This sounds like a perfect segway for me to link my "transmission fluid change via the radiator" post:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc4...rain-plug.html

 

good luck...

This is why the transmissions are all sealed from the factory .. all car manufactures .. how do you know how much you have in it ... the fluid level is very important... you could be high or low and quart or two... temp has a lot to do with the level of the trans fluid ...

i learned from John kelly at Weber State ... Lexus and Toyota Transmission School

100,000 mile service on w/s ...

Yea there is bring it up to temp with techstream and check at a given temp... weber state you tube John kelly ...

In my 10 years with toyota and lexus i have seen 20 or more under filled sealed transmissions after service ....

Weber Auto youtube John kelly... he was one of the main teachers for g.m. Toyota .. lexus ...

the car care nut .... a toyota diag master tech. like me .. youtube vid . will give you the basic trans fluid check

youtube weber auto youtube channel ..... The car care nut youtube channel ... wow ... good luck

 

Whether one is doing a drain and fill (approx 2+ qts), a filter replacement and pan cleaning (2+ a little more), or a complete flush (about 12 qts), I believe the procedure is the same for getting the level correct when finished. If it is the same as my Tundra and ES, you get it close to the correct level via estimating (based on how much was removed), get the tranny fluid to the specified temp (measured at the pan or more accurately with Techstream), then open the drain plug. If it is overfilled, the excess runs out and when it stops dripping, reinstall the drain plug. If it is under-filled, no fluid will run out when the drain plug is removed. Then you add fluid through the fill hole until the it comes out the drain, wait for it to finish dripping, and reinstall the plug. Unfortunately, there are no procedures in the shop manual for doing this as it is not an official Toyota/Lexus maintenance procedure.

 

I apologize in advance for the physicist (retired) coming out in me... The answer is an infinite number of times.

In real-world practical terms 4 or 5 times is "good enough"

Here's how it works.
Lets say the transmission holds 4 qts and a drain empties out 1 qt which gets replaced with new. Then the tranny has 3 old and 1 new (25% new).

Drive around for a day or two and do it again, This time you end up with 2-1/4 qts old and 1-3/4 qt new (almost 44% new)

another couple of days goes by and you repeat ending up with 1-11/16 qts old and 2-5/16 new (almost 58% new).

Each time you get more new in there, but its a diminishing return, destined to never get to 100% new. And now that I think about it, by then the new stuff is getting sort of old again isn't it.

Again, sorry for at least potentially wasting bandwidth.

 

Yes, I know. My Bachelors is Math and Physics. But I try to dumb down for this type of discussion........LOL. It will only make any difference at the molecular level.

 

Hey my favorite internet mechanic put out a transmission fluid change/flush/possible effects video.

It is well worth a watch. It explains why changing fluid, that has never been changed, causes your transmission to go "bad"

 

So I'm a little confused by what Chris Fixx said about how a flush could cause problems. He said that transmission fluid has cleaner in it and if the current fluid is black (burnt & gunky) that doing a flush could clog up the valve bodies. Seems to me that if the fluid is a cleaner, that it would clean that out rather than clog it up. Seems like the original fluid would cause the clogs by itself. Does the cleaner in the newer fluid cause the gunky stuff in the old damaged fluid to bunch up together?

 

I think what he is referring to is that the cleaner can dislodge larger particles of debris that may have been stuck to something inside the transmission. When the larger particles get stuck in a valve body within the transmission, it can cause shifting issues that may not have been present before the fluid change. The "cleaner" can't dislodge the larger piece of debris that was "cleaned" off of another piece within the transmission.

 

Not exactly. It is my understanding that the "cleaner" and other properties of fresh fluid can cause sludge and metal particles to dislodge and travel to small orifices, or bearing surfaces throughout the tranny. In addition, the finer dirt/debris/varnish can come lose from anywhere in the tranny and travel to or from other moving parts. Clutch packs and/or bands that rely on a degree of friction may also be more prone to slipage once cleaned.

 

Sounds like a catch22, damned if you do and damned if you don’t…
BTW Daryl, Great Video.

 

The best bet is to replace a few quarts every 30K miles, via a simple drain and fill. High mileage trannies might deserve having the pan dropped so the filter can be changed and the magnets cleaned, as well.

 

my mechanic told me to put a quart of transmission oil into the engine oil before doing a oil change...smokes like a ***** and cleans out the engine...i tried it on older cars and stopped because it looks like a fogger. I can attest that the transmission oil is a strong detergent

only cars I've seen have issues after transmission flush/replacement are honda v6's...havent seen any toyota's have issues from proper transmission flushes

 

Thanks Wilson, that makes sense.
Good video Daryl.

 

Okay, i might be asking a question already covered but i can't find the answer. Forgive me for repeating if that's the case.

I have a few days off and would like to change some tranny fluid. I am hoping that i can suck an amount out of the dipstick tube and refill same amount.
2 questions: is there a dipstick on the 2002 models?
is it hiding under the engine cover?

Thank you and have a great BUT SAFE holiday weekend!

 

You are out of luck my friend. There is no such thing in the SC.