Oil change question

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vilasman

Joined
Sep 6, 2010
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Hopefully this has not been answered elsewhere. I have started my car several times today ( to check whether I got some keys programmed correctly) but I have not driven it today. I took my oil filter off... drained, then took out what I was fairly sure was the oil drain plug out and let drain. Only thing is ... it feels like I only got about 4 qts out of it. I Checked the dipstick... but it never came out clean enough... yes I wiped it before I put it back in.. for me to see if it had still had oil in it or if it was picked up oil along the tube as I pulled it out. Yes it is cold where I am southwestern virginia.
I hope I didnt drain the ATF fluid out by mistake.
 
Not sure what happened but if you drained the ATF you would get about four quarts and transmission dip stick would not register anything. ATF is red and has a strong odor unlike motor oil.

If you drained the engine oil and it was full, you would have about 6.5 quarts. Check both ATF and engine oil levels. To tell which is low. The one not registering on the dip stick is the one you drained.

Don't mix the two. If you did, check with a dealer or reliable shop right away. Not a big problem if corrected before driving.
 
Can someone tell me if this is the oil pan oil drain plug

20140102_102701.webp
 
Your picture shows the transmission pan and transmission pan drain plug. Note red transmission fluid on plug.
 
Thanks for the replies. I had a computer... and the 2004 land cuiser manual in the computer, with me. So I figured it out myself about the time I saw the reply,
But thanks... I got the manual from mud, I got the replies from mud and it saved me several exspensive repairs, a tow and being stuck in this snow storm last night.
 
Once you get the trans fluid back full make sure you don't forget to get the oil back to a safe level. Sounds like it may be in an overfilled condition.
 
When I bought my '03 the crankcase had been double-filled by the dealer. There was a slight vibration, which the dealership and master mechanic from headquarters diagnosed as a torque converter. After putting in the new torque converter it still had the vibration, so they went over every possible cause, checked every detail and spec on the engine. I took it home and checked the oil, sent my wife back to the dealer to have that fixed.

I'm not sure how long it was driven that way, I assume the previous owner traded it in because of the vibration, probably soon after the 60k service at the dealership, so a few thousand miles. Anyway, a little extra oil won't hurt these beasts. I checked all the vacuum lines and intake when I replaced the starter contacts, no oil there.
 
in the end , i drained all the oil out of its pan and all of the tranny fluid out of it's pan. I went to NAPA and got 3 qts of their dexron3/merc tranny fluid... cause I couldnt find the post on here that listed what the good tranny fluid is. I had about 4 qts oil 5w-30 left that I hadn't poured into the engine.
Since I already had tranny fluid in the oil collection pan and was warned bot to mix the 2 in the engine and because I wanted all fresh oil in the engine...
I poured the 3 qts of tranny fluid in the tranny and then the 4 qts of oil into the engine... loaded up the family and drove about 70 miles and then got worried about the oil level. Went advance and got more qts of the same oil. Saw steam or smoke coming from somewhere down in the engine...It was snowing and then started figuring I didnt have enough tranny fluid in it. So I got 2 qts of mobil tranny fluid. Poured about 1.5 more qts of tranny fluid. I had drained about 4 qts out of the tranny pan.
The strange thing is something my dad had told me years ago... If you pay attention to a car...if you listen to it, it will tell you when something isnt right. It wasn't sounding feeling right before I put the fluids into it. Afterwards if felt stronger... it sounded like what I am used to it sounding like.
The one issue is that there is so much oil sticking to the dipstick when I pull it out... no matter how much I wipe it off when I stick it back in , when I pull it back out there is some oil on it for maybe 4-5" to the bottom. When we have a warm day I will try to get a really accurate feel for how much of both fluids is really in the truck
 
scottm said:
When I bought my '03 the crankcase had been double-filled by the dealer.
Click to expand...

The first time I changed the oil on my first car, a 91 Ford Escort :hillbilly:, I emptied the trans instead of the engine and couldn't figure out why my oil level was so high. My dad had to come out and point to the engine and yell, "Engine!" followed by pointing and the trans and yelling, "Transmission!". :hhmm:

Well done, dad. Well done. :o
 
When checking the oil, pull out the dip stick. It may look like it has too much. Turn the dip stick over and the other side will give an accurate level. Strange but true.
 
Also make sure to check the trans fluid level with the engine running and up to temp. You can check it cold using the cold marks, but check it again after you've driven and cycled the gears.
 
'Mud is all love in '14

:p
 
vilasman said:
in the end , i drained all the oil out of its pan and all of the tranny fluid out of it's pan. I went to NAPA and got 3 qts of their dexron3/merc tranny fluid... cause I couldnt find the post on here that listed what the good tranny fluid is. I had about 4 qts oil 5w-30 left that I hadn't poured into the engine.
Since I already had tranny fluid in the oil collection pan and was warned bot to mix the 2 in the engine and because I wanted all fresh oil in the engine...
I poured the 3 qts of tranny fluid in the tranny and then the 4 qts of oil into the engine... loaded up the family and drove about 70 miles and then got worried about the oil level. Went advance and got more qts of the same oil. Saw steam or smoke coming from somewhere down in the engine...It was snowing and then started figuring I didnt have enough tranny fluid in it. So I got 2 qts of mobil tranny fluid. Poured about 1.5 more qts of tranny fluid. I had drained about 4 qts out of the tranny pan.
The strange thing is something my dad had told me years ago... If you pay attention to a car...if you listen to it, it will tell you when something isnt right. It wasn't sounding feeling right before I put the fluids into it. Afterwards if felt stronger... it sounded like what I am used to it sounding like.
The one issue is that there is so much oil sticking to the dipstick when I pull it out... no matter how much I wipe it off when I stick it back in , when I pull it back out there is some oil on it for maybe 4-5" to the bottom. When we have a warm day I will try to get a really accurate feel for how much of both fluids is really in the truck
Click to expand...



WOW! The owner's manuel is very clear on exactly how much oil to add to both the transmission and engine after a drain. There is really no reason to guess. If you are having problems with the dipstick let the truck sit for 10 min with the engine off then pull out the dipstick and see what it says. If it reads WAY over full then you are WAY over full.
 
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