Quanzinjer

Hi all,

I recently did a transmission flush in my 97 LS400 following this forum post. After following the steps and turning on my car, to allow the trans fluid to flow, I noticed that there was barely any fluid coming out, and it was just sputtering small amounts of trans fluid. In total only 3 quarts came out after letting it run for a minute.

After seeing this is I checked my trans dipstick after running the car for 5 minutes and saw that it was COMPLETLEY DRY even after multiple checks. (side note the previous owner said that she did a tranmission fluid change before I bought the car)

After seeing the completley dry trans dipstick, I put 3 quarts of new toyota TIV fluid in the transmission as It was the amount that came out of the hose. I double checked on this forum how to properly check the trans dipstick and saw that you need to drive to operating temp and leave the car running and check the dipstick (which I had not done the first check when i got a comepletley dry dipsitck). After driving around my neighborhood for 15 minutes the car felt fine, and I parked on a level surface, left the car running, shifted to L and then P and got a friend to hold the brake down while I checked the dipstick and it read all the way to the HOT section, which is the optimal trans fluid level.

Why did my flush with the hose to the external transmission cooler only give me 3 quarts, and why did the dipstick read completley dry immediatley after? It now reads to HOT after I put the 3 quarts in and used the correct procedure to check the dipstick?? now Im not sure if my car even has the nominal amount of trans fluid in it.

Any help would be much appreaciated as I am very confused.

LeX2K

You might be getting a false reading let the car sit for a few hours then drive to operating temperature and check again. I did a spill and fill earlier today I'm waiting until the fluid drains down the dipstick tube so I can get an accurate reading right now it reads way too high.

What does the owners manual say about a drain/fill? The transmission I'm working on now gives me 3.2 liters.

Oro

If you followed the 1st post in your link, you did it incorrectly. The person who wrote that up was not very knowledgable; later posts corrected it (drain and fill the pan to start, so you know your base fill is full and clean).

First you should have drained and filled the pan. If your pan was already low/empty, which it sounds like from what you said happened to you, your refill procedure would also be low. It takes about 15 seconds to 20 seconds to get three quarts or so out via a line, pumping from the internal pump. If it took you a minute, then you sucked air through it until return fluid got into the pan, it sounds like, and your pan was near empty to start. This is not unusual when the fluid has been serviced incorrectly; they end up under-filled. It sounds like the person who serviced it before had it underfilled, they probably checked the fill level with the car off. Very, very common mistake.

It sounds like you now have it filled correctly. Best way to check is start it in the morning cold, shift thorugh the gears, leave it in P running and then go check the dipstick. It should read full cold or a little bit above is OK. The reason to wait overnight is because of the “splash” effect that makes the distick hard to read, which is what @LEX2K2 was talking about above.

Quanzinjer

sorry if my questions sound rhetorical or stupid, but this is my first car that I’ve owned so there are a lot of unknowns for me.

if I’m understanding this correctly you’re saying the 3 quarts I got from via the line, are from the transmission pan. Does that mean the remainder of the 12 quarts of trans fluid that’s supposed to be in my car is still trapped elsewhere in my transmission?

The post I followed, which was wrong , showed that he was able to flush all 12 quarts out of the transmission. I only got 3 quarts out of it which led me to believe that my transmission only had 3 quarts total in it???

Am I correct in this assumption? Or is the only way to find out to wait and recheck my trans dipstick later? I’ve seen mixed results in the accuracy of that dipstick and I wasn’t sure if it read the total trans fluid in my transmission or just the amount in the pan.

thanks for your insight

Oro

Transmissions generally hold nine to 12 quarts. I’m unfamiliar with the exact volume of yours, but it will be somewhere in there. I’ve had an A340 in the past but don’t remember now. Amsoil usually has the correct specs easy to find, you could check there if curious. Only a fraction of that is in the pan at any one time. It is not at all like a typical engine. You can google this to see diagrams and learn more about how ATs work.

If you follow the correct fill check procedure as above, you will be safe.

Quanzinjer

Thank you!

So from what I understand the 3 quarts I pulled via the trans cooler line was from the trans pan which holds a smaller amount of the fluid, which is why I only got as much as I did.

I’ll follow the correct fill check procedure to see my level of trans fluid and will fill accordingly. Really appreciate the help and new info.

Oro

My suggestion given the service history is to:

1) verify the fill is correct now (cold or hot should be fine, you should have marks for both on the dipstick. Cold is much easier to check).

2) Drain and fill the pan every 30k miles going forward. You will be fine.

I like to add Lubegard Red as an additive; it helps maintain seals and solenoid function. Consider that.

Quanzinjer

Thanks man I really appreciate all the info you gave me, definitely learned a lot of new things that’ll help my ownership.

I was curious if you knew where the line and internal pump pull trans fluid from if it isn’t from the pan? Is it just the residual trans fluid sitting in the system?

LeX2K

Of course the pump pulls fluid from almost the very bottom of the pan. It doesn't matter at all what the previous fluid level was just get it right this could take a few attempts. I've yet to feel any seat of the pants difference using Lubegard Red.

Oro

That’s good, that’s the goal.

If a transmission is in poor shape, you may feel improvement if it’s due to varnish and/or degraded seals. If the transmission is currently ok, you have insurance against that developing over time. I’ve had two particular cases (one Honda, one Volvo - which is an Aisin/Toyota transmission) where a rebuild was needed or at least serious valve body surgery/replacement, and Lubegard cured both. On other cars I use it as insurance when over 100k against that. It costs about $1/ounce in the small container (less in the largest one), and it takes so little that I am very comfortable with it. That and PEA in the fuel periodically are the only additives I’ve ever found to really work and be worth the money/time/effort.