Auto Trans Oil Change Made Easy, MKiii

[mrnickleye]

Get a gallon of Dextron III ATF (or synthetic if you choose).

Have a friend with you.

Have an old towel handy for drips, etc.

Have a trans funnel ready. (make sure it will fit the dipstick tube)

Have an old gallon bottle handy to put old oil into.

Jack car up a bit on drivers side, use a jackstand for safety. Or, drive up on ramps. Or, park car with driver's side wheels up on curb to get that side high enough for you to slide under.

Slide under car and remove tranny cooling line (rubber hose) from radiator at the driver's side. Use whatever screwdriver/tool as needed. Pliers will help get the hose off by gripping lighly and twisting at the fitting.

Place the hose down into the empty gallon bottle and hold it there.

Have a friend start the car in 'park or neutral' (hand brake set) and let the motor run,pumping oil into bottle, until the oil starts spitting air and oil in the bottle (approx. 30 seconds). Turn off engine. (This short run will NOT hurt the tranny)

About 3 qts. comes out. (check amount so you can refill correctly)

Replace hose to radiator as was original. (New clamp needed?)

Lower car back down.

Add new oil via funnel, approx. the amount that was removed. Don't over fill.

Start engine, shift thru the gears once with foot brake on, then check level as usual in 'park' position. Top up as needed.

You have now 'Diluted' your oil with new oil. Do this every 3-6 months and you will always have clean, nearly new oil. The tranny will last much longer now.

 

[shmuggums90]

Um - seems like you may be missing the easy part:

Buy at least three gallons (tranny holds around 12 quarts).

Remove "out" hose from tranny at radiator, place hose with extension in "drain" bucket.

Remove "in" hose to tranny at radiator, place hose with extension in "new" bucket.

Then start and let run - helps to have dirty bucket lower than car and new bucket
higher than car.

Should be able to drain and refill at same time. Be sure to recheck hoses for leaks after reattachment, and double check level - should be same before and after as all fluid drained is replaced with new (and no mixing / diluting)!!!

 

[americanjebus]

or just use the drain plug underneath the tranny and let it pour into drain pan and fill it up with the amount in the users manual via the dipstick.

 

[rakkasan]

or just use the drain plug underneath the tranny and let it pour into drain pan and fill it up with the amount in the users manual via the dipstick.

that fill only cycle in/out about 2-3 of the quarts

 

[IJ.]

Ignoring the 15+ year old 3/4 blocked filter in the pan......

 

[mrnickleye]

All of the previous methods "assume" that you have replaced the filter at some earlier point, and are now keeping the fluid 'diluted' with newer so that it will remain 'fresher', and thus doing this, you will not have to replace the filter again, and not have shift or leak troubles. (damn that was a long, but grammaricly correct, sentence)

Also...I do not believe that "shmuggums90" 's (above) method works, as the fluid is 'pushed' thru the cooler, and not 'sucked' back in the return line.

 

[IJ.]

LOL I wasn't taking a shot at you MrNick!

You should know better than most of us how many people actually have had a filter done in an auto trans!!

People will read this thread and right away think "Ahhh cool I can do this instead of a trans service" possibly leaving a blocked filter in place until it's done damage.

 

[mrnickleye]

LOL I wasn't taking a shot at you MrNick!

You should know better than most of us how many people actually have had a filter done in an auto trans!!

People will read this thread and right away think "Ahhh cool I can do this instead of a trans service" possibly leaving a blocked filter in place until it's done damage.

I didn't think that (shot) at all. I meant it to let 'the people' know that they better do it first. You're absolutely correct about the filter, as every day at the shop I talk to someone (with over 100K on the OD, that has never even thought about doing a trans service. Most people are aware enough to do an engine oil change around 3-6K, but as long as the car gets them where they're going, that's about all the maintenance they do.
And no one thinks to service the power steering, or differiential. Hell, they don't even do brakes till they're squeeling and scraping.
And this one, "Oh, that check engine light has been on for months, what is it ?".
But hey, those folks provide me with a $$ living.

 

[shmuggums90]

All of the previous methods "assume" that you have replaced the filter at some earlier point, and are now keeping the fluid 'diluted' with newer so that it will remain 'fresher', and thus doing this, you will not have to replace the filter again, and not have shift or leak troubles. (damn that was a long, but grammaricly correct, sentence)

Also...I do not believe that "shmuggums90" 's (above) method works, as the fluid is 'pushed' thru the cooler, and not 'sucked' back in the return line.

The "filter" is a stainless steel screen, it does not absorb any contaminants.

Pay attention to my wording in describing the method - drain bucket lower than car, fill bucket higher, etc..................

 

[mrnickleye]

The "filter" is a stainless steel screen, it does not absorb any contaminants.

Pay attention to my wording in describing the method - drain bucket lower than car, fill bucket higher, etc..................

Is that how they do it at the dealer ? Or do they use the flush machine??

Cause next time I do mine at home (soon), I'm gonna try your method. I'll report back on what happens.

 

[shmuggums90]

The dealer uses a flush machine, as do most shops. Just be sure to get enough new fluid, as the total capacity of the transmission oil will be exchanged - usually about 12 quarts. Also be sure to check fluid level when completed.
B

 

[americanjebus]

the problem is checkign the fluid, the dipstick is FREAKING USELESS all it says is if theres fluid in there. if its not warmed up as in driven arround about 16 miles its not going to be accurate, if you drive more than that and it gets hot it shows an inproper reading. if its been in park for a while it will show one reading then you put it in drive and back into park and you get another reading.

how do we KNOW if the fluid level is actually at the precise point where it needs to be without worrying about overfilling.

btw. what happens if i DO overfill it? by like a quart?

 

[shmuggums90]

OK, drive the car beforehand, up to operating temperature. Then confirm full fluid level. Then do fluid exchange process. Then reconfirm full fluid level. Also, if you can measure how much fluid comes out, then you will know it will be the same level if you use the same amount of new fluid as you drained. Hope this helps.

 

[tlo86]

Overfilling the transmission fluid will cause a mess of leaks... and about (i forgot if it was 77$ or 177$) for a transmission shop to fix it.

 

[kwiker]

Toyota auto trans have a screen and not a filter. the screen will catch chunks. but will not clog like the old gauze type elements. there is no recommendation from toyota to change it. Toyota suggests drain and refill the trans at each oil change. or every 20k or so go to your lube shop and have them do a auto trans flush. Ours includes a chemical flush, run for 10-15 min. then completely flushes the trans (torque converter, cooler, cooler lines) and then a sealer and conditioner is added to help keep seals and "o" rings soft, all for about $100.00

 

[jdub]

Just a clarification on this...before you do this, you should drain/drop the tranny pan and replace the filter. Check the magnets at the bottom of the pan for metal. Refer to the TSRM for details. You will need Toyota FIPG to reseal the tranny pan...I have also used Permatex "The Right Stuff" with success. Once everything is sealed back up, I add 3 quarts of ATF to the pan before firing the motor up to push the rest of the old ATF out. Any good Dex III is good...I like the Castrol Import Car version.

The A340E holds 7.6 qts from a dry fill. When I flush using this technique, I usually end up using 8-9 qts...basically I watch the ATF flowing into the drain pan until it starts coming out nice and red. I go 1 more quart and stop. You DO NOT want to overfill...check to be sure the ATF is at the lower "cold" fill notch on the dipstick. Run the car for a few days and check hot per the TRSM (it's a very specific way to check)...this will work any air out and give you an accurate fill.

The tranny output to the cooler is the forward hard line fitting; rear is the return to the pan. The drivers side on the stock radiator cooler should be attached to the return. Dropping this hose (the return) to a drain pan will also flush out the tranny cooler. If you use the return to fill at the same time by putting a hose in a gallon bottle of ATF, you lose some control...it will be easy to over fill and you will need to see how much fluid is left so you don't run out. Personally, I use the tranny funnel in the dipstick tube technique and add fluid a quart at a time as required.

This technique is not really a flush per say, what it does is completely replace the fluid.

This is also a great time to add an external filter. All you have to do is route the tranny output line to a std oil filter head, then back to the cooler. Use the same Wix filter as for oil or go with a Trasko bypass filter. Change the filter every 10,000 miles and you will keep the ATF nice and clean.