RTH- Transmission level check question (1 Viewer)

[kcjaz]

So I'm about to fire up my 200 and need to add back some tranny fluid because I lost some when pulled the radiator. The truck is dead cold (~40F in shop) and have pinned the tstat open per the FSM procedure. I opened the overfill (5mm hex plug) and was expecting to get not much if any fluid to drain. I got a strong stream and put the plug back after about a quart drained. If I had let it drain until it stops, it would have drained out more than a quart, maybe 2. Per the FSM, my plan was to add fluid until I saw some at the overfill, reinstall the plug, and add the 1/2 quart I think I lost, then recheck after I warmed the tranny up to the check temp. Why would so much fluid be in the pan now? The fluid I lost was from the tranny cooler. Did pinning the A/T tstat open allow fluid to drain back to the pan?

Edit: the truck is dead level.

 

[04UZJ100]

Was the truck running when you opened the drain plug? It should be and only opened once at temperature per the FSM check procedure.

 

[bloc]

Was the truck running when you opened the drain plug? It should be and only opened once at temperature per the FSM check procedure.

This.

The level check accounts for the significant amount of fluid pumped into and slowly draining out of the upper portion of the transmission. When you shut it down that fluid all has time to settle and the level will seem far too high. For Toyota’s procedure they tell you to effectively overfill the fluid somewhat to make sure it isn’t too low, since the check procedure will drain it down to the correct level anyway. If the process allowed you to be slightly too low, you’d have no way of knowing how much without a dipstick.

 

[kcjaz]

Yep. Truck wasn’t running. I put the fluid back and add a guess for what I lost from the cooler. Ready to hit the start button but I’m out of time and it’s too cold to open the garage doors to run the truck.

 

[04UZJ100]

Yep. Truck wasn’t running. I put the fluid back and add a guess for what I lost from the cooler. Ready to hit the start button but I’m out of time and it’s too cold to open the garage doors to run the truck.

Make sure you follow the temperature check procedure to get the MFD to indicate it’s in temperature check mode.

 

[bloc]

Alternately if you use OBDfusion for tracking stuff like trans temp when towing that can be a very easy way to watch trans fluid temp for checking level.

 

[duggy]

FSM Instructions for 2013 200 Series

 

[bigredmachine]

if i remember correctly the recommended fluid adjustment for replacing the rad or fixing smaller leaks was .5 qt. if you know how much you pulled out add that back then add one additional half qt and you should be good to go.

 

[kcjaz]

Planning on using my OBD2 reader to monitor the two ATF temps.

 

[bigredmachine]

Planning on using my OBD2 reader to monitor the two ATF temps.

youll want to monitor atf temp 1

 

[kcjaz]

youll want to monitor atf temp 1

Thanks. I was wondering that but my OBD2 app monitors both. Do you know what the difference is?

 

[bigredmachine]

i believe that its different temp sensor location, where im not where you would have to check the rm or ewd

 

[afgman786]

Thanks. I was wondering that but my OBD2 app monitors both. Do you know what the difference is?

Temp 2 sensor is at the torque converter. Temp 1 is the pan temp

 

[bentonrover]

If you really in a jam use a good temperature gun on the pan? Not sure how accurate they are but still better then guessing

 

[kcjaz]

If you really in a jam use a good temperature gun on the pan? Not sure how accurate they are but still better then guessing

An infrared temp gun would be accurate enough but all it will tell you is the metal temp of the outside of the pan. Given enough time, that metal temp would approach the ATF temp in the pan but the proper measurement temp is between 109 - 118 F which is lower than the normal operating temp. I don't have a feel for how fast the ATF it heats up but I suspect it is a lot faster than the metal of the pan. This would likely mean that the pan metal temp would be lower that the oil temp when oil was in the measurement temp window. This would especially on a cold day and it is forecasted to be 10F when I'll be able to do this.

The easiest/best thing here is a $30 OBD2 device and a $20 app that provides the AT temp. And really, if you are going to do things like this yourself, you want a code reader and an app anyway. Techstream is another option and is even cheaper if you can figure out how to get the bootleg software to run that comes with the Chinese mini-vci cables on Amazon. Dirt cheap is the jumper method in the FSM but I would only do that if I had to, i.e. just couldn't get an OBD2 reader for some reason. In the First World I live in, that is just not the case. If I'm needing to check my AT fluid level on the trail, I've probably got bigger issues that a radio and cell phone are going to fix.

I appreciate all of the responses. I'm certainly learning a lot doing this all DIY (or in my case DIY + MUD).

 

[airdzi]

Cheap Techstream connector does not support K-Line and it would not display the transmission temp. Ask me how I know?

Endup buying OBDLink MX+, works great for that but whatever you buy it MUST support custom Toyota PIDs.

Note in the photo Temp1 and Temp2 are the same but that is not always the case, most of the time there is a slight few degrees difference.

 

[kcjaz]

Cheap Techstream connector does not support K-Line and it would not display the transmission temp. Ask me how I know?

Endup buying OBDLink MX+, works great for that but whatever you buy it MUST support custom Toyota PIDs.

Note in the photo Temp1 and Temp2 are the same but that is not always the case, most of the time there is a slight few degrees difference.

View attachment 2579726

I bought OBD Fusion with the Toyota PIDs to get the ATF temps. Looks a lot like your PIC above. I'm thinking about just keeping my Vgate iCar ELM327 OBD2 reader permanently installed and using an old phone as a gauge set to always monitor things like ATF temp. Apple Carplay would even be better if my 2013 had that. Need to check if leaving the OND2 reader in will drain the battery or is bad to have in place when engine starts. My BlueDriver is fine to leave in all the time so I don't think this is an issue. BlueDriver can't get the tranny temps which pissed me off when I realized that. In hindsight, I would not have bought that one, costs more, does less.

 

[airdzi]

I bought OBD Fusion with the Toyota PIDs to get the ATF temps. Looks a lot like your PIC above. I'm thinking about just keeping my Vgate iCar ELM327 OBD2 reader permanently installed and using an old phone as a gauge set to always monitor things like ATF temp. Apple Carplay would even be better if my 2013 had that. Need to check if leaving the OND2 reader in will drain the battery or is bad to have in place when engine starts. My BlueDriver is fine to leave in all the time so I don't think this is an issue. BlueDriver can't get the tranny temps which pissed me off when I realized that. In hindsight, I would not have bought that one, costs more, does less.

Looked into BlueDriver as well but I believe it is more of a code reader and troubleshooter. What sold me on OBDLinkMX+ was low latency over Bluetooth and fact that it has power save mode so you could leave it plugged it 24/7. Created custom dash for it for real time monitoring. So far no complaints other than at $90 it is slightly more expensive than competitors.

 

[bloc]

Torque converter and pan temp will diverge when the TC is actually having to do any work.. ie, driving. Just sitting and idling they are going to be really similar because most of the thermal energy is coming from the heat exchanger in the radiator, not being generated by shear in the TC, and the sheer volume of fluid being pumped through the TC and pan means they will be similar.

Also in my experience doing the trans level check the truck doesnt stay in the correct temp range for very long. I wouldn't trust an IR gun to report accurately in the relatively narrow time window you have to get the level right and get the plug back in.

Using any of the BT OBD options and OBDFusion or similar allows you to just lie there under the truck watching a tablet or phone.. and when it hits the temp, simply screw in the plug and torque it.

 

[kcjaz]

Update, I did the level check procedure using the OBD Fusion app and Vgate iCar ELM327 OBD2 reader. Got the job done but had a few minor issues:

1. The OBD Fusion app kept loosing its connection. It is a wifi device and I eventually figured out I had to keep my phone in the cab. No under the truck temp watching. That is not a huge deal, just annoying. I may have caused some of my own issue here as I initially tried to connect two phones. It let me do it but I don't think it liked it and the phones kept dropping even in the cab.

2. I did this on a stupid cold day in an unheated shop and had to open the big doors so any heat I had in the shop quickly left. The truck had not been started since end of December. It fired right up but the tranny temp took a long time to get to 109F. I had the tstat pinned open per the procedure and shifted through all the gears to move the fluid around internally.

3. I first opened the fill plug (with truck running) just to be ready in case I had to add more fluid. I got a small amount of fluid coming out the fill hole which puzzled me. Maybe it was just fluid "splashing" around in there and some hits the hole with the truck running. . I got even more puzzled though when I opened the fill check plug and got nothing. How could fluid be out of the hole above the fill check plug and no fluid come out of the lower hole. "Splashing" is all I can figure.

4. I pumped about 1/2 qt in the fill hole and after a bit of time delay, got fluid to come out the fill check hole. The lesson here is pump new fluid in Slowey.

I think I'm good but I may repeat the check procedure again this weekend. It will be in the 30's tee shirt and shorts are in order! I put the fill plug back in maybe a bit too soon as I was still getting some fluid out of the hole when I replaced it. I have one more crush washer so I think it will be easy to warm the truck up again, open the level check plug and verify I still get a little fluid to come out of the hole.