afpj

I saw that part number. I questioned it because it's for a 2013 Camry...does that mean Camry & rx350 have same tranny?

afpj

Finally did fluid change. As others have said, it only drains a little over 1.5 qts if you remove the inner plastic orange tube, after the metal drain plug. First pic is of drain plug requiring a 6mm hex to remove. The plastic tube deep to this plug is also 6mm hex, and as others have said, delicate plastic, goes in and out easy. Second pic is why I'm glad I did it. Fluid on left is new ATF WS. The old fluid is quite dark. 3rd pic is of the fill hole, normally covered by a 24 mm bolt like the transfer case, after front driver's side wheel removed ('WS' is stamped on the fill bolt). Have to take off a plastic panel to get to it...two 10mm bolts. The diagrams from CLUTCHLESS were indispensable, but I'm a picture guy so need to see for myself. Plan to do several more times maybe 1k miles in between to ultimately exchange most of the fluid in this manner. The solution to pollution is dilution. Part numbers for tranny drain and fill gaskets are 90430-12008 , 90430-18008 respectively. Tightening torque for fill bolt 36 ft-lbs, drain bolt 29 ft-lbs, the inner plastic tube deep to drain plug is only 7 in-lbs! The latter I only tightened to resistance. It is really loose and easy. (specs supplied by Clutchless's diagrams) I only tightened the fill bolt to about 30 ftlbs because it was pretty tight at that setting.

lexus114

what fluid did you put back in? the toyota stuff or a synthetic fluid compatible for ws fluid?

afpj

Toyota WS ATF. Cost about 10$ / qt at lexus dealer. I didn't go to Toyota dealer as it's farther for me, nor did I try synthetic compatible...just superstitious that way.

lexus114

I understand.

LeoDLion

Why do you have to measure how much tranny oil comes out? When you fill with new oil, I would fill it until oil comes out of the fill plug hole. That should indicate the correct oil level.

Clutchless

The height of the overflow tube is obviously much lower than the level of the fill hole.

How do you know the transmission capacity when filled to the fill hole? It is probably be much more than what you drained out. A transmission is not a differential that is a simple gearbox. It is much more sensitive to the proper fluid level.

I would not risk damaging my very expensive automatic transmission by overfilling it. The Lexus/Toyota factory fill procedure is so complicated calling for use of a laser temperature sensor and the overflow tube, that it is obvious they are very precise in the fluid level requirements for this transmission. It is not difficult to measure the amount drained.

Between the RX350 and my old 2008 MINI Cooper S, I have probably performed a dozen drain and fills on Aisin 6 speed automatic transmissions. It is not difficult once you can access the fill and drain plugs.

LeoDLion

You are saying that the volume of the original tranny oil will remain the same forever? No lost due to wear and tear? So what comes out is what you put back? If the oil accumulates dirt then the volume will be greater than the original, right? So if you measure what you take out and put back the same amount, you can not be sure that you are not adding a bit less than what you need to. Without a dipstick it is all iffy to me. If it is so precise, the temperature when you remove the oil must be the same temp of the oil you are adding. Did you make sure of that?

Anyway the fill hole has been used for ages to measure the amount of tranny oil to be added. If you fill the tranny up to the fill hole you will not overfill the transmission.

Clutchless

I always make sure the vehicle and new ATF are the same temp. See further comments below and you should read the PDF from the MINI Cooper that I posted which answers most of your questions.

Of course the ATF level may change over time, but I suspect it would be very little unless you had a leak. The tranny is pretty much sealed so no dirt will get in, only contamination from component wear although some may get used up somehow.

I know that oil and ATF expands when hot. That is also known by Lexus/Toyota as evidenced by the overflow tube that is temperature sensitive. Thus, if you want to be precise, follow the directions from them and use a infrared/laser type heat sensor to monitor the fluid temp when it overflows to determine the exact amount.

Having said that, I have always, in the many times I have done this, made sure the vehicle and the new ATF were the same temp. I have a 2 car garage and leave both in there overnight, then change on Saturday morning. I am precise in my measurements of what goes out and comes in. Then I usually add about 4 ounces more to be safe as Lexus/Toyota advises that the tranny is very sensitive to low fluid and I figure a little more is safer as you often spill a little when pouring etc. I have read many threads on this on www.Toyotanation.com including folks who have done their own home fluid exchanges and some just measure the fluid level, ignoring the Toyota method and none have had problems. I am not that brave. Although I have also done many ATF fluid exchanges through the cooler hoses on other vehicles, due to the intricacies of this one and the lack of a dipstick, I will only do cold drain and fills.

Attached is the fluid exchange procedure followed by someone with a Camry which has the same transmission. If you look at the drawing on page 7 at (e) it shows a side view of the transmission. The fill plug is obviously so much higher than the drain overflow tube that if someone was to follow your proposal to fill it until fluid came out the fill hole, you would probably need about 15 quarts which would overfill the transmission as it holds less and you had only drained out about 2, leaving many more still in the torque converter.

Your theory to fill it until the fill hole overflows is probably only applicable to manual transmissions as they are very similar to differentials and transfer cases. I have changed a lot of ATF in many vehicles and have never seen one with a fill hole on the side until these Aisin models, they had to be filled through the dipstick or cooler lines.

I also do not use WS as it is not synthetic. I am using Mag 1 Low Viscosity Multi Vehicle Full Synthetic ATF and I think it has improved shift quality. It will also last longer and protect better than WS. Others have used Castrol or Valvoline synthetic foreign multi vehicle ATF with good results if you check out posts at www.bobistheoilguy.com

lexus114

what ever, i`m leaving it to the Lexus/Toyota dealer... way too much work for me all because they felt the need to eliminate a freaking dip stick.. im surprised they didnt eliminate the engine oil dipstick as well. my wife`s C300 has neither one. all done by dealer scanner.

Clutchless

My local dealer quoted $300 to do a WS ATF flush. I think that is a reasonable price considering the complexity of the procedure and the $10 to $12 a quart the WS costs retail. Then you will know it was done right and it will be logged in your official Lexus service history when you sell or trade.

lexus114

afpj

Our dealer has told us several times they don't touch these sealed transmissions because its lifetime fluid. I don't trust an independent shop to do the correct exchange procedure, so I did, and will do some more, drain & fills. I guess the dealer is waiting for tranny failure is instead. Judging by my fluid color, they're on track with their strategy, but I'm going to ruin their plans.

ThChinaman

They might also not have a special machine to do it. When I asked my dealer, he said they didn't believe in it and so they do a gravity drain or flush by disconnecting one of the hoses.

mcfancy

Ive been looking thru the various threads and didn't see this exact topic. In the 2nd gen forum , there are great instruction son how to change the tranny oil and filter. Are there any DIY threads with pics on how to change the tranny filter/fluid? tx in advance