audphile1

Thanks Rice. That is pretty much what I thought.

I order parts from irontoad and the prices are pretty decent. So I'll just order the mounts and go to my mechanic and have him install the mounts if that's going to be cheaper(I think it should).

Rice

Welcome.

The mounts are about $90 each, so the whole job should cost about 300 clams. Beats the hek out of $800 at the stealer. No wonder I never go to them.

BTW, did they replace all tranny fluid or just 1-2 quarts?

audphile1

Thanks for the link, Rice!

They only replaced 3qts of transmission fluid. WTF they charge so much is really beyond my understanding.
They kept the car for 3 days while waiting for the transmission mount. I had a brand new RX350 as a loaner. Should have gotten an IS...would've been more fun. Felt pretty good getting back into my LS after spending 3 days in the RX. I am not a huge fan of SUVs.

I'm getting a set of new tires this weekend(this is a priority #1 b/c my tires are way passed any reasonable amount of wear), hopefully I can make it to the tire shop -there is supposed to be a snow storm this weekend.

Next moth I'll do the motor mounts. I am going easy now. There is some slight vibration at highway speeds above 65mph that I can feel and think is due to motor mounts. I don't want to kill these things entirely.

Thanks all for your help! I will post back once I get the new mounts installed. I will find out how much this will run me this weekend.

lxus4xms

I am new here but I can shead some light on this for you. An automatic transmition has a magnet in the pan that collect debris. For this reason tranny flushes are not such a great idea. You don't want to disturb those particals. For that very same reason it is a good idea to drain the fluid clean the pan and magnet and top up the fluid.

audphile1

I think this is what they did. They took the pan down abd washed it. Then filled with watever fluid was lost during this procedure, which came out to 3qts...aaccording to my bill.

GRAND_LS 4

iTrader: (2)

I have a strong feeling they did not do that. Its usually a simple drain and refill. There's a drain plug on the transmission and its drains about 2qts. You re-fill from the engine bay's transmission stick funnel (this is for 01-03 only).

Its usually 2 qts... that's how i've always done it. You can double check by looking at the transmission dip stick, or measuring the fluid drained.

Need to get my tranny mount replaced soon on the GS because im feeling more vibration, especially during the 1-2 shifts.

audphile1

who knows what they did. I plan to do the drain and fill again in about 25k so I will make sure they take the pan down and clean the magnet.

tallcaguy

Find a good independent mechanic w/ Lexus experience. On my 2001, the quote to do engine mounts & trans mount was 650. Drain and fill is 90. He recommend not doing the flush. Says in an older car it may cause problems. He's a factory certified Lexus mechanic.

Bocatrip

I sold cars for over 25 years. My advice to you with quite a bit of experience in this area is to leave you car alone! If it is shifting and performing fine....leave well enough alone. Any varnish that has built up between the clutches at this time will be upset after replacing the fluid with a good chance your clutches will begin slipping. If the trans was giving you trouble then you would have no choice but to try fluid changes. I'd stay far away from touching the trans.

Duck05

For our '01 a trusted independent shop (with Lexus-certified mechanics) performed the transmission fluid replacement. This was just a few months back with the car having 192K+ and it was over due by some accounts.

Car shifts flawlessly.

tallcaguy

Glad to hear you found a good independent garage w/ Lexus experience. Does fluid replacement mean a flush and fill?

Duck05

Yes.... The process takes 16 quarts..... Glad it is not too often a service....

DavidinCT

Heres a question on this... My 2001 has 220K on it...The Trans is not as smooth as it used to be, I can sometimes feel the shift (something that has not always been there) and now, when I am going down hills, it does not down shift correctly, the motor will rev up a little.

For the most part it's fine though, just those minor issues. I was thinking about doing the drain and fill as said here. Would it help, or do you think I am REALLY asking for trouble.

I am planning to hold on to this car for another 2-3 years if possible..