McPierson

iTrader: (3)

Hi,

I’m writing this as a condensed version of the “Mother Thread.” I guess this is the “Daughter Thread.” So thank you to everyone that contributed to that thread. There’s a lot more info and advice on when or if this is needed. I changed my radiator so I needed to top off the fluid either way. I decided to change the fluid. This is my second change of a “Lifetime” Toyota trans. the first being on my GX470.



This procedure follows the methods presented there rather than the methods I’ve seen advised in this forum, unless I missed something in the 16+ page mass. The advantage here is we don’t need to mess with the “fill” hole that’s right next to the exhaust pipe. If you want to check the fluid level only skip steps 3 – 8.



Materials:

12qt of Toyota WC fluid

2 crush washers 1 for the pan drain and 1 for the overflow/level check drain pt number 35178-30010



Tools:

Fluid pump

Pan to capture fluid from the drain.

Graduated container to measure how much fluid you’ve drained. I used an empty 5 qt oil container.

3 additional empty 5qt oil containers or equivalent for disposal later on. If these start empty then it’s a good volume check if there is a problem later. If they are not empty to start with be sure you have enough volume to dispose your fluid properly and record exactly what’s in there. We are keeping track of the fluid volume here.

Scangauge II or other OBDII gauge able to read the transmission temperature (optional).

4 Jack-stands and a floor jack or other method to raise the care and keep it level.



Proceedure:

Notes: Make sure you can enter the diagnostic mode or read the transmission temperature before beginning this procedure. Unless ambient temp is 45 deg F or cooler you’ll want to make sure the car has sufficiently cooled before the level check.

1. Raise and level the car. I lifted the front under the cross-member and supported the car at the lift points with jack stands. I lifted the rear by the rear cross-member. Others suggest using the rear differential. Support the rear with jack-stands under the rear lift points.

2. Remove the engine and the transmission splash trays.

3. Drain the fluid from the transmission pan into a catch pan and dump that into your graduated container. Record how much you drained and replace the drain plug with the new washer. Torque for this is 15 lb-ft. Dump the drained fluid out of the graduated container into the disposal container.

4. Disconnect the hose at the location shown (red) on the transmission fluid flow schematic. It’s a good idea to rotate the hose (green) for the return to facilitate complete capture of fluid from the transmission. You’ll lose a small amount of fluid so be ready with your empty graduated container.



5. Hook up your fluid pump to the previously disconnected red location and pump the same volume as the drain in step 3 + half a qt. I think that for mine it was something like 3qt.

6. Be sure your graduted container is stable and that the hose from the transmission will empty into the container (DON’T LOSE ANY). Start the car and jump out to monitor fluid transfer. Shut off the engine when it’s pumped out about 2 qts. Record the exact amount and empty the graduated container into the disposal container.

7. Use the fluid transfer pump to pump approximately the same amount back into the transmission.

8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 until you get to 10 qts. NOTE: At this point, my fluid had changed color enough that I decided to stop. I wasn’t really sure how much I had lost from the radiator and I didn’t want to run out and need to reuse any old fluid from the disposal containers.

9. Account for all the fluid you drained and for all the containers of fluid that you pumped in. Be sure you have pumped in at least ½ qt too much. I went for 1 whole qt too much due to the radiator. If everything seems good then reconnect the transmission fluid hose.

10. Follow steps 7 – 20 on the Toyota “AFT filling procedure” attached. I knew I had too much fluid in my transmission and it didn’t sit right with me. Therefore, after I entered diagnostic mode I immediately drained some of the excess out of the transmission and then sealed the drain back up and proceeded to step 13 on the official procedure. If all goes well fluid drained out of the overflow. If it didn’t turn off the car, pop off the transmission line again, and pump more fluid into the transmission. Seal back up and repeat into diagnostic mode.


NOTE: There was a typo in the original procedure. If you jump pin 4 to 14 you enter the wrong diagnostic mode. It looks like this:
11. You’re done. Put it back together. You just did a better job than any Lexus dealer I know of and you saved the money they would have charged you too.

I have a Scangauge II so I used that in parallel with the official procedure. The codes for that are attached. We are looking for 95 – 104 deg F. When I did my procedure, it was 45 degrees F out and the transmission temperature was stable at 95 deg F.


Please note any needed corrections or comments.

Thank you to this community for providing the sources for this so that I could do this myself. I hope that this will save someone some time in the future.

ljdsong

iTrader: (1)

Thank you for sharing...its a great help for me. My F is at 82k right now i might do this next before march track days.

OneFastF

iTrader: (2)

Good Post. Will try

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Visual aids are always helpful. None of this is magic, but for sure you need to follow the procedure. I typically add 4 ounces after setting to the correct level because it extends the useful life of the adjustment significantly. Not a recommendation because I don't know if there are long term consequences to this, but I can only say it has been working for me up to 176k miles.

Teutonic

iTrader: (1)

If it's a "sealed" system, and it needs to be adjusted (added to) every 20k miles or so, where is the fluid going? I don't disagree that it may need it that often, just curious why?

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Between friction material wear and the unusual breather system they built uniquely for the IS F, I suspect the oil has places to go where the level will drop.