Automatic Tranny fluid

[jayman]

kokopelli previously said:

I love the ARB diff cover with the dip stick! Ron

Ron

My '84 Ford at the hobby farm I put on a Mag Hytec cover after putting in the PowerTrax LockRite. The dipstick is a neat feature, it has a powerful magnet in it to collect shavings

[kokopelli]

Cool stuff.. Dip sticks just work.. Ron

jayman previously said:

Ron

My '84 Ford at the hobby farm I put on a Mag Hytec cover after putting in the PowerTrax LockRite. The dipstick is a neat feature, it has a powerful magnet in it to collect shavings

[t0ked]

"Lifetime fluid" is BS. Mercedes had this awhile ago and then had to recall thousands of cars and then extend drivetrain warranties passed the 100k mile mark because all their transmissions started imploding at around 60k miles. After hearing this, I bought the factory dipstick and their proprietary trans fluid and changed it out on our S500 at the 40k mile mark... And wow, did that fluid come out dirty. The OEM fluid had a slight silvery, metallic color to it and what came out of the car at 40k miles, it was a much darker grey with no metallic sheen to it. The only good thing about the S500 was that the dipstock hole/tube was there, just no dipstick, so it was easy to buy the dipstick online and drain and fill... with the FJ there's not even a dipstick neck. But I will still be changing out the trans fluid around 25k-30k miles.

[jayman]

t0ked previously said:

"Lifetime fluid" is BS. Mercedes had this awhile ago and then had to recall thousands of cars and then extend drivetrain warranties passed the 100k mile mark because all their transmissions started imploding at around 60k miles.

I agree. Whether it's "lifetime" or "maintenance free" it all depends on how long they plan that "lifetime."

Consider if you're old enough to remember when vehicles had zerks on *everything* even the suspension bushings. If you were careful to always keep the zerks greased, the components (Tie rod ends, idler arms, ball joints, u-joints, etc etc) seemed to last forever.

I think the manufacturers went away from servicible designs for a few reasons: more and more folks could give a rats a** about looking after the vehicle, it cost more money to build in the easy serviciability, and it cut into dealership servicing margins

If you have a vehicle with zerks on everything, and never grease them, they will fail a lot sooner than a vehicle that is designed without zerks. I used to have a 2000 GMC Sierra. The first oil change was "free," and they also did a second oil change "free" when I was in for warranty to fix leaking rear axle seals

So for the first 6 months, only the dealership touched my truck. After, I did my oil changes. That year truck had zerks on the tie rod ends, ball joints, steering, but not on the u-joints.

I jacked it up, took the front wheels off, and the ball joint zerks had RUST on them. They had never been touched by the dealership. The lower ball joint you could grease on the ground, the upper you pretty much needed to take the wheel off. Took a *lot* of grease to fill the ball joints

There was a PITA plastic shield that hid the steering idler arm and other parts. Took that off, and also obvious the zerks had never been touched

What I find odd about the FJ is that they have zerks on the driveshafts, but *not* on the ball joints or tie rod ends

Checking the fluid level in the FJ auto trans is a PITA but not impossible. They infer the transmission never needs maintenance, and they are correct if you never intend to keep it longer than 3-4 years

If a vehicle maker came out with a vehicle that had zerks everywhere, and a stated requirement to service all the fluids at least once a year, they'd get dumped on by the Talking Head brainless media. "This vehicle has very high maintenance requirements that others don't require blah blah blah don't buy it"

Now that I think of it, my 2000 GMC had a drain plug on the rear axle. That's rare for a domestic truck. I co-worker bought a 2005 and it no longer had that feature. I guess too many folks were actually changing the gear oil?

Otherwise, for a domestic truck you have to peel off a sheet metal cover. Gear oil then glops all over your hands. You have to use a gasket scraper to scrape the RTV off, then put a bead of fresh RTV back on. What a PITA

[MichEE]

I am curious if anyone has changed their fluid and seen anything unusual. I heated mine up briefly (stuck in the snow and had too much rocking) once right after I got it and am wondering if it should be changed. Somewhere I heard that the dealer wants $200 to change it? Does it need to be pumped out of the converter too? Or can it be just drained and refilled?

[MichEE]

DEWFPO previously said:

Here you go.

DEWFPO

Thanks for the post!! Good automatic transmission fluid info.

[1911]

MichEE previously said:

Does it need to be pumped out of the converter too? Or can it be just drained and refilled?

Draining and refilling will only change out less than 1/4 of the fluid in the system. The only way to change it all (including the torque converter) is pump the system while you change it. You can do it yourself but it's a PITA. If you pay someone else to do it, make sure they do a dynamic flush not just a drain and fill.

[MichEE]

1911 previously said:

Draining and refilling will only change out less than 1/4 of the fluid in the system. The only way to change it all (including the torque converter) is pump the system while you change it. You can do it yourself but it's a PITA. If you pay someone else to do it, make sure they do a dynamic flush not just a drain and fill.

Thanks much 1911!! I thought I read that somewhere a while ago but I could not dig up the thread - you may have even posted that on an old thread somewhere? Thanks though. I have a friend that works in a tranny shop that wheels and am hoping to get some quality help!

[Sean K.]

jayman previously said:

I agree. Whether it's "lifetime" or "maintenance free" it all depends on how long they plan that "lifetime."

Consider if you're old enough to remember when vehicles had zerks on *everything* even the suspension bushings. If you were careful to always keep the zerks greased, the components (Tie rod ends, idler arms, ball joints, u-joints, etc etc) seemed to last forever.

I think the manufacturers went away from servicible designs for a few reasons: more and more folks could give a rats a** about looking after the vehicle, it cost more money to build in the easy serviciability, and it cut into dealership servicing margins

If you have a vehicle with zerks on everything, and never grease them, they will fail a lot sooner than a vehicle that is designed without zerks. I used to have a 2000 GMC Sierra. The first oil change was "free," and they also did a second oil change "free" when I was in for warranty to fix leaking rear axle seals

So for the first 6 months, only the dealership touched my truck. After, I did my oil changes. That year truck had zerks on the tie rod ends, ball joints, steering, but not on the u-joints.

I jacked it up, took the front wheels off, and the ball joint zerks had RUST on them. They had never been touched by the dealership. The lower ball joint you could grease on the ground, the upper you pretty much needed to take the wheel off. Took a *lot* of grease to fill the ball joints

There was a PITA plastic shield that hid the steering idler arm and other parts. Took that off, and also obvious the zerks had never been touched

What I find odd about the FJ is that they have zerks on the driveshafts, but *not* on the ball joints or tie rod ends

Checking the fluid level in the FJ auto trans is a PITA but not impossible. They infer the transmission never needs maintenance, and they are correct if you never intend to keep it longer than 3-4 years

If a vehicle maker came out with a vehicle that had zerks everywhere, and a stated requirement to service all the fluids at least once a year, they'd get dumped on by the Talking Head brainless media. "This vehicle has very high maintenance requirements that others don't require blah blah blah don't buy it"

Now that I think of it, my 2000 GMC had a drain plug on the rear axle. That's rare for a domestic truck. I co-worker bought a 2005 and it no longer had that feature. I guess too many folks were actually changing the gear oil?

Otherwise, for a domestic truck you have to peel off a sheet metal cover. Gear oil then glops all over your hands. You have to use a gasket scraper to scrape the RTV off, then put a bead of fresh RTV back on. What a PITA

Ding ding ding!!! We have a winner. The more of your posts I read, the more I realize you know your schit.

My new Lexus has some stupid ass "lifetime" fluid in the transmission....you can't change it. If it needs to be changed, you need a new transmission. I was told (and screwed the pooch by not verifying before purchase) that the dealer could change the fluid (as 1911 mentioned, you have to have a special machine to do most flushes and the machine is in the thousands of dollars range....I checked) at 50K miles under regular maintenance.

This is a blatant designed failure point. Shame on Toyota for using this incredibly stupid, ass backwards ploy that will hurt their reputation for quality in the long run.

Think of it....you're the second owner of a Lexus or Toyota with a "sealed" no-maintenance transmission. You hit 100K miles....or maybe 150K (some margin of safety built in)....then the tranny goes out and you need a new one. How's your "ownership" experience going to be then? What will be your overall impression of Toyota quality? I know what mine will be.

Sorry for the rant,

Sean

[Pdivizzle0112]

the tranny on the 1gr-fe uses atf type Ws (world standard) which is rated at 120k+ miles.

there is a hex check plug and 2 more one for drain, and one for fill.

Honestly, they tell us we arent supposed to change the trans fluid, but after doing a trans pan gasket on an rx350 using ws at 30k, let me tell you, it was DARK.

however, dont touch if unless you really feel the need