transmission fluid change (1 Viewer)

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First was it at operating temp? Did you shift from D to R and then put it in N? Was it on a level surface? Plus 5 mm above is not a problem so don't worry about it.

SWUtah,

1. It was on operating temperature
2. I did shift from D, R, N. In fact, I shifted from P all the way to D3 and back. I checked the oil level the day after I did the drain and fill and it still shows as being a bit over.
3. It was on level surface.
 
When I first purchased my cruiser the ATF was overfilled just a little bit. I noticed some shift irregularities (don't remember the specifics) and drained out just a bit of the fluid when doing an oil change. The small change in the fluid level fixed the problem.

YMMV.
 
Last edited:
Around 3.5 qts
 
Liam and Skidoo, thanks for resurrecting this thread. It helped in answering a lot of my questions.
 
Any shavings will come out the drain plug, including large ones. <snip>

Actually, ferrous shavings/particulate (steel) will mostly remain in the pan, stuck to the two magnets placed in there by design to collect them. That is one important reason imo to drop the pan when doing a complete fluid change - to clean those magnets. Clean magnets will do a better job of attracting/collecting circulated steel particulate. (Magnet with "beard" of steel particulate will not attract and hold circulating steel particles as aggressively as clean magnet.)

But if one does not feel comfortable dropping the pan, by all means leave it alone. It is a basic (albeit messy) job that requires a slight amount of skill to clean the old sealer off without damaging sealing surfaces (esp the Al tranny side), and some care to properly torque the pan bolts at reinstallation.

(With that said, I would also offer however that this and other Toyota tranny pans I've handled are much better made than the pans I remember doing on 60s-70s-80s vehicles made by US automakers. The old US marque tranny pans were prone to warping/deforming at the gasket area of the flange, leading to leaks - THOSE pans were REALLY sensitive to gasket/sealer cleaning and bolt torquing, and sometimes required flange straightening.)
 
Resurrecting an old thread and trying to get this straight one final time :lol:

No need to drop the pan and clean the screen, drain approx 3.75-4 qts of transmission oil and fill it with Mobil 1 ATF or Toyota IV ATF, no additives and use new washer (part #?)

Thanks
 
Can you please tell me what are the part numbers for 2003 LX 470 Transmission Drain and Fill Gaskets? At the Toyota dealer, this is what was given:

Drain Gasket part #: 35178-30010
Fill Gasket part #: 90080-30075

TIA
 
The first part # is for a M12 crush washer and that's what you need for the drain plug, the larger flat side of the washer goes towards the pan.
03s are filled/topped off via the dipstick tube and I think your second part # is for the O ring on the dipstick seal - not usually necessary to replace it unless it's missing imo.
 
Not quite. He skipped the warming up to operating temperature. There's a procedure with a shorting-pin and watching a light. See FSM, or here:
Welcome to Land Cruiser Owners On Line
And, the cruiser bolts are mm, not inchies.
 
He's also only exchanging half the fluid. If your goal is to replace all of the fluid you need to address fluid in the the torque converter, cooler, and line.
 
He's also only exchanging half the fluid. If your goal is to replace all of the fluid you need to address fluid in the the torque converter, cooler, and line.

Yes, only doing drain and fill. I have a 2003 LX 470, not a close transmission. Still have dipstick.
 
I've read several threads on changing the ATF and I've decided to drain as much as possible from the pan. Then, disconnect one of the AT cooler lines and swap out a small amount of ATF while running the engine for 10-20 seconds at a time. Then repeat until new new fluid appears coming from the AT cooler line. My question is which AT cooler line is coming from the transmission, the upper or lower cooler line? Thanks
 
So this is my deduction:

Transmission oil flush : a No No
Transmission oil exchange : good option
Drain and fill every 15K miles : good option
Dropping pan/cleaning screen : good option

If you start with a new vehicle, the best thing seems to be to do a drain and fill every 15k miles.

If you bought your vehicle used with previous mainteance unknown:
- if the transmission oil drip test shows the oil as being relatively okay (no dark ring in the paper when the dripped oil dries), an exchange is okay.

- if the drip test shows a significant dark ring, an exchange might not be enough. May have to drop the pan and clean the screen AND do a complete fluid exchange.

If going from current oil (any) to synthetic, either a gradual drain and fill several times or a complete exchange are both okay.

Notes:
Drip Test simply refers to dripping the tranny oil from the dipstick into a clean white paper, letting it dry and checking if an outer ring forms that is darker than the inner ring. The color of the oil should be pink.

To do a drain and fill: The drain plug can be found on the transmission pan. The fill is done through the dipstick.

Fluid Exchange refers to completely changing all the transmission oil with the new oil. Make sure that
1. They are not flushing the transmission oil.
2. They are not using any additives or cleaners.
3. You probably want to use synthetic ATF.
4. A complete fluid exchange will use about 16 - 18 quarts of oil. Make sure that they use all of this oil.


So based on this info above, I can drain and fill using synthetic atf fluid every 5k, even if I dont know what fluid is currently in the transmission? Or is mixing bad?
 
So based on this info above, I can drain and fill using synthetic atf fluid every 5k, even if I dont know what fluid is currently in the transmission? Or is mixing bad?

Seriously? you would really even entertain the thought of changing tranny fluid every 5k miles ??
 
Seriously? you would really even entertain the thought of changing tranny fluid every 5k miles ??

I think he's just saying drain/fill every 5k to get the fluid changed out.

Synthetic and dino oils are compatible. Just swap through the cooler, you get it all done at once and its pretty easy with a dipstick equipped truck.
 
I think he's just saying drain/fill every 5k to get the fluid changed out.

Thats my point....why would you waste good fluid and money every 5k miles? That's just crazy. That is over the top OCD, IMO.
 

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