Reputable transmission flush for LX470 in Bay Area? (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Sep 20, 2020
Threads
20
Messages
78
Location
Oakland, CA
Hey folks,

As part of the baselining of my '06 LX470 with 180k miles I'd like to have the transmission fluid flushed. I know it's important to have it done correctly, possibly by a dealer - I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a place that can do it in the Bay Area and how much I should expect to pay?

Cheers,
Francis
 
You can do this yourself in about an hour. I'll cost you the fluid (Mobil 1 Multi Vehicle ATF is what you want), a length of clear tubing and something to hold about two quarts of used fluid in, plus a transmission funnel and a smaller funnel to move the used oil from the two quart container back into the 1 quart bottles the fluid came in.

You can use the cooler input line to drain the system. First drain the pan. You'll get about a quart or two in an hour, and five or six if you let it drain for a day or more. I always plan ahead to be without my truck for three days, to allow all the fluid to drain; the more that you remove initially, the cleaner the flush will be. After draining, and replacing the drain plug and installing a new sealing washer, remove the top hose from the cooler. It's on the passenger side of the radiator. This won't be used for the flush, so pin it open end up, out of the way. Connect a clear Ø12mm or 1/2 inch hose about 3-ft long to the nipple (there's virtually no pressure, so you won't need a clamp, but the tubing should be a snug fit on the nipple) and clamp the other end in the clear two quart (or larger) container (a larger binder clamp will work). Marking every quart on the outside of the container in advance will be helpful. I put this container in a pan, just so nothing leaks out onto the ground.

Replace the amount of fluid you drained (you measured that, right?) and then start the engine. Watch the fluid level rise in the container (I place mine on the ground in front of the bumper, so I can fill and watch at the same time), adding fluid at about the same rate the container fills. The engine runs the gearbox pump, so it has to be running to pump the fluid. Stop it when you want the fluid to stop. The response is immediate. I usually have to start/stop the engine about four or five times to completely flush all the old fluid, running it only long enough to fill the clear container.

You can overfill the gearbox initially without fear of problems, but the last two quarts should be added slowly. I actually use a gallon container and use 4 for this job. The fluid in the last container should be noticeably cleaner than the first three. Plan on 11.5 quarts total.
 
If you strain the crap out of the old fluid (a couple of coffee filters, nested one on another, are ideal for this), you can reuse it to clean oily, greasy or rusty parts, until it's black (mine is stored in pint canning jars; I soak the parts in them too). Then take it to the county agency that handles that waste and let them have it. If you mix paraffin wax with it, it'll make the absolute best, nearly free, rust preventer known to man. I paint it onto rusty bolts with an acid brush and let it sit there for a couple of days before I pull things apart. Makes life much easier.
 
If you strain the crap out of the old fluid (a couple of coffee filters, nested one on another, are ideal for this), you can reuse it to clean oily, greasy or rusty parts, until it's black (mine is stored in pint canning jars; I soak the parts in them too). Then take it to the county agency that handles that waste and let them have it. If you mix paraffin wax with it, it'll make the absolute best, nearly free, rust preventer known to man. I paint it onto rusty bolts with an acid brush and let it sit there for a couple of days before I pull things apart. Makes life much easier.
This is a good call to not toss it! in my Jeep days we would strain ATF like this and add a quart to gummed up engines' crank case. Run it for a few miles and drain the sludge, add old but serviceable oil and another quart of ATF and repeat until the passageways were cleared up. Then put fresh oil in with a half a cup of ATF and drive it a few thousand miles until the sludge was gone. Then start addressing the leaks that appeared as the sludge cleared.

The Toyotas have better owners for the most part, have never needed to desludge one!
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom