Ok, I did a bit of research and found that the ATF is type WS and the trany is sealed at the factory. WTF!.
I guess they are trying to lock us into the dealer for any service on this.
I for one, do my own service, so I'll need to get into this eventually.
Hopefully I can at least buy a quart of atf at the dealer so I can install the cooler.
If anyone has a line on any news on this front, please post it..

 

I can understand why it is sealed
I watched a freind pour some of the wrong grade of fluid into his ford, when I pointed it out he stated, "it's all the samestuff, they want to make money off you"
2 months later when he blew his tranny, he was denying the crossgrade, saying he only put the recomended stuff in.
Trannies are getting more complicated all the time

 

Additive packages in ATF differ from manufacture to manufacture. More friction modifiers, detergents, anti-foaming, things of that sort.

I.E. Definite drivability differences (noticeable) when you put replace dextron 3 with atf type IV. Smoother shifts and engagement.

The transmission is serviceable. Its just a pain in the A$$ to service it by yourself. The proceedure involved is probably something to the effect of...
when filling the transmission, have engine running and in a certain gear while filling ATF through check plug. Replace check plug. Go through gear selections and put back in whatever gear. Check fluid level by opening check plug. Repeat until certain conditions are met. Or something of that sort.

typical of "sealed" automatic transmissions.

 

Yeah new VW's and Mercedes dont even have dipsticks either- you are supposed to fill by pumping up through the flu(king drain hole with 5K worth of special equipment- I have cheated on those by measuring what came out and replacing new fluid with a long hose rig coupled to a fluid injector that looks like a hypodermic grease gun.
If the tranny was not a leaker this works. If fluid was lost due to leakage in these cases, possibly the dealer or God can help you.

 

So, any clue which line is the pressure line going to the radiator?

 

You want to hear maybe the most stupid thing you've ever heard? You have to promise to laugh with me and not at me. Of course, life is too short to not laugh at yourself, so here goes.

I do my own oil changes every 3000. I've done it on a 73 Corolla, a 85 Corolla GT, a 88 Celica All Trac Turbo, a 91 Suzuki Sidekick, a 2000 Tacoma, a 2005 Tundra and now a 2007 FJ.

So I open the fill lid, drop underneath to pull the oil drain plug, and suddenly red liquid comes out. DOH! I quickly put it back in and look around, yes, it's the tranny pan. (Yes, I know I should have looked first, but I didn't and it was right there). Where's the oil pan? Oh, on top of a skid plate and behind a plug. I pour the 3/4 cup of tranny fluid in my coffee cup (clean) and set it aside to put back in later.

I change the oil and filter, then I start looking for the dipstick / fill spout for the transmission fluid. ...and I keep looking. I call a buddy over. Looking. Two buddies. Looking. Neighbor. Looking. Guess what. Yeah, can't add it. No fill spout. No dip stick.

I find on line that there are a few vehicles in Toyota'a line up that have a sealed system (sealed except for that damn plug). I call Toyota and explain it's less than a coffee cup low, but they said the level is pretty important.

Long story short (or less long), $95 later for labor and a $40 jug of tranny fluid (they only sell full containers, you see) and I have brand new transmission fluid again, in my brand new FJ.

Heh.
Heh heh.
Heh heh heh.

Heh.

 

That was a good story Dragon. You're a good sport too!:roller:

 

You want to hear maybe the most stupid thing you've ever heard? You have to promise to laugh with me and not at me. Of course, life is too short to not laugh at yourself, so here goes.

I do my own oil changes every 3000. I've done it on a 73 Corolla, a 85 Corolla GT, a 88 Celica All Trac Turbo, a 91 Suzuki Sidekick, a 2000 Tacoma, a 2005 Tundra and now a 2007 FJ.

So I open the fill lid, drop underneath to pull the oil drain, and suddenly red liquid comes out. DOH! I quickly put it back in and look around, yes, it's the tranny pan. (Yes, I know I should have looked first, but I didn't and it was right there). Where's the oil pan? Oh, on top of a skid plate and behind a plug. I pour the 3/4 cup of tranny fluid in my coffee cup (clean) and set it aside to put back in later.

I change the oil and filter, then I start looking for the dipstick / fill spout for the transmission fluid. ...and I keep looking. I call a buddy over. Looking. Two buddies. Looking. Neighbor. Looking. Guess what. Yeah, can't add it. No fill spout. No dip stick.

I find on line that there are a few vehicles in Toyota'a line up that have a sealed system (sealed except for that damn plug). I call Toyota and explain it's less than a coffee cup low, but they said the level is pretty important.

Long story short (or less long), $95 later for labor and a $40 jug of tranny fluid (they only sell full containers, you see) and I have brand new transmission fluid again, in my brand new FJ. Heh. Heh heh. Heh heh heh.

Heh.

Dragon - Actually your post may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Would the tranny plug easily be mistaken for an engine drain plug by a quick lube shop? I don't have my FJ yet, and have ordered an automatic transmission. If the engine plug (hidden by the skid plate) is missed by a lube guy seeing the FJ for the first time, will the tranny plug become a common mistake?

 

Maybe. You can see the housing right next to it, but it's the only plug visible. I don't know, but if anyone can learn from it, it was worth the $135.

 

So did they tell you their method of fluid install and measuring---the least they could do for that cost...

 

They said:
First they had to get the oil up to temperature, so while it was on the lift he put something to hold the gas pedal down so the engine would rev higher and get hotter. 10 minutes of that.

While it was warming, he had to make sure it was perfectly level on the lift. Perfectly.

After that, he had to drain and fill up to a certain "window" which is a hole with a bolt in it. So there is a hole that they hook their pump up to and a window hole. Remove the bolt of the window hole before you pump, and then when the Tranny fluid starts to come out of that hole, you're there. Put the plug back in the hole. Sounded to me like he was changing the lower unit oil on an outboard, but what do I know?

 

That's a great story FJ Dragon! Sounds like the kind of thing that would happen to me. I already did my first oil change, but I had a heads-up about the oval cover over the oil drain. Good thing you spotted the red fluid!

Looking at the service manual, the drain plug on the bottom of the tranny pan appears to be the overflow drain. I know it's at the very bottom of the pan, but there's a neck on the other side, inside the pan, that extends to the right height where the level the fluid is supposed to be. And there's a filler hole on the side where you pour in the fluid like you described. Did you remove the drain plug with the FJ on ramps? If it was level (and the fluid at the right temp), no more than a trickle should've come out of that plug unless it was overfilled to begin with.

I could definitely imagine the monkeys at Jiffy Lube mistaking the trans plug for the oil plug. And they likely wouldn't bother to say anything after dumping some of your ATF. All the more reason I service my own cars.

 

Amazing, I had hoped to never see this type of tranny again. Its the same sealed situation as the tranny in my Vehicross. Bad enough doing a fluid change, really crappy when you do a filter & fluid change. I would add a remote filter if I had to do it all over again! (and will, if i get a FJ)

 

. Did you remove the drain plug with the FJ on ramps? If it was level (and the fluid at the right temp), no more than a trickle should've come out of that plug unless it was overfilled to begin with.

I could definitely imagine the monkeys at Jiffy Lube mistaking the trans plug for the oil plug. And they likely wouldn't bother to say anything after dumping some of your ATF. All the more reason I service my own cars.

It was not on ramps and was cold. It was about 5 oz that came out before I got the plug back on. It probably was over filled, but how do you know without a dipstick?

It's funny, I don't trust others to change my oil either. See what my cynicism got me?

 

Hole-eee-sh1t. I just did the same d-mn thing. I feel like such an idiot. Then I do a search and find this thread. I don't feel much better, but at least I'm not alone.

Once I saw red fluid coming out, I couldn't get the plug back in, it was too hot, I had just parked the truck. So I let it drain and thought, no big deal I'll just get someone to take me to the store, buy some fluid, and refill it. Well after going through all the denial over the fact that there is no check/fill tube as others here have done, I realized I was screwed.

So reading this thread gave me an idea. When it was explained that they pump it in, from bottom to top, I thought of the boat outdrive, just as you mentioned Dragon. I have a boat, and I have the pump that you use to fill the outdrive with gear lube. It's the same process, take out the drain plug, take out the vent plug at the top, fill from bottom to top until the fluid runs out the vent hole. Tada! It f---ing worked! The pump has a threaded end on it that screws into the drain hole so you can pump fluid in and the threads fit the FJ's pan! I didn't try the drain hole (the 14mm bolt), I used the one next to it, the one with the allen head bolt. The business end of the pump screws right on to a quart bottle like most fluids come in.

So, I had drained the trans fluid into a drain pan, luckily it was empty when I started (not clean, but empty). I then poured the fluid, through a filter, into an empty gallon-size oil jug(I had just changed the boat oil a few days earlier and had this jug left over from that). The markings on the side of the jug showed that there was about 3.2 qts, just like the owners manual said it should have. So I poured this, a quart at a time, into an empty quart bottle (because the pump won't fit the gallon jug), and voila! Pumped all the fluid back in the tranny.

Now, of course the fluid is contaminated with used oil from the drain pan, and I surely lost a few ounces in the transfer process, but at least I don't have to be towed to the dealer. I will limit my driving, go buy new fluid from Toyota this week, and change it myself. I don't see why the level would have to be surgically precise, it's sloshing around in there while you're driving. I will pump 3.2 qts in like the manual says and leave it at that.

For those interested, the pump can be bought at Wal-Mart or any marine store for less than $10. You have to be quick when removing the pump from the trans pan and replacing the plug, but if you pump in an extra couple of ounces of fluid you can account for the loss.

Here's the pump.

Close up of the threaded end

Close up of the part #

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&&storeId=10001&langId=-1&productId=56208&ref=81902

Ahh, there's nothing like a 4 hour oil change. Thanks for the info and idea everyone.

 

Hole-eee-sh1t. I just did the same d-mn thing. I feel like such an idiot. Then I do a search and find this thread. I don't feel much better, but at least I'm not alone.

Once I saw red fluid coming out, I couldn't get the plug back in, it was too hot, I had just parked the truck. So I let it drain and thought, no big deal I'll just get someone to take me to the store, buy some fluid, and refill it. Well after going through all the denial over the fact that there is no check/fill tube as others here have done, I realized I was screwed.

So reading this thread gave me an idea. When it was explained that they pump it in, from bottom to top, I thought of the boat outdrive, just as you mentioned Dragon. I have a boat, and I have the pump that you use to fill the outdrive with gear lube. It's the same process, take out the drain plug, take out the vent plug at the top, fill from bottom to top until the fluid runs out the vent hole. Tada! It f---ing worked! The pump has a threaded end on it that screws into the drain hole so you can pump fluid in and the threads fit the FJ's pan! I didn't try the drain hole (the 14mm bolt), I used the one next to it, the one with the allen head bolt. The business end of the pump screws right on to a quart bottle like most fluids come in.

So, I had drained the trans fluid into a drain pan, luckily it was empty when I started (not clean, but empty). I then poured the fluid, through a filter, into an empty gallon-size oil jug(I had just changed the boat oil a few days earlier and had this jug left over from that). The markings on the side of the jug showed that there was about 3.2 qts, just like the owners manual said it should have. So I poured this, a quart at a time, into an empty quart bottle (because the pump won't fit the gallon jug), and voila! Pumped all the fluid back in the tranny.

Now, of course the fluid is contaminated with used oil from the drain pan, and I surely lost a few ounces in the transfer process, but at least I don't have to be towed to the dealer. I will limit my driving, go buy new fluid from Toyota this week, and change it myself. I don't see why the level would have to be surgically precise, it's sloshing around in there while you're driving. I will pump 3.2 qts in like the manual says and leave it at that.

For those interested, the pump can be bought at Wal-Mart or any marine store for less than $10. You have to be quick when removing the pump from the trans pan and replacing the plug, but if you pump in an extra couple of ounces of fluid you can account for the loss.

Here's the pump.
View attachment 2853

Close up of the threaded end
View attachment 2855

Close up of the part #
View attachment 2854

West Marine: Quicksilver Gear Lube Pump Product Display

Ahh, there's nothing like a 4 hour oil change. Thanks for the info and idea everyone.

I you removed the vent plug, why didn't you fill thru the vent hole?

 

I can understand why it is sealed
I watched a freind pour some of the wrong grade of fluid into his ford, when I pointed it out he stated, "it's all the samestuff, they want to make money off you"
2 months later when he blew his tranny, he was denying the crossgrade, saying he only put the recomended stuff in.
Trannies are getting more complicated all the time

What he said.

 

What he said.

Then why not seal off the crankcase too, and the radiator while they're at it.

 

Then why not seal off the crankcase too, and the radiator while they're at it.

Because you can't damage the car with a different kind of oil or coolant--unless you pour something really weird in.

 

Because you can't damage the car with a different kind of oil or coolant--unless you pour something really weird in.

So oil is oil, and antifreeze is antifreeze huh?

I don't think it's a big deal, it's not sealed like everyone keeps referring to it. It just takes a different tool and technique than most people are familiar with.

 

Ok, I did a bit of research and found that the ATF is type WS and the trany is sealed at the factory. WTF!.
I guess they are trying to lock us into the dealer for any service on this.
I for one, do my own service, so I'll need to get into this eventually.
Hopefully I can at least buy a quart of atf at the dealer so I can install the cooler.
If anyone has a line on any news on this front, please post it..

This is good to know. I've been racking my brain looking for a level indicator.:spineyes:

 

This is BS is the manual also sealed? If not what stops some one from putting something "weird" in that trany? I am going to see if I can cut one of the trany oil cooler lines and do it through there when it is time to change. Maybe put an external filter with a pet****.

 

This is BS is the manual also sealed? If not what stops some one from putting something "weird" in that trany? I am going to see if I can cut one of the trany oil cooler lines and do it through there when it is time to change. Maybe put an external filter with a pet****.

Manuals don't have dipsticks and fill tubes anyway. You usually drain them from the bottom, fill them from the side until fluid starts running out of the hole. Really they just made the auto more like the manual.

 

Yea I know how to fill a manual trany. Why would someone come up with something like this on a 4x4? Does Toyota really think we will pay this much for this truck and never run it in water or mud? I could almost understand something like on some Honda 4 banger that just goes from point a to point b but these are 4x4. They are advertised going through streams and up hills and in the mud. I think I will work on a kit to install a dip stick on these trucks and make me a few bucks.

 

Looking at the service manual, the drain plug on the bottom of the tranny pan appears to be the overflow drain. I know it's at the very bottom of the pan, but there's a neck on the other side, inside the pan, that extends to the right height where the level the fluid is supposed to be. And there's a filler hole on the side where you pour in the fluid like you described. Did you remove the drain plug with the FJ on ramps? If it was level (and the fluid at the right temp), no more than a trickle should've come out of that plug unless it was overfilled to begin with.

I just reread this and it makes sense now. There are 2 plugs in the bottom of the pan. One is a 14mm bolt and the other is an allen head bolt. Does the sm tell you which is which? I filled mine through the allen bolt hole, but if what you say is correct, it should look something like this:

and you would pull both plugs, fill from the center drain hole and wait for it to overflow from the other hole.

 

Some places have a machine that you hook up to the cooler lines. The intake to the tranny connects to a resivoir of clean new fluid, the exit line to the cooler goes to a waste container.. They they start the vehical up and the tranny pumps the old out and sucks the new right in... the do it until the new fluid starts coming out into the waste bucket. Then connect it all back up. The advantage was supposed to be this flushes the old fluid out of the converter and all the lines too, instead of just draining the pan and leaving some of the old stuff still in the system. I wonder if this will work with the FJ..

My Yaris uses the new WS tranny stuff to, I'm trying to find out if a synth will work.. the WS is supposed to work diffrent when cold vrs normal ATF.. Maybe it is a synth. already.. Full synth ATF works soo much better at dealing with the heat and stress of off-road and towing.

 

Ok, I did a bit of research and found that the ATF is type WS and the trany is sealed at the factory. WTF!.
I guess they are trying to lock us into the dealer for any service on this.
I for one, do my own service, so I'll need to get into this eventually.
Hopefully I can at least buy a quart of atf at the dealer so I can install the cooler.
If anyone has a line on any news on this front, please post it..

I work at a toyota dealer in the parts department. Do not touch the ATF. Toyota says it is good for 100k. We had a guy drain a Land Cruiser with the same set up and it was a ***** to refill. Check the repair manual and see for yourself. If you did need to buy Type-WS it comes in a metal can thats either 2 liters or 1 gallon for about $45 and you'll need 2 or more if you do drain it by mistake.