just wire mesh, and a metallic filter box with the filter element inside of it.



Pics:
This is what mine looked like(A341E):

http://www.wixfilters.com/filterlook...ers/9449_1.gif

but it seems from factory my A341E tranny came assembled with the type of filter that is designed on the A340E.




The other type pf A341E main filter looks like this:
http://info.rockauto.com/PartsAuthor...tml?filter.jpg







other filter types for a 94' gs300:

odd looking fram filter
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=1253388

filter for A340E transmission
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=63886

Another A340E filter:
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=63926


Pre-filter(mesh filter, top left corner tilted at an angle) A340E transmission
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=63892


Filter for A341E(I believe):
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=478689




BTW if someone has a photobucket account I would greatly appreciate it if you could save these pics and link them directly to here, so if anything happens we will always have this info to help others on this site.

 

HOLY CRAP!!! that was awesome info i really appreciate it havent even touched the transmission fluid since i bought my car its still reddish brownish so i know it needs to be changed gonna tackle it in the next couple of weeks

 

This SC300 thread will help to understand what your internals look like as well as may prove helpful as a somewhat general step by step re-build.

The 5th picture down from the top are the clutch packs.
The first 2, I believe are the brake discs.




https://www.clublexus.com/forums/flo...-a-tranny.html