Hi everyone,

New LS owner and first post. I recently picked up an 03 with 79K miles. My question is -the previous owner said every other oil change he had been pumping out two quarts of trans fluid from the dipstick tube. Then putting 2 new quarts back in.
I'm curious what the community thinks about this. I'm inclined to keep doing it since it had been done for years. Just wondering if anyone else does this or if it seems like a waste of time or money- or if there could be any ill effects caused by it.
Thanks for any advice!

 

Consider performing drain and fills every oil change..

Acquire a West Marine oil extractor..
No; jacking, crawling under vehicle or drain plug removal ( stripped threads or plug gasket) or catchment pans or draining.
Simply remove dip stick tube..
Removed exactly 3 quarts of transmission fluid.
Drain and refill required 15 minutes.
Drain reservoir is notched in quart increments.
Zero mess.
Temperature of fluid determines level..

 

How far was he going on oil changes and long has he been doing this? Regardless, I'd say it's excessive.

 

Interesting! I take it you're a believer in this practice. What is your normal oil change interval? Thanks for the heads up on the west marine product. Definitely will pick one up


He had the car 5 years. I honestly forget what he said but I think he was doing oil changes every 5k?

 

Replacing trans fluid every oil change sure seems excessive to me but it's your time and money. After all the '04-'06 went to a sealed transmission and Lexus said the oil never needed to be changed. Of course most owners don't follow that advice and do a drain/refill but wait until over 100k miles. My first drain/fill was done at 155k miles and the mechanic said the fluid didn't actually look all that bad for the mileage.

 

Uh overkill much? The 01-03 trans is one of the best ever made and fluid looks like new at 200k miles, it IS however super easy to change it with oil. Both plugs can be reached from the drivers side of the car without jacking the car up, pull both, remove and replace filter, then seal them up and fill from above.

 

Striker is correct about this. If you decide to change your transmission fluid the easy way, just pull the transmission plug and drain the three or four quarts into a pan. Refill with Toyota Type IV using the dip stick as a fill level.

If you want to do it a better way, first do as above. Refilling as indicated. Then disconnect the transmission cooler line GOING TO the transmission cooler in the radiator. It is the one on your left when facing the front of your car. Have your friend start the car and fill a half gallon milk jug. Stop the car and add two quarts through the dip stick tube. Do this two more times or until new Toyota Type IV starts coming out. Fill to the proper level and drive the car using all the gears.

Do not do this complete fill again for at least 50,000 miles. Transmission will last a long, long time.

Loren