WS ATF Flush Procedure

[OEMGUY0720]

How difficult was it to drop the pan?
The 4 magnets seemed dirty enough to justify the pan drop.
Did you use a gasket or the Toyota fipg sealant?

I didn’t find dropping the pan that hard. BUT, the 4 bolts on the width side (rear end side) needed to have a swivel socket as my extension conflicts with the transmission cross-member, that slowed me down a bit. And since I worked on this just on jack stands with limited space, upon removal of all the bolts and the pan was now free there was still a good amount of old ATF on pan and I had to balance it down with just one hand, had to concentrate a bit there to avoid spilling oil all over me.

Nope didn’t use fipg anymore, the new gasket held up pretty well.

 

[schnee]

Since the fluid exchange didn't fix all my shifting problems, I was worried I'd need a new tranny. Used trannies run around $1k on ebay, but who wants to go through having it swapped out?

Long story short, I found some pretty cool advice about switching the SL1 / SL2 solenoids to improve shift response. Let me tell you that my A750f shifts a lot better now. Check out this video:

 

[looking4lc]

i do clean solenoids with electronic spray when changing ATF then blow them off with air pressure.

 

[schnee]

That seems like a good idea as well. I'll be sure to do that next time.

 

[JLink]

thanks for the write up. i just replaced a trans cooler line and flushed the system. i found that i was a qt and a half low prior to the flush!

 

[Amski]

I'm preparing to do this job as a COVID break but I don't have a 1/4" torque wrench, same as OP. Anyone have a decent way of approximating ~3 lb-ft of torque on each of the pan bolts? Seems like not much more than hand tighten + 1/8 turn. Or maybe tighten with a socket screwdriver? Any thoughts appreciated!

 

[04UZJ100]

I'm preparing to do this job as a COVID break but I don't have a 1/4" torque wrench, same as OP. Anyone have a decent way of approximating ~3 lb-ft of torque on each of the pan bolts? Seems like not much more than hand tighten + 1/8 turn. Or maybe tighten with a socket screwdriver? Any thoughts appreciated!

Dont overthink it. I have done it twice on my 4Runner and will be doing the LX this week. Hand tight + a little more. You'll be fine.

 

[Amski]

Dont overthink it. I have done it twice on my 4Runner and will be doing the LX this week. Hand tight + a little more. You'll be fine.

But I'm really good at overthinking things. Unfortunately this forum tends to exacerbate my tendencies, it's like crack! Appreciate the sanity check.

 

[94SRUNNER]

I'm preparing to do this job as a COVID break but I don't have a 1/4" torque wrench, same as OP. Anyone have a decent way of approximating ~3 lb-ft of torque on each of the pan bolts? Seems like not much more than hand tighten + 1/8 turn. Or maybe tighten with a socket screwdriver? Any thoughts appreciated!

I picked up a very affordable Tekton 1/4" torque wrench on Amazon for ~$40 for just these types of projects.

 

[abuck99]

I'm preparing to do this job as a COVID break but I don't have a 1/4" torque wrench, same as OP. Anyone have a decent way of approximating ~3 lb-ft of torque on each of the pan bolts? Seems like not much more than hand tighten + 1/8 turn. Or maybe tighten with a socket screwdriver? Any thoughts appreciated!

Not necessary to remove pan unless gasket is leaking. Flush from trans cooler hose and return lines. Save the gasket, and the potential stripped pan bolt.

 

[Amski]

Hi all, quick update with observations and questions for anyone willing to help. I drained and dropped the pan this afternoon. I took my time and it went refreshingly smooth. See pictures.

(1) For anyone planning this job, I used a 3/8" socket wrench with 3" extension to universal joint to 10mm deep socket for the 4 pan bolts on the rear side of the flange. I took those off first to get them out of the way. Then I held up that end of the pan with a jack. The rest was straightforward.

(2) I was surprised to get a full quart out of the overflow hole. The operating temp was above the correct range (blinking ATF temp signal) but it couldn't have been that far off; I had just driven it maybe 15 minutes. The truck was as level as I could get it in my driveway with a slight slope. I put a 2x4 under the front wheels to get close, and confirmed with a level up against the pan flange (is there a better way?). The truck was exclusively serviced by one Lexus dealership for ~180K miles so again I'm surprised that it could've been off by anywhere near a quart. Might there be something I'm missing?

(3) I shared progress with my buddy who's a BMW guy. He couldn't believe I wouldn't change the filter after dropping the pan. It seems most people on MUD don't change the "filter" because it's not much of a filter anyways. I haven't refilled any WS fluid at this point. Since I've come this far, does anything think it's worth trying to source a filter at the dealer tomorrow and replace before I add back fluid?

 

[OEMGUY0720]

It’s actually more of a “strainer” than a filter. No need to replace that wire mesh unless it’s broken. I suggest you do the 12-quart ATF cycle to ensure 100% of the fluid in your transmission is fresh brand new.

 

[Amski]

It’s actually more of a “strainer” than a filter. No need to replace that wire mesh unless it’s broken. I suggest you do the 12-quart ATF cycle to ensure 100% of the fluid in your transmission is fresh brand new.

Thanks. Definitely going to complete the full exchange via trans cooler line. Fluid was pretty dark, although no debris to speak of in the pan other than the small amount of fine sludge around the magnets.

 

[boobird]

Thanks. Definitely going to complete the full exchange via trans cooler line. Fluid was pretty dark, although no debris to speak of in the pan other than the small amount of fine sludge around the magnets.

This is in my to do list. Could you please take some photos of which lines to drain from?

 

[Amski]

This is in my to do list. Could you please take some photos of which lines to drain from?

Yes for sure. I understand what they are conceptually but I haven’t taken the time yet to identify them and start the process. Hopefully later today.

 

[OwnerCS]

(3) I shared progress with my buddy who's a BMW guy. He couldn't believe I wouldn't change the filter after dropping the pan. It seems most people on MUD don't change the "filter" because it's not much of a filter anyways. I haven't refilled any WS fluid at this point. Since I've come this far, does anything think it's worth trying to source a filter at the dealer tomorrow and replace before I add back fluid?

Last summer when I did an engine swap on my Tacoma, I pulled the torque converter for a drain and refill. I resealed the transmission pan in the process. Once the transmission was off, I went to the dealer to buy a new filter. The parts department guy looked at me and said."we never change the filters and don't stock them". Ok. Actually I'm a stickler about keeping transmission fluid fresh and change it more often than required. However, I have never replaced a filter.

 

[Amski]

Last summer when I did an engine swap on my Tacoma, I pulled the torque converter for a drain and refill. I resealed the transmission pan in the process. Once the transmission was off, I went to the dealer to buy a new filter. The parts department guy looked at me and said."we never change the filters and don't stock them". Ok. Actually I'm a stickler about keeping transmission fluid fresh and change it more often than required. However, I have never replaced a filter.

I got the same reply from the Toyota parts department although they did have one in stock so I just picked it up. The guy did concede that it’s understandable since you can’t pull the filter out and clean thoroughly, you have to go a little blind. I decided to just replace it. Call me paranoid.

 

[Amski]

@boobird Below are pictures of the transmission cooler line location for more context. Take off engine under cover #1 so you can see the underside of the radiator. If you're looking back towards the truck from the radiator, you'll see the metal cooler line with rubber hose attached right up front. That rubber hose routes through a clip and then into the radiator. You can take off either end of that hose to get the job done. I think it's easiest to take it off the metal line and add a clear hose to dispose of ATF, then both hoses (the new clear hose and the hose connected to the radiator) can sit in the bucket and reduce mess. Hope this helps.

In the end, went through 15 quarts. The last quart was a mistake because I turned off the engine while the overflow plug was removed. As soon as I did that, what was a drip turned into a steady stream and I lost about a quart, so I went through two revolutions of adding 0.5 qt, testing temp, pulling overflow plug before I was back at the right level.

The transmission felt fine before the job but now it's butter!

 

[Amski]

BTW, Home Depot has a 10-qt mixing bucket with quart/liter gradations for painters that costs $3. Clutch.

 

[menancyandsam]

Can't we drain from the top of ps AT Cooler. Which way gets the most old ATF out?

Does anybody have a pic of which line to remove from ps AT Cooler.