Help: 2004 V8 transmission oil change

4

4RUNNER_2004

New member
I just changed transmission oil this afternoon. it was the first time do this work.
I got things that really confused me. Please help
ok let me tell you what I did.

first all I pulled out the fill plug. 2,pulled out overflow plug, there're about 1.5L oil flew out. 3, pulled out drain plug there're about 2L oil came out. so I gout about 3.5L drained out.4, filled about little less WS 3L( only bought 3L). 5, followed what I learned from here
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-g...r-ways-check-ws-transmission-fluid-level.html
shift gear to all positions, and idle for 20 min. 6, pulled out overflow plug, I got 1.5 L oil.
if I over filled 1.5L on step 6, It must overfilled before (last owner changed @ 91,914km at Dealer ) see step 2. right now I have 160900km if it was overfilled why didn't cause any problem.

when I asked a guy at Part Department of TY, he said there is no overflow plug. it's another drain plug, because it's a big pan need two drain plugs, and it's on the bottom, overflow plug would not on bottom. what he said sounds right too.
so please help me, it's a overflow plug? or not? did I over filled or under filled(drained 3.5L, filled 3L). I don't know if I can drive it or not.
I would really appreciate you help.
 
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Temp of the oil, angle of the surface you're working on, how long vehicle has been running, etc. can all affect how much comes out when you pull the check plug.

By the way, it IS a check plug and on my 2004 the plug says "CHECK" on it so the guy who told you it's a drain plug doesn't know what he's talking about.

I followed the instructions by the book. I even took the time to jump the pins and begin the temp check mode and I still got no oil coming out when I thought there should be, and too much coming out when I added just a little more. The process is super confusing and I finally said to hell with it. I overfilled by 1 quart on purpose and buttoned it all back up. Been working fine so far.
 
thank you very much for all replies;
I still have no idea if I should put 1.5L in or not, this is how much I drained out from Overflow hole. the truck was running very well with 3.5L oil in the pan. right now it is about 1.5L in.
any suggestion would be a great help. appreciate any post.
 
Most people's experienses are that 3.0-3.5 comes out when drained trough the main drain plug toward the rear of the pan.

Refill with 3.5-4.0 and the run engine to get te trans inthe correct temp and about 0.5-1.0 will come out the check plug toward the front of the pan.

Err on the side of a bit too much, like0.5 perhaps.
 
thank you very much Greydog, so I know I drained out right amount of oil, but how come it drained out more than it is in, like me drained out 3.5L, but have 1.5L in after opened the check plug.
 
Really? Woah, I didn't realize our transmission pans were so huge they needed TWO drain plugs!

The smaller one must be for "pre-draining" the transmission since it has a calibrated internal tube that doesn't allow fluid to drip out after a certain level with the vehicle idling and within a certain temperature range... or maybe that's just the overflow tube, what do I know? :P
 
I'm not sure why so much drained out, did it sit for many hours between the initial drain and the check procedure?

I noticed that mine drained another 0.5 after sitting all night when I discovered the drain plug was striped.

Anyway, make sure the vehicle it totally level, and perhaps refrain the fluid again. Measure how much comes out and also make sure you put atleast 3.5 back in through the full plug.

The. Warm it up using the check procedure or atleast until the trans pan is warm to the touch. You are shooting for 90-130 degree F fluid so not super hot but pretty warm.

Then remove the check plug, on mine it's a small Allen plug, I think 5mm?

Something is off in either your measurements or how you drained or checked it.

As Blackworks said, th check plug has a tube inside so it maintains a pre-determined level.
 
I am sure I drained total 3.3-3.5L old oil from drain plug and check plug , filled in 2.8-3.0L, idle engine for 20min, then pulled check plug (5mm Allen plug), drained another 1.2-1.5L. So I only have about 1,5L fresh oil in the pan compare to 3,5L before drained. I heard that there is saying you should put in the same amount that you drain out but in my case when I did the overfill check, I couldn't keep the same amount of oil in the pan.
 
4RUNNER_2004 said:
I am sure I drained total 3.3-3.5L old oil from drain plug and check plug , filled in 2.8-3.0L, idle engine for 20min, then pulled check plug (5mm Allen plug), drained another 1.2-1.5L. So I only have about 1,5L fresh oil in the pan compare to 3,5L before drained. I heard that there is saying you should put in the same amount that you drain out but in my case when I did the overfill check, I couldn't keep the same amount of oil in the pan.
Click to expand...

How long had the truck been sitting cold and at what ambient temp?

The procedure should work if the conditions are reasonably similar to the conditions in the link.
 
Thanks JB. I checked TOYOTA Repair Manuel it says "Allow the engine to idle until the fluid
temperature reaches 46°C (115°F). according to your diagram should we idle it for about 35min before pull overflow plug?
 
4RUNNER_2004 said:
Thanks JB. I checked TOYOTA Repair Manuel it says "Allow the engine to idle until the fluid
temperature reaches 46°C (115°F). according to your diagram should we idle it for about 35min before pull overflow plug?
Click to expand...

No..... You need to read the "how-to" more carefully. There is no set amount of time to idle the truck up to the correct temperature. There are many variables, ambient temp, was the truck driven right before the fluid change etc. You need to get it into check mode, once it's there, it will let you know when it's at the correct temp, however long it takes.

4RUNNER_2004 said:
when I drained the oil the oil temp at about 30c by feeling, the ambient temp at about 15c
Click to expand...

Lmao - this isn't something you're gonna be able to ballpark by feeling the fluid with your fingers. Reread the how-to.
 
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4RUNNER_2004,

If the shortcut procedure is giving you problems you should use the official procedure (linked inside of my thread). If for some reason you can't use the official procedure, we can discuss the shortcut procedure in more detail.

For now, you should probably adjust the fluid level to compensate for everything you drained out.
 
I guess I should have kept engine running while pull the overflow plug. probably this could make things different.

For the official procedure,there are two different temp rang(36-46c=97-115F;46-56c=115-130F) [/url]

which one does it apply to me? (2004 sr5 v8 5speed auto)
 
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4RUNNER_2004 said:
I guess I should have kept engine running while pull the overflow plug. probably this could make things different.

For the official procedure,there are two different temp rang(36-46c;46-56c) on the link below:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/94211-toyota-fsm-procedure-ws-transmissions.html

which one does it apply to me? (2004 sr5 v8 5speed auto)
Click to expand...

OK, that must have been the problem. Engine is supposed to stay idling.

The right temperature range is 97F-115F. It used to be 115-130 but was revised.
 
ordered refill plug and o-ring from dealer, was charged $10.03 and $9.18 they didn't have those in stock, they put those on a special order; drain plug washer was charged for $8.06 which in stock. The guy told me that the overflow washer is the same as drain plug washer, is that right?

I probably under refilled the transmission oil, I did drive around about 55km with only 1.5L fresh oil filled in, hopefully this have not caused any problem yet.

I'm going to follow the official procedure to refill and check again. I find two version official procedure that are slightly different. one mentioned when finish 6 times N-D-N, "Return the shift lever to P and remove the SST from the DLC3 then Allow the engine to idle until the fluid temperature reaches 36 to 46C (97 to 115F)." another one doesn't say remove SST, and the temp is 115-130F.

if somebody have done this please tell me do I need remove SST or not. I don't want to make mistake this time.
 
Once you get to Check temperature ange, you can remove the SST/jumper wire. Just leave the engine running and pull the small check plug in the transmission pan to let the overflow drain to a trickle.
 
Thanks for Greydog, JB and many others who offered great help. Got refill plug, o-ring, and overflow washer today.
Filled up 1.5L WS oil and then followed the official instruction for the temp check, after pulled the overflow plug drained about 0.35L oil compare to 1.5L without engine running; lesson learned. Hope my mistake is useful for someone who have not done this before.
Wonderful forum
 
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