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Shifting seems off, transmission or needs a fluid change?
hello, this is my first post on clublexus. I just bought a LS400 1998 a few weeks ago. The car has almost 580k km on it now but the engine has be swapped, which only has 150k km on it, same engine original all that.
However the guy who owned the car before me bought it second hand and he had no knowledge about the car, I think he used whatever tranny fluid he could find or was recommended by some crappy garage. At first car was driving perfectly fine gears shifts were smooth. However, now. I知 starting to notice that especially after coming off a speed hump, the rpm will go up and it will take a second or so to catch on and give a slight kick. This also happens when I come out of slow corners.
I have been searching about tranny fluids and I found that my there is a specific Toyota type IV fluid for the LS400 which seems to work perfectly. I知 just wondering if I知 going crazy or if this is something you as owners experience yourself? Maybe it痴 because of the crappy fluid in there now. I don稚 smell any burnt clutch plates but maybe that could be an issue? Any suggestions on how to approach this matter?
I apologize if I知 not asking on the right page or if I知 asking something that has been asked before! Go easy on me.
Hello and welcome, great looking LS !
Drain the existing fluid and replace asap with T-IV. The Aisin trans is VERY sensitive to the wrong fluid. If you can't source T-IV Mobil-1 3309 is an exact equivalent. Don't use any other fluid no matter what the label claims about compatibility.
Hello and welcome, great looking LS !
Drain the existing fluid and replace asap with T-IV. The Aisin trans is VERY sensitive to the wrong fluid. If you can't source T-IV Mobil-1 3309 is an exact equivalent. Don't use any other fluid no matter what the label claims about compatibility.
Thank you Bradlnd, I will replace it as soon as possible. I only found 1 quarts of T-VI, how many do you recommend getting? Should I drain the entire thing or add only 2 quarts or something since i read something about only 2 quarts coming out the transmission when you drain it? I read that it is possible to shock the transmission and it could possibly damage the seals. I'd love to know so I can make sure guy at the garage knows, because I don't trust the guys at all out here In Dubai, UAE.
I would drain and fill back 2-3 quarts whenever you change engine oil the next 3 or 4 times. Check the level very carefully when hot on a level surface.
Research how to clean the throttle body (including the little holes) and do that too.
I’m starting to notice that especially after coming off a speed hump, the rpm will go up and it will take a second or so to catch on and give a slight kick. This also happens when I come out of slow corners.
I bet your engine idle rpm is lower than normal. It should be 750 ｱ 50rpm at shift position P.
Believe it or not, your type of problem (slow gear engagement after the speed down) is very often caused by the badly clogged throttle body. It is natural that many people consider it as a AT problem. As far as I help local shops and dealers, all that type of problems were fixed only cleaning the throttle body including the air mix passages. Search the forum and you would know more.
I bet your engine idle rpm is lower than normal. It should be 750 ｱ 50rpm at shift position P.
Believe it or not, your type of problem (slow gear engagement after the speed down) is very often caused by the badly clogged throttle body. It is natural that many people consider it as a AT problem. As far as I help local shops and dealers, all that type of problems were fixed only cleaning the throttle body including the air mix passages. Search the forum and you would know more.
Not quiet sure about the RPM, it seems to be just under 1000 in park, but I do notice the RPM going up and down sometimes when it is in park even when the car has been running for a while and the engine is warm. I will definitely look into cleaning throttle body!
This one is kinda tough because you are "assuming" the trans has the wrong fluid inside. There's really no way to know for sure unless you can contact the previous owner and locate the shop where the service was performed. If the wrong fluid is actually inside I would get it out as soon as possible. There are ways to replace all the fluid at once using the cooler lines but stay away from any service that uses pressure to flush the fluid out. I wouldn't worry about shocking the system as using the wrong fluid is more of a burden than replacing all the fluid at once.
Yamae speaks wise words a clean throttle body can make a huge difference in drivability.
You could at least look at the throttle body and air mix passages to eliminate that. The duct work takes a bit of work to remove compared to others I've had, but there are posts here that will give you an idea on how to remove everything and clean things up if necessary.
If you do change the fluid here is what I did. I removed the transmission pan drain bolt and caught the fluid drain in a pan so I could measure how much came out. I did mine 4 times because the previous owner had an independent shop do a fluid change and the paper work did not show what type of fluid was used to refill it and they also added some kind of conditioner. I got 3 quarts to come out each time by letting it drain for hours. Twice I let it drain overnight. You will need a new gasket for the pan drain bolt. I got case of T-IV fluid and a pack of drain plug gaskets (#35178-30010) from Amazon. Also, after the 4th drain & fill I discovered that the transmission was actually overfull on fluid. It was that way when I purchased it. I've seen this on many cars in the past. This is why it is so important to catch what you drain, measure it, and put that amount back in! I think what happened on mine is that when the shop drained the fluid and refilled it they put in 2 quarts of transmission fluid and then 1 quart of the BG conditioner and it overfilled it. Another reason not to let other people touch your car unless it is an emergency.
I jacked up the passenger side and secured it with a jack stand. I then slid a piece of cardboard under the car, which allowed me to slide/wiggle under there and remove the drain bolt. This way the car is leaning the correct way for the fluid to drain out. You could also lift the whole front end if you have 2 jacks and secure it with 2 jack stands or drive it up on ramps. It was really very easy to do. Finally, you have to warm the car up each time before you drain the fluid. That's another reason why I only jacked up the passenger side. Each time I drained it, I would throw the pan drain bolt back in, fill it up and then take it out for a 20-30 mile spin. It made it easy to come back and do the process all over again.
Speed hump ? I don't think that is a test for anything. So how does it go down the free way, and in normal driving? Is it shifting normal? And yes the wrong fluid is about the only thing that ruins these transmissions, they are the most durable part of these cars, except maybe for a very rare solenoid problem. Throttle by wire cars can have some strange engine running problems so like others say suspect that as well.
Speed hump ? I don't think that is a test for anything.
You can easily assume that hump was just the typo done by Lloyd400.
For a model with a VVT engine, the speed bump test is a good way to check the dynamic range of the ECU control for the 5 speed AT. You may feel it strange. But this control needs 300 words to explain and I can't write it quickly. Simply to say, when the throttle body is badly clogged and and the air does not go through there enough, the ECU compensates it opening the throttle plate. But the there is a limitation of the compensation. When the compensation is out of the limit range, there happens problems.The idle rpm becomes lower and also the AT control becomes strange due to the buggy software.
09-24-18, 11:01 PM
Shifting seems off, transmission or needs a fluid change?
