GSteg

iTrader: (15)

^^ Yup. I have done this for years now ever since the early days of the 2nd gen GS. It's a lot safer than those 'power' flush you get at the shop and practically replaces all your fluid in your transmission, even the torque converter. It's more effective than a drain and refill.

cjs18

That is an interesting write up. I was always of the opinion that as infrequently as the transmission fluid required changing, it was worthwhile removing the pan to see if there were deposits of metal or friction materials in the sump and strainer. I wouldn't want to overlook a lot of steel trapped by the pan magnets, for example. That said, if my trans fluid wasn't smelly or discolored I would consider using the process detailed in that post. Thanks for pointing it out.

gripau1

Can someone verify which pipe I need to remove?

Pipe A or pipe B?

gripau1

I think the above PDF is for the 6 speed tranny. The 5 speed tranny with the dip stick can be done by a simple drain and refill from the dip stick hole.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

tfeni52355

I use Amsoil Synthetic ATF and replace 3 quarts of tranny fluid by draining the tranny pan each time I change the engine oil. The pan holds about 3 quarts. With only 30K miles on the fluid I figure I'll get the vast majority of the oil changed over a year or two. Since the manual doesn't recommend changing the fluid I figure this is an OK insurance policy anyway.

cjs18

For what it's worth the SC430 service manual refers to the tube you've marked "A" as Oil Cooler Inlet Tube #1. Unfortunately I couldn't find any other reference that indicates which side is actually pressurized.

iolmaster

iTrader: (1)

I don't want to hijack the thread, but I do have a question about this transmission. This is my fourth Lexus and the others (still have two others) had no recommendation to change the transmission fluid unless you drove under extreme conditions. Pulling trailers etc. Why does this transmission have a recommendation to change at 60,000 miles? What makes this one different? Many of the new transmissions are sealed and you never change the fluid. Not even a dipstick. Just curious.

gripau1

The older 5 speed tranny has a dip stick which allows easy DIY servicing. The newer 6 speed tranny is sealed for life and has no dip stick.

You need need to take 6 speed tranny to a dealer or specialist to service $$$$. Not sure what/how is sealed for life means/defined? 10 years or more.

I come from the old school of thinking. Oils are way cheaper than a recondition or new transmission.

As a daily driver of a stock SC400 (brought it over 14 years ago secondhand at 30,000km on the clock) which is now over 510,000km and has not let me down once. I had to tow her once due to the plastic radiator top tank splitting due to old age plastic. I do all the routine servicing myself and the tranny or any other part of the car is still like new with no oil leaks etc. On the SC400 I change the tranny fluid every 2 years because I use it to tow my bikes.

Like I said oils are just a really cheap insurance if you are going to keep your car for a long time.

charlievet

Hi! I just purchased my first SC430 (2004 w/84,000 miles) and changed-out 12 qts of ATF when I changed my engine oil (6 qts-Mobil 1) and filter (Canton # 25-462 (6-1/4" x 3-1/4" x 3/4-16 threads)).

FIRST have all the tools (10mm & 14mm sockets, pliers, razer knife, common screw driver) and supplies (12 qts ATF, drain plug gasket, inline 3/8" Magnefine ATF filter (eBay), 2ea 3/4" hose clamps, 3ea empty one-gallon milk jugs).

NEXT drain the pan (mine's a 5-spd) and reinstall the pan plug using a new gasket. THEN disconnect the hose at "pipe B" and insert the flexible hose from the radiator into a clear empty one-gallon milk jug (premarked at the 2qt, 3qt & one gallon levels). The 6-spd tranny can be done the same way, except remove the pan drain plug at the very rear of the pan (NOT the overflow plug!).

REFILL the tranny VERY SLOWLY (or it'll overflow down the outside of the fill tube) with the amount of total ATF you removed from the tranny AND hoses at "B", PLUS one (1) extra qt! Have a helper start the engine and have him/her shift from "P" to "2-L" and back to "P" with a foot hard on the brake...but ONLY if they really like you ;>) Yell to stop the engine about 3/4" BEFORE the ATF gets to the 3qt level. REFILL the tranny with about the same amount discharged this time.

REPEAT starting and stopping the engine to discharge old ATF, refilling the tranny AND measuring how much ATF you removed...refilling ATF with the same total amount as removed each subsequent time. You're done when you've removed 12 qts or whenever the discharged ATF looks new/clean to you. As a guide, the tranny/converter hold around 9.5 qts when full, so drain and discharge at least ten qts.

REINSTALL the flexible ATF hose and INSTALL the Magnefine filter (making sure the flow arrow is toward the tranny) in that same hose!

MOST IMPORTANTLY: Measure the total discharged ATF as accurately as possible AND refill the same total amount (as close as possible). If done accurately you DO NOT have to worry about ATF temperature on the 6-spd, as I've successfully used this procedure on a VW, Corvette and BMW that "require" ATF temperature readings! Unless your tranny is leaking, if you install the same amount of ATF as removed, you've the same amount in the tranny when finished, as when you started, so it's full!! Also, install a Magnefine filter...even if you changed the pan filter (I didn't). It's cheap insurance ($15.49 shipped) and it filters both magnetic and non-magnetic particles! I installed one on a new Corolla and 13K+ miles later the ATF looks like it did on day one. Thanks!

gripau1

Yep that's how I recently did mine. The Toyota Type IV is about $50.00 AUD per 4 litres and you do need 12-16 litres to do a proper flush.

Oil is cheaper than a new tranny.

jzwu

I agree with your "same amount out and same amount in" logic. Just make sure the old and new oil are at the same temp when measuring the volume.

Now for the 5-speed SC430, the easiest way of changing the tranny fluid is to suck out the fluid from the dipstick tube with a tool such as Mityvac and pour in the same amount of new fluid through the tube.

Owner's manual indicates this "drain and fill" procedure replaces about 2 qts of fluid. You can do this a few times with the tranny being used in between and be done with it.

mandyfig

Drain and fill, that's what I am doing, I am on my 3rd drain and fill on about 2,000 miles. The color of the tranny fluid is slowly but surely turning pink (from dark pink-brown).

jzwu

Yeah, go slow.