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Did another Drain and fill, please advise if I added enough ATF Fluid
So for drain and fill, I use a 5mm hexagon key and remove this bolt, about a quart and 1/4 came out
Added about the same to refill hole (24mm) until fluid started dripping from the drain plug
Waited until fluid is a very thin line coming out from drain plug. Correct process for a drain and fill?
Engine was warm. after lowering car, slowly ran it through each gear
Please advise if this is correct as i thought it was drain from drain plug, put drain plug back, and refill until fluid comes out from fill hole (I believe this is for differential gear oil)
You’re suppose to have an obd2 scan tool plugged in to monitor transmission pan temps as you do the overflow bolt.
Maximum temp is like 50 degrees Celsius, letting it warm to operating temperate and draining will result in improper levels.
you have to check the overflow tube within the specified transmission pan temp range set by Lexus, something like 35 Celsius to 50 Celsius approximately.
You didn’t monitor trans pan temp while doing it?
Someone should also be in the car putting it through gears before you do the overflow plug.
There’s a chance you’re gonna have issues now(not serious don’t worry). You need to hook the car up to tech stream and do what Nick said.
My buddy took his LS to his shop did a drain and fill. They didn’t do it properly *ahem*, and his fluid level wasn’t proper and his car wasn’t shifting right. So he took it to his toyota guy who fixed it with techstream.
Not a huge deal, just get it fixed asap. Don’t drive it hard until it’s fixed, assuming your fluid level is out of whack.
i am in the process of moving from CO to TX and wanted to drain and add a bit of fluid without draining out 3 quarts or more...i will be more thorough once i get to where i'm going...thanks for the feedback guys!
for anyone looking for these guides, going to attach them here on CL since i didn't see them while searching for more info:
i am in the process and wanted to add a bit of fluid without draining out 3 quarts or more...i will be more thorough once i get to where i'm going...thanks for the feedback guys!
for anyone looking for these guides, going to attach them again as i didn't see them while searching for more info:
1. Transmission Fluid Replacement
2. Transmission Fluid Adjustment
Dont re-do entire procedure again...make sure the car sits and is relatively cold when you bring it in or let it sits lots before...
Make sure you hook up a scan tool to the obd2 port and measure the transmission pan temp...also have someone in the car putting it through gears before you undo the overflow bolt.
if I was u I would put car up, plug in tool, make sure temp is within specified range....fill a bunch of fluid in the fill hole, turn car on....put it through gears and then undo the overflow bolt and if it’s within the temp range and a steady drip close everything up. Super quick and easy.
There’s a chance you’re gonna have issues now(not serious don’t worry). You need to hook the car up to tech stream and do what Nick said.
My buddy took his LS to his shop did a drain and fill. They didn’t do it properly *ahem*, and his fluid level wasn’t proper and his car wasn’t shifting right. So he took it to his toyota guy who fixed it with techstream.
Not a huge deal, just get it fixed asap. Don’t drive it hard until it’s fixed, assuming your fluid level is out of whack.
you can do it without the techstream... but the ATF temperature needs to be in the correct range, WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING, to check it. If you were checking the level after the engine /tranny idled for 10-15 minutes, you would be def way out of range and likely drained too much fluid.
Got to Texas safely and had some time to fine tune it
Ended up snagging a Scan Gauge II and hopefully I will put it to good use as it looks like there's a ton of features
I am solo so did what I could and some videos like DIYDAN on YouTube was a big help
Main thing is the optimal temp to check the overflow bolt, some say higher than 102F all the way 120F max. I cautioned on the lower side like a few solid Lexus owners suggested
I'm pretty sure i was a bit low. When turning sometimes, the Revs would sort of flare up or didn't grip the gear right away. To my knowledge, this is a sign of low fluid
Based on my research, it is best to be almost in the exact range recommended. Too little or too much, both aren't optimal
So got Temps to 102F - 120F, then ran it through P, R, N, D to D, N, R, P each for about 3 seconds and did that 3 times until I finally got oil throughout and the overflow bolt started dripping fluid
I am going to share a few vids that I found super helpful for anyone in the future doing ATF drain and fill:
Got to Texas safely and had some time to fine tune it
Ended up snagging a Scan Gauge II and hopefully I will put it to good use as it looks like there's a ton of features
I am solo so did what I could and some videos like DIYDAN on YouTube was a big help
Main thing is the optimal temp to check the overflow bolt, some say higher than 102F all the way 120F max. I cautioned on the lower side like a few solid Lexus owners suggested
I'm pretty sure i was a bit low. When turning sometimes, the Revs would sort of flare up or didn't grip the gear right away. To my knowledge, this is a sign of low fluid
Based on my research, it is best to be almost in the exact range recommended. Too little or too much, both aren't optimal
So got Temps to 102F - 120F, then ran it through P, R, N, D to D, N, R, P each for about 3 seconds and did that 3 times until I finally got oil throughout and the overflow bolt started dripping fluid
I am going to share a few vids that I found super helpful for anyone in the future doing ATF drain and fill:
i did my flush and level check without any scan tool or temp gun. The car already has that procedure built in, so why not use that?
Scan tool is way faster IMO as well as shows you the exact temperature of the trans pan.
Does not have to be Toyota techstream software. My $20 Amazon OBD2 scan tool measures transmission pan temp and display it on my phone.
But yes they do have a built in feature for checking if it’s within range.
Scan tool is way faster IMO as well as shows you the exact temperature of the trans pan.
Does not have to be Toyota techstream software. My $20 Amazon OBD2 scan tool measures transmission pan temp and display it on my phone.
But yes they do have a built in feature for checking if it’s within range.
scan tool does not show you the temp of the trans pan. It shows temp of the fluid.
The IR gun shows the temp of the bottom of the pan, which can be used, but it will be cooler than the fluid, so depending on where you are measuring it, that difference needs to be accounted for. Ideally, since the fluid is what expands, the fluid temperature is what needs to be measured, instead of the pan.
And the method I referred to, already relies on the fluid temp sensor inside the tranny (the same one that scantool would be using). However, you also need to have access to TIS in order to pull up the correct temperature range, or find it here and hope that these important numbers were posted correctly for your model.
On the other hand, with the method I did, the car already “knows”, which temp range is ideal for fluid level checking. Is the tool more convenient at predicting how quickly it gets to that temp? Absolutely. If you are a mechanic and have the money - you should (or probably already) use it. But for me - it is not worth wasting 20-100 bucks on that, if I can do the same level check by simply relying on the car internal algorithm to give me the correct temperature range.
Besides, you will still need to hop in the car and shift that gear selector, for any level checking method to work.
scan tool does not show you the temp of the trans pan. It shows temp of the fluid.
The IR gun shows the temp of the bottom of the pan, which can be used, but it will be cooler than the fluid, so depending on where you are measuring it, that difference needs to be accounted for. Ideally, since the fluid is what expands, the fluid temperature is what needs to be measured, instead of the pan.
And the method I referred to, already relies on the fluid temp sensor inside the tranny (the same one that scantool would be using). However, you also need to have access to TIS in order to pull up the correct temperature range, or find it here and hope that these important numbers were posted correctly for your model.
On the other hand, with the method I did, the car already “knows”, which temp range is ideal for fluid level checking. Is the tool more convenient at predicting how quickly it gets to that temp? Absolutely. If you are a mechanic and have the money - you should (or probably already) use it. But for me - it is not worth wasting 20-100 bucks on that, if I can do the same level check by simply relying on the car internal algorithm to give me the correct temperature range.
Besides, you will still need to hop in the car and shift that gear selector, for any level checking method to work.
I didn’t mean it literally measures the pan temperature I meant it measures the temp of the fluid inside the pan. I prefer the scan gauge so someone in the car can tell other person temp while it’s draining from overflow. How do you know if you are in temp range if you are under the car? Do u have a helper?
Good info though.
I didn’t mean it literally measures the pan temperature I meant it measures the temp of the fluid inside the pan. I prefer the scan gauge so someone in the car can tell other person temp while it’s draining from overflow. How do you know if you are in temp range if you are under the car? Do u have a helper?
Good info though.
when the car in the diagnostic mode, the gear indicator on the dash turns into a fluid temperature indicator. When it is off - too cool, solid D - can check fluid level, flashing - too hot. Once it is solid, I immediately put the car in N, get under it, and unscrew the overflow plug. Since by that time everything is already in place including the drain-pan, it takes only 10-15 seconds max to do it. No helper needed... and it would take it about 1 minute to exceed the temperature. Plenty of time...
when the car in the diagnostic mode, the gear indicator on the dash turns into a fluid temperature indicator. When it is off - too cool, solid D - can check fluid level, flashing - too hot. Once it is solid, I immediately put the car in N, get under it, and unscrew the overflow plug. Since by that time everything is already in place including the drain-pan, it takes only 10-15 seconds max to do it. No helper needed... and it would take it about 1 minute to exceed the temperature. Plenty of time...
12-24-20, 04:28 PM
Did another Drain and fill, please advise if I added enough ATF Fluid
