I just did a drain and fill on my trans in my 2009 GX470 (120K miles). I could not find a complete write up and found myself hopping around between multiple different sources.
First of all, It is really not that bad and I recommend anyone that is thinking about it to do it!
Tools/Shopping list:
5mm allen (remove the check plug)
14mm Socket (drain plug)
24mm Socket (WS Fill plug, needs to be standard/shallow, not a deep well)
3 foot of drain tube to plug into the cooler (I used a pretty soft 3/8" ID hose a stiff 1/2 should work as well)
5 Liter Plastic beaker with graduation marking (~$18 on amazon) (It would be nice to have two of these. one clean one dirty)
Fluid transfer pump (Highly suggest this: Performance Tool W1156 Transfer Pump ~$12 at autozone or amazon)
14-16 qts of Toyota ATF WS fluid (#00289ATFWS ~$10/qt)
2X Overflow check & Drain plug crush washer (#3517830010)
A cheap tarp to lay down under everything
level
Steps:
Draining the pan:
1. Begin with the car completely cold and check that frame rail is level. Level as necessary, lay tarp down.
2. Remove the fill plug with 24mm socket. It is located at the rear of the trans on the passenger side about halfway up. 2004+ should have a "WS" on the head of the plug (see PDF)
3. Position Plastic beaker under the check plug
4. Remove the check plug with a 5mm allen. Fluid should come out since it is cold. (you want to remove the fill and check to make sure you can get them loose before you drain the pan)
5. Reinstall the check plug finger tight
6. Remove the drain plug with 14mm socket (2-3 qts should come out of the pan)
7. Reinstall the drain plug with 14mm (with new crush washer) torque to 21 ft-lbs.
8. Measure how much fluid came out of the transmission & empty your dirty plastic beaker.
9. Grab clean plastic beaker and fill it to the level that came out. (2.8 QTS came out dirty, put in 2.8 QTS clean) I usually added ~.1QT more than came out each time.
10. Using fluid pump, pump the clean fluid into the fill hole.
11. Have a beer
Draining the rest:
1. Remove the upper line on the transmission cooler (circled in picture attached) and zip tie line up and out of the way. (very little fluid should come out ~ a drop or so)
2. Add your 3 ft drain line to the upper cooler fitting and route it into the empty dirty fluid beaker in front of the car.
3. Get in the car and set the e-brake tight
4. Start a stopwatch on your phone and start the car.
5. Slowly row through all of the gears P to L waiting about 1.5s in each. Turn the car off at 27 seconds. (ideally go P-L-P-L-P in 27s)
6. Go look at the dirty fluid in your plastic beaker. (~1.5Q - 2Q should have been pumped out)
7. Measure how much fluid came out of the transmission & empty your dirty plastic beaker.
8. Grab clean plastic beaker and fill it to the level that came out ~1.6Q and I usually added ~.1QT more than came out each time.
9. Using fluid pump, pump the clean fluid into the fill hole.
10. Repeat this process (steps 2-9) a few times until the fluid coming out is pretty clean. (6+ times).
** you are basically running the car and pumping old fluid out, then refilling to proper level with new fluid**
11. Remove the drain tube on the trans cooler and re-connect the oil cooler line.
12. Have a beer. This is tedious.
Checking the level:
1. At this point your transmission should be overfilled by roughly a half quart.
2. I used my OBD Fusion app on my iphone to measure trans fluid temperature in the pan.
3. Crank the car and the row N-D-N-D-N-D a few times and then leave it in drive while the fluid warms up
4. Per the manual the fluid should be between 97* and 115*
5. While the engine is running (and in proper temp range) shift to park, leave the engine running.
6. Get under the car and remove the check plug with 5mm allen
7. Fluid should run out, go to step 8. If fluid does not run out, go to step 9.
8. When fluid slows to a dribble, reinstall the check plug with a new crush washer. tighten to 15 ft-lbs.
9. Turn off the engine & reinstall the check plug finger tight.
11. Using the fluid pump, pump .5 quart into the fill hole.
12. Repeat steps 1-8 as needed
Final:
1. Clean the o-ring on the fill plug
2. Reinstall the fill plug with 24mm. tighten to 29 ft-lbs.
3. Wipe any fluid drips from pan, check plug, and fill-hole areas
4. Have a beer. Finish clean up.
5. Go drive and appreciate the renewed smoothness. (when sober)
Notes:
I used 13.5 Qts total. It looks like I was actually about a quart low before I started.
If I had pre-planned more, I would have parked it on ramps in the front and then leveled it in the rear with a jack in order to have more room under it. However it needs to be cold to start so I couldn't do this. It is easiest for the initial drain if everything is cold and has been for 6+hours.
First of all, It is really not that bad and I recommend anyone that is thinking about it to do it!
Tools/Shopping list:
5mm allen (remove the check plug)
14mm Socket (drain plug)
24mm Socket (WS Fill plug, needs to be standard/shallow, not a deep well)
3 foot of drain tube to plug into the cooler (I used a pretty soft 3/8" ID hose a stiff 1/2 should work as well)
5 Liter Plastic beaker with graduation marking (~$18 on amazon) (It would be nice to have two of these. one clean one dirty)
Fluid transfer pump (Highly suggest this: Performance Tool W1156 Transfer Pump ~$12 at autozone or amazon)
14-16 qts of Toyota ATF WS fluid (#00289ATFWS ~$10/qt)
2X Overflow check & Drain plug crush washer (#3517830010)
A cheap tarp to lay down under everything
level
Steps:
Draining the pan:
1. Begin with the car completely cold and check that frame rail is level. Level as necessary, lay tarp down.
2. Remove the fill plug with 24mm socket. It is located at the rear of the trans on the passenger side about halfway up. 2004+ should have a "WS" on the head of the plug (see PDF)
3. Position Plastic beaker under the check plug
4. Remove the check plug with a 5mm allen. Fluid should come out since it is cold. (you want to remove the fill and check to make sure you can get them loose before you drain the pan)
5. Reinstall the check plug finger tight
6. Remove the drain plug with 14mm socket (2-3 qts should come out of the pan)
7. Reinstall the drain plug with 14mm (with new crush washer) torque to 21 ft-lbs.
8. Measure how much fluid came out of the transmission & empty your dirty plastic beaker.
9. Grab clean plastic beaker and fill it to the level that came out. (2.8 QTS came out dirty, put in 2.8 QTS clean) I usually added ~.1QT more than came out each time.
10. Using fluid pump, pump the clean fluid into the fill hole.
11. Have a beer
Draining the rest:
1. Remove the upper line on the transmission cooler (circled in picture attached) and zip tie line up and out of the way. (very little fluid should come out ~ a drop or so)
2. Add your 3 ft drain line to the upper cooler fitting and route it into the empty dirty fluid beaker in front of the car.
3. Get in the car and set the e-brake tight
4. Start a stopwatch on your phone and start the car.
5. Slowly row through all of the gears P to L waiting about 1.5s in each. Turn the car off at 27 seconds. (ideally go P-L-P-L-P in 27s)
6. Go look at the dirty fluid in your plastic beaker. (~1.5Q - 2Q should have been pumped out)
7. Measure how much fluid came out of the transmission & empty your dirty plastic beaker.
8. Grab clean plastic beaker and fill it to the level that came out ~1.6Q and I usually added ~.1QT more than came out each time.
9. Using fluid pump, pump the clean fluid into the fill hole.
10. Repeat this process (steps 2-9) a few times until the fluid coming out is pretty clean. (6+ times).
** you are basically running the car and pumping old fluid out, then refilling to proper level with new fluid**
11. Remove the drain tube on the trans cooler and re-connect the oil cooler line.
12. Have a beer. This is tedious.
Checking the level:
1. At this point your transmission should be overfilled by roughly a half quart.
2. I used my OBD Fusion app on my iphone to measure trans fluid temperature in the pan.
3. Crank the car and the row N-D-N-D-N-D a few times and then leave it in drive while the fluid warms up
4. Per the manual the fluid should be between 97* and 115*
5. While the engine is running (and in proper temp range) shift to park, leave the engine running.
6. Get under the car and remove the check plug with 5mm allen
7. Fluid should run out, go to step 8. If fluid does not run out, go to step 9.
8. When fluid slows to a dribble, reinstall the check plug with a new crush washer. tighten to 15 ft-lbs.
9. Turn off the engine & reinstall the check plug finger tight.
11. Using the fluid pump, pump .5 quart into the fill hole.
12. Repeat steps 1-8 as needed
Final:
1. Clean the o-ring on the fill plug
2. Reinstall the fill plug with 24mm. tighten to 29 ft-lbs.
3. Wipe any fluid drips from pan, check plug, and fill-hole areas
4. Have a beer. Finish clean up.
5. Go drive and appreciate the renewed smoothness. (when sober)
Notes:
I used 13.5 Qts total. It looks like I was actually about a quart low before I started.
If I had pre-planned more, I would have parked it on ramps in the front and then leveled it in the rear with a jack in order to have more room under it. However it needs to be cold to start so I couldn't do this. It is easiest for the initial drain if everything is cold and has been for 6+hours.
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