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I find the fill bolt in a little challenging location on the right rear of transmission so gonna try this adapter out to see if it will make it easier to fill with my hand pump.
This is the Toyota adapter for a Mityvac ATF refill kit.
I will share my experience from my 80 Land cruiser which I owned for 11 years. It is a 1990 model, and the transmission is in pristine condition and shifts very nicely.
All I did was perform a few drain-and-refill cycles every 60,000 miles (100,000 kms). Basically, drain, refill with the same amount and repeat this process 3-4 times after driving approx 60 mi (100 km) in between. This will replenish the fluid enough that is almost equivalent to a complete renewal. Obviously, this process is more geared towards a home mechanic. I don't expect you to walk to the dealer every few days asking for a drain and refill!
I did drop the pan once to see the condition. The filter inside was as clean as the new one I was about to install. So, goes to show that the process does work.
If you want to know how many times of drain-and-refill cycles will get you closer to a complete fluid renewal, you may use this simple calculator.
I just bought my GX about 2 months ago. There are no signs that the fluid was ever changed. What are your recommendations on which fluid to use? There are no issues with the transmission. Not sure if I should use the WS Toyota or something synthetic like Amsoil.
Personally, I wouldn't deviate too far from the recommendations from Lexus. Amsoil is excellent, I just wonder if it is specific enough for these engines? Lots of folks here use Amsoil in the tranny, as the engine oil and for the differential, and are pleased...I haven't and likely won't for the tranny as I'm still under warranty.
This topic has been debated before and to be honest I don’t know which one I agree with. Half of our members say it never gets touched unless you tow and others don’t feel comfortable leaving transmission fluid in for the life of the truck. I have 74k miles now so I haven’t done anything and would love somebody like Acrad35751 or Mann777 to convince me one way or the other. Oh, and good luck with your GX.
I'm curious on this as well. I've put Mobil 1 in a couple of high mileage Toyotas over the years but haven't ever had a Lexus until this one.
As a general rule, I change transmission fluid every 30k, just doing a drain and fill (doesn't get anywhere near all the fluid out on an automatic). Every 90K I'll do a drain and fill, drive for a couple of days, another drain and fill, drive a couple of days, then another drain and fill. That gets the fluid diluted where at least most of it should be fresh in there.
Keep in mind most of my vehicles have antique tags on them and I still look at automatic transmissions knowing there's some kind of evil voodoo magic that makes them work.
Tagging to see what information pops up in this thread.
I normally use Amsoil in most things but for the transfer case I used the golden fluid and plan to use Toyota WS for my AT. I already have a case of it for the job a couple weekends out. Just gonna do a 3-4 quart drain and refill. I don't like to mix fluids and if I was doing one of those drain and refills out of the AT cooler line in front then I would possibly consider an alternate AT formula.
•••This post will more than likely be edited multiple times. Think of this as a draft
Feel free to comment…. Just trying to get my steps in-line before I do a simple drain and refill on the AT fluid. This one seems like it can be a little more complicated than other vehicles I have changed AT fluid on as this first I have dealt with for the overflow design on the level check. I understand some may want to do some full change out through the AT cooler lines and/or change the filter. I am not going to do either this go around.
If I knew absolutely certain my current factory fill was correct I would consider a drain and refill without all the other steps but since that is unknown I am gonna attempt factory check method.
- Vehicle placed on 4 ramps for more room to work underneath. Made sure vehicle was level and wheels were chocked
- Turned vehicle to power on without starting. Connected OBD Fusion make sure that I could get a reading on “AT Oil Temperature 1”. (Pan Temp)
- Turned vehicle power off.
- Placed appropriate container with measurement marks below drain plug. I want to see how much drains out.
- Cleaned off AT fill plug. Fill plug is located on the right rear side of transmission.
- Removed 24 mm fill plug / make sure rubber gasket does not get lost. Important to first remove fill plug.
- Cleaned off AT fluid overflow check valve
- Remove 5mm hex AT fluid overflow check valve. With engine off there is more fluid in the pan than when running. A measured amount in my later post came out. This is optional. One could just fully drain from the drain plug.
- Cleaned off AT drain plug
- Removed 14 mm AT drained plug and drain AT fluid into container
- Reinstalled 14 mm AT drain plug with a new crush washer / torque: 15 ft-lb
- Pinned open the AT thermostatic switch with a paper clip. A screwdriver to push in switch will be needed.
- Used an old oil contain to exactly measure how much came out. I then added 1/2 quart to this amount so I could ensure I got an accurate fill level later on.
- Refilled transmission with (drain amount + 0.5 quart) with new fluid.
- Tighten the AT refill plug with old o-ring on it. I will be replacing with a new o-ring once we are sure fluid level is accurate. I probably retightened to like 10 ft-lbs. I wouldn't go full torque spec in case you under-filled and have to remove fill plug again.
- Hand tighten AT overflow check valve with old crush washer (only if you optionally removed during drain)
- Start Vehicle and cycle through gears a few times with foot on the brake and go through all the gears for about 30 seconds.
- Return to park.
- Double checked to make sure I could connect and see temps with OBD Fusion. I was able to keep the phone down with me under car so I could watch temps.
- Make sure you have your drain container down there again
- When temperature hit 115 degrees Fahrenheit I removed the AT overflow check valve and drained excess fluid until a slow trickle of fluid started coming out of AT check valve. Be careful not get burned with hot fluid or the nearby exhaust. I then reinstalled the overflow check valve bolt. I would be prepared to put a new crush washer on the bolt right after removal. Check valve torque 15 ft-lb
- You should now have the factory spec correct AT level
- Turn off vehicle
- Replace O-ring on hand tightened fill plug and torque to: 29 ft-lb
- Remove pin from AT thermostatic switch
- Go for a test drive to ensure shifting is correct.
- Check for any leaks when you get back from drive.
The only problem I see in you steps is that with the engine off and the check plug out you will most likely lose fluid as you fill it. When the engine is running fluid is sucked up into the body of the tranny and into the torque converter. When it's off it will drain down and fill the pan. That's why you do the check with the engine running. And for the same reason, if you try to replace the check plug gasket until you've determined it's full you will lose fluid and have to start over again.
Unlike some of the other Toyota models I have seen...on the 460 there is a separate check valve to the drain valve on the bottom of the AT pan. The tube on that separate check valve is at the maximum capacity that fluid should be in the drain pan and keeps fluid in the pan.
I only intend to refill until it just starts coming out of that overflow plug.
11-17-18, 10:08 AM
