Complete Transmission Flush DIY - VIDEO

[TLC2013]

I performed a drain and fill of 4 quarts from the pan. Pleasently surprised by how clean the fluid still looked after 30,000 miles.

Currently at 132,000 miles and this was its 3rd service that i am aware of being performed:

1st was at 82,000-drain and fill of the pan.

2nd was at 102,000-full fluid exchange performed with Amsoil SS ATF. The old fluid looked awful, couldn't even tell that there was ever a fluid service done based on its appearance .

3rd was done at 132,000- drain and fill of the pan. 4 quarts replaced with Amsoil SS ATF.

The old fluid looked great. Considering how simple this process is I think I'll continue with these drain and fills every 30k/3years.... assuming the fluid continues to come out this clean with just replacing 4 quarts out of the bunch.

It really seems that once that first full fluid exchange is performed, with all the original fluid swapped out for new stuff, these trannies run clean and are easy on ATF.

 

[TLC2013]

In regards to checking the fluid level at the check plug. I was able to compare the difference betweeen using an infrared laser temp gun compared to what the AT pan temp sensor was recording on the OBD Fusion app. The difference was huge and would have made a significant difference in the fluid level by just relying on a temp gun.

Temp gun was reporting 114F on bottom of the pan while the actual AT Temp sensor was over 20F higher at 137F.

Always good to double check.

 

[bloc]

IR temp guns work best when measuring a surface that is black and not glossy. A simple spot of flat black spray paint on the pan would get the most out of one of those tools.

I’d be curious how different the measurements are when using this method.

That said a Bluetooth OBD module and OBD fusion is really easy to use to get either pan or TC temp out of our transmissions. That is what I use for fluid level checks. And it is super useful for temp monitoring on trips or when towing as discussed thoroughly in other threads.

 

[Hokie99]

In regards to checking the fluid level at the check plug. I was able to compare the difference betweeen using an infrared laser temp gun compared to what the AT pan temp sensor was recording on the OBD Fusion app. The difference was huge and would have made a significant difference in the fluid level by just relying on a temp gun.

Temp gun was reporting 114F on bottom of the pan while the actual AT Temp sensor was over 20F higher at 137F.

Always good to double check.

I shot the pan and then shot the fluid…2 degrees difference. I’ve done this with multiple Lexus vehicles and no issues. To each their own.

 

[linuxgod]

I performed a drain and fill of 4 quarts from the pan. Pleasently surprised by how clean the fluid still looked after 30,000 miles.

Currently at 132,000 miles and this was its 3rd service that i am aware of being performed:

1st was at 82,000-drain and fill of the pan.

2nd was at 102,000-full fluid exchange performed with Amsoil SS ATF. The old fluid looked awful, couldn't even tell that there was ever a fluid service done based on its appearance .

3rd was done at 132,000- drain and fill of the pan. 4 quarts replaced with Amsoil SS ATF.

The old fluid looked great. Considering how simple this process is I think I'll continue with these drain and fills every 30k/3years.... assuming the fluid continues to come out this clean with just replacing 4 quarts out of the bunch.

It really seems that once that first full fluid exchange is performed, with all the original fluid swapped out for new stuff, these trannies run clean and are easy on ATF.

View attachment 3657780

View attachment 3657781

Anyone done a fluid exchange early on in the trucks life, like 15k miles? I wonder if the fluid would be just as dark. I suspect there are coatings on the gears which comes off early into its use and darkens the fluid. Pretty sure the info I’ve seen from Nitro on their diff gears says that will happen due to how the gears break in but that the fluid color doesn’t equate to the quality or life of the fluid. That said I can’t imagine how fresh fluid wasn’t a good thing

 

[TLC2013]

I shot the pan and then shot the fluid…2 degrees difference. I’ve done this with multiple Lexus vehicles and no issues. To each their own.

I was curious about this too, surprised me to see a significant variance.
Was your vehicle cold prior to checking the temps, like sitting over night before you started the motor to get the temp with an IR?
I checked my temps after 10 min of driving in warm weather and was seeing a drastic difference in temps with the fluid being much hotter then the pan.

 

[linuxgod]

I was curious about this too, surprised me to see a significant variance.
Was your vehicle cold prior to checking the temps, like sitting over night before you started the motor to get the temp with an IR?
I checked my temps after 10 min of driving in warm weather and was seeing a drastic difference in temps with the fluid being much hotter then the pan.

Being the pan is metal I suspect it takes a while to warm up to the fluid temp. If you’ve been driving for hours they likely match but during warm up I suspect the pan lags the oil temp

 

[scrubolio]

Did you push the paper clip all the way through 2 opposing holes in the nut to turn off the transmission cooler bypass?

I was able to get it through one hole and I thought it looked depressed but when I was rowing through the gears no fluid came out of the passenger side transmission radiator outlet.

It was hard enough to get it through one hole, not sure how I’d get it through two!

 

[scrubolio]

Oh I see you did put it all the way through. I don’t know how you did that. I’ll try again

 

[scrubolio]

after doing a flush, the entire engine is quieter, idles at under around under 500 where it was above 500rpm before.

the gas pedal is less touchy and smooth off the line and during shifts.

amazing. I used to gripe that the 470 engine was smoother, but after this I think it may almost be as smooth as the 470.

I felt that in your video when you cracked the check plug and saw it just trickling, that you needed to add more ATF until you had it come out in a stream then slowed to a trickle. But I could be wrong.

I already changed my check plug gasket so that it'd be ready to go when I was doing my check, but as I took it off the gasket must have stuck to the transmission pan but got dislodged and went into my catch pan. I had to tighten it without the gasket, rummage around for the washer then crack it back open to replace it. hope I didn't lose too much fluid.

Thanks again for the video.

 

[prharper]

In regards to taking the temp, just use a heat gun and shoot the bottom of the pan, it will be within a couple degrees of the fluid.

A couple of follow up items for 2016+ with the 8 speed.

- I could not get the transmission to go into diagnostic mode with jumping the pins in the OBD2 port. Anyone else had this issue?

- Where are you all pulling the return line to get fluid going back to the transmission after the cooler? I pulled the port on the radiator with the pink dot as mentioned and made a huge mess. Then I went to the bottom line at the transmission and still had fluid coming out of the soft line as well as the hard line. This was much easier on my 100 series - I just pulled the line at the bottom of the radiator. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Same problem here, 2018.

I pulled the line on bottom of radiator, passenger side. Connected drain hose to metal nipple. Like in the picture below (from video)

Turned on truck and ATF was shooting everywhere out of the black rubber hose and nothing out of the metal end with the vinyl drain hose.

Does the OEM rubber hose need to be temporarily plugged? Didn't hear any mention of that in the video.

Edit - adding picture of mine.

 

[m12345y]

Same problem here, 2018.

I pulled the line on bottom of radiator, passenger side. Connected drain hose to metal nipple. Like in the picture below (from video)

View attachment 3671164
Turned on truck and ATF was shooting everywhere out of the black rubber hose and nothing out of the metal end with the vinyl drain hose.

Does the OEM rubber hose need to be temporarily plugged? Didn't hear any mention of that in the video.

Edit - adding picture of mine.

View attachment 3671175

Subscribed

I had the same; I just reconnected them and pulled the other pipe on the driver side of the radiator and ATF did come out from the metal nipple…

 

[grinchy]

Same problem here, 2018.

I pulled the line on bottom of radiator, passenger side. Connected drain hose to metal nipple. Like in the picture below (from video)

View attachment 3671164
Turned on truck and ATF was shooting everywhere out of the black rubber hose and nothing out of the metal end with the vinyl drain hose.

Does the OEM rubber hose need to be temporarily plugged? Didn't hear any mention of that in the video.

Edit - adding picture of mine.

View attachment 3671175

Sounds like the inlet not the outlet . . .

 

[prharper]

Sounds like the inlet not the outlet . . .

Must be. Strange that I pulled the same one as the OP from the video. Only difference between his and mine is I'm running the 8-speed transmission so maybe something changed. Disconnected the one on the driver side and connected drain to the metal end and plugged the hose. After the first spill and mess, the second attempt resulted in the drain hose shooting out of the container and had a second mess to clean up. For all subsequent flushes/drains had the wife hold the damn hose and container.

Huge thanks to @m12345y for the super quick reply and saving my day.

 

[prharper]

I got around to doing this and all my other fluids over the long weekend. Wasn't the best weather with heat advisory warnings and feel like temps over 100. Too much humidity for my liking. Wanted to get the truck ready for upcoming trip to CO and two group trail events - LCDC and Cruisers on the Rockies.

2018 LC with 57k. Transmission has never been serviced. I don't tow much. Truck is heavily loaded and gets good use off-road.

Some feedback on the job.

That "silencer" thing covering the transmission fill plug is a PITA. Fortunately, I had read some previous posts and invested in a long ratcheting flexible head wrench in advance. It made things a lot easier, especially the very top one but that one did take a lot of micro clicking back and forth to free it up.

After removing the drain plug, I captured around 2qts. Then it was a slow trickle. Next, I removed the pan tube (overflow) and more fluid came running out - about another quart. Here is what the thing looks like along with the washer (BTW washer was out of stock at dealerships for nearly a month).

First drain out of the pan:

Wasn't too bad. Still had a slight red tint.

For the flush and drain, ran into a problem. It's in a separate post before this one. There was also a reference somewhere for the 2016+ recommending to use 1/2 ID and 5/8 OD for both drain and fill. That didn't work for the lower drain out of radiator. Used 1/2 OD and 3/8 ID which fit prefect.

I used a 12v fluid transfer pump. It was quick filling but cumbersome - trying to make sure the fill hose didn't come out of the fill hole and juggling the new fluid container and hose while on the ground on my back. The clear vinyl hose with coiled memory was a pain when the pump got erratic when it started pulling air. Maybe silicon hose would have been easier to work with.
The next time I do this, I'll do what the OP did and use an old fashioned funnel with gravity feed into the drain.

I went thru 11.5 quarts. Trans temp was still too hot (and I didn't drive it today) to do the final level check. I'll cover temp in the next post.

Here are some samples - original fluid w 57k - first drain from the pan then subsequent flushes.

 

[prharper]

There has been a little bit of a debate on which method to do the final level check at desired temp.

I compared readings from Techstream, OBD Fusion and thermal heat gun.

That procedure to get the system into auto transmission fluid temp detection is wonky. Shift this and that and do it all within specified seconds...
From the FSM:
(9) Slowly move the shift lever from P to D, then move the shift lever to P.
HINT:
Keep the shift lever in each position for approximately 3 seconds.

(10) While observing the D shift indicator on the combination meter, move the shift lever back and forth between N and D at an interval of less than 1.5 seconds for 6 seconds or more. NOTICE: Do not pause for more than 1.5 seconds. HINT: Performing this operation will cause the vehicle to enter automatic transmission fluid temperature detection mode.

What you really need to care about is this:
Automatic Transmission Fluid Level Adjustment Temperature
(39 to 46°C)
(102 to 115°F)

Techstream can monitor this value for you:

So can most OBD readers:
Here is OBD Fusion (some of the forum members posted their PIDs and dashboards - thanks @linuxgod)

Identical match to Techstream reading.

The thermal gun did yield some different results. The portion of the pan that sits highest from the lower portion of the drain pan was about 10 degrees hotter than the flat section closer to ground w/ drain.

So the temp is not too far off from OBD readings. However, at the drain it was cooler.
in summary, I wouldn't worry about the auto transmission fluid temp detection mode procedure. You don't need Techstream either. Use OBD Fusion, also great when on the road and you need to reset DTC.
A temp gun will also get you in pretty good range.

It was a really hot weekend working in the driveway here in Northern Virginia. My asphalt driveway was measuring 155 degrees. I had the awning open on the truck to put some shade on me and the asphalt.

Trans temp was still a few degrees high so I called it a night. I'll go back out in the AM, start the truck for a bit and run through some gears. It will be up to temp in no time and I'll do the final adjustment and put that annoying transmission "silencer" cover back on and call it a day.

 

[sdnative]

Going through this now and have a couple of questions regarding the temperature / level check. I am not seeing the same behavior as others so want to make sure I am doing it right.

2013 LC

1. I jumpered pins 4 & 13 on the OBD connector. When I turn the ignition to ON, I get the message "DIAG VGRS OK" in the center screen, and the PCS, TPMS, Airbag, cruise control, VSC and check engine lights are all flashing. I don't recall this in the video or see it mentioned. Is this normal?

2. Do I remove the paperclip from the thermostat before doing the temperature / level check or after? It looks like in the video it was removed before, but the service instruction seems to indicate it is done at the end (step 6c).

3. When I remove the overflow plug with the truck cold (sat overnight), fluid pours out of the overflow port. However after starting the truck and getting the fluid up to temp using the jumper / D light method, I don't get any fluid out of the overflow port, but fluid trickles out of the fill port (paperclip is still installed).

 

[sdnative]

I see a couple posts in this thread about the discrepancy between the video and FSM about when to remove the pin holding the thermostat in.

Based on @04UZJ100 response in post 83, and a couple of other comments, I now feel more comfortable pulling the pin before the temperature / level check. Hopefully doing so will address point 3 as well.

 

[RT Cruiser]

Going through this now and have a couple of questions regarding the temperature / level check. I am not seeing the same behavior as others so want to make sure I am doing it right.

2013 LC

1. I jumpered pins 4 & 13 on the OBD connector. When I turn the ignition to ON, I get the message "DIAG VGRS OK" in the center screen, and the PCS, TPMS, Airbag, cruise control, VSC and check engine lights are all flashing. I don't recall this in the video or see it mentioned. Is this normal?

2. Do I remove the paperclip from the thermostat before doing the temperature / level check or after? It looks like in the video it was removed before, but the service instruction seems to indicate it is done at the end (step 6c).

3. When I remove the overflow plug with the truck cold (sat overnight), fluid pours out of the overflow port. However after starting the truck and getting the fluid up to temp using the jumper / D light method, I don't get any fluid out of the overflow port, but fluid trickles out of the fill port (paperclip is still installed).

As you discovered, you cannot remove the overflow plug when the engine is off and the transmission oil is cold. When the engine is running, the transmission oil is moved to where it is supposed to go.

I'm assuming you know the steps of moving the gear selector properly:


It is very important the Drive light illuminates then turns off while you are going through the gear sequence. When you have done this and after you have put the transmission into Park, pull out the jumper connector. When I did my transmission oil change a few days ago, one or some of the lights on the dash were flashing but I cannot recall which ones.

The ambient air temp was about 81 degrees and my 2008 was in a garage. It took between 8-12 mins for the transmission to achieve the correct temp for checking.

I've done this a few times and can attest that when the transmission oil is at the proper temperature to remove the overflow plug, the window is about 60 seconds or less before the excess trickle turns into a lot more coming out. So before you begin this procedure, have the new crush washer, the 5mm socket/allen wrench, oil catcher, and rags by the overflow plug ready to go.

 

[sdnative]

Thanks for the video and confirmation when to pull the jumper.

I am successful in getting into temperature detection mode. My main point of confusion was when to pull the pin holding the thermostat open and when to pull the jumper in the OBD connector.

Looks like I can remove the thermostat pin once the flush is complete as it is not needed for the temperature / level check.

And as you mention, pull the OBD jumper once in park with temperature detection mode active.

Regarding the blinking lights, I do see it mentioned in this post when using Techstream, so probably normal with the jumper method as well.

A/T fluid change procedure help

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