Just how does one check the transmission fluid?

[Ralph Blake]

My 2008 v6 2wd Toyota 4Runner manual says check the transmission fluid.
I see no way to even see the level of the fluid, as there is no dip stick for the transmission.
I see they ask for it to be changed at 30,000 miles.

 

[fdbyrne]

It has a drain plug at the bottom of the transmission and a fill plug on the side. You're supposed to check it and fill it from the fill hole. It's what they call a sealed transmission. The manual usually tells you to check the fluid level by sticking your finger in the fill hole and if it's filled up to within a certain number of millimeters from the hole, the level is fine.

There are a lot of threads on here about how to change the transmission fluid.... properly. I won't go into that but I'd suggest you read those threads before draining the transmission. It's not hard, but it's not as intuitive as you might expect.

 

[Ralph Blake]

Thank you for the reply and information,don't think i am ready to change the transmission fluid as it's no where close to the 30K miles.

 

[having fun]

Thank you for the reply and information,don't think i am ready to change the transmission fluid as it's no where close to the 30K miles.

You have the sealed trans as above stated. Even though your not ready to change it yet.
Search the drain and fill procedures on these trans. It's not a trans that you just check all the time as your oil. And if you do what was suggested above you might mess something up.

Search and read!!!!!

 

[Ralph Blake]

I have read where many who have tried changing their own oil,have by mistake drained their transmissions. With the skid plate under the engine and transmission you really have to look hard to be sure.
Trust me I am not going to pull the side trans plug to check it just not anything in my plans.

 

[TheGrayBeast]

I have read where many who have tried changing their own oil,have by mistake drained their transmissions. With the skid plate under the engine and transmission you really have to look hard to be sure.
Trust me I am not going to pull the side trans plug to check it just not anything in my plans.

I was one of those geniuses...Instructions said to let the transmission reach operating temperature then remove fluid level check plug to see if excess fluid spills from it. I did that but for some reason decided to turn off the engine before replacing the plug which caused the ATF to rush to the oil pan and gush right out of the unplugged hole and all over my garage. I estimated the lost fluid to be about 1-1.5Qts so I blindly filled 1Qt and took the car for a full flush / fill the next weekend.

Here are the instructions for the sealed transmission if you haven't found them already:
Welcome to Land Cruiser Owners On Line
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/attachment.php?postid=215229

 

[JB.]

My 2008 v6 2wd Toyota 4Runner manual says check the transmission fluid.
I see no way to even see the level of the fluid, as there is no dip stick for the transmission.
I see they ask for it to be changed at 30,000 miles.

Don't think 2wd is different which means there's no Toyota rec for 30k fluid change. It's just a check interval.

With engine cold, start engine to let warm-up. After engine warms a bit and rpms have dropped, but before fully warm, pull the overflow plug and monitor for overflow. Fluid should start trickling out after coolant gauge has unambiguously stopped moving. An IR gun makes this easier but the fluid warms slowly and there's plenty of time to check the the coolant gauge.

Here's a reference to fill in the details of how long is too long to wait if you don't get any overflow. Too early is overfilled, too late underfilled. This works reliably in reasonably normal/mild ambient temperatures.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-g...r-ways-check-ws-transmission-fluid-level.html