Oil/Trans Fluid? I screwed up

[robdog09]

2006 4runner sr5 v8
30k miles

Time for the first oil change. Went snooping below the car, saw the pan. Took out the plug, drained the oil, about 4 qts came out. Understanding i was putting 6.5 qts back in, i was a little suspicious only 4 came out, but kept moving so i could get on the road for thanksgiving early. Anyways, Put the plug back in, went up front, changed the oil filter, continued to pour 6.5 qts in the engine. Cleaned up, got on the road.

Got caught in traffic in charlotte, and i noticed the car was really riding weird in 1st gear. It would idle high, kind of be jumpy, and then be back to normal. Wasnt shifting too well. Got another 30 mins in, and after accelerating out of traffic, the car would not shift in to 4th gear. Oh crap. No idea whats up.

I pulled over, took a once around, checked the oil. Everything looked fine. I assumed it was just a trans problem, and since it was riding fine in 3rd gear @ 4k rpms, we just decided to keep going and take it easy (were 30 mins awway from our destination). Ended up getting back on the highway, and the car suddenly started shifting into 4th gear no problem, so we continued on at 70 mph

Got to our destination, and i started poking around trying to see what was wrong. Oh shit... i think i drained the transmission fluid and not the oil. I looked up closer to the engine, and i see something that looks much more like an oil pan. Looks like what i drained is directly below the trans

So few questions.

- how much damage did i do? I ended up riding about 300 miles to my destination like this. The car rides fine at high speeds, but just rides funny at low. Nothing too terrible, but somethings up.
- How much is it for them to flush the trans fluid? I read this is a new type of trans fluid that only needs to be changed at 90k miles?
- If i didn't drain the oil, but put 6.5 qts in the engine, where did that extra oil go? Did it just burn up?

 

[Will_4R]

What colour was the stuff you drained? Tans fluid is red/pink. Did you pull the trans dip stick to see what the level is? (Could be your year doesn't have a trans dipstick.)

 

[MikesToy]

Welcome aboard!

If you drained (what you thought was oil), was it in reddish color? If it was black then you needed a tranny flush. Also, when you pulled over to check your oil dipstick, it should've went way over the limit mark. How could you say "Everything looked fine".

You're lucky you got to your destination. I'd pour 4 qts of tranny fluid and take it to the shop and have a tranny flush. Now that you overfilled your engine with 6.5 qts, get another oil change. The extra oil didn't go anywhere unless your engine is leaking oil.

Out of the curiosity, how did you know that your rig was riding weird in 1st gear? Then would not shift in 4th gear? Also, when you pulled over, riding fine in 3d gear? Did you drive your 4runner like a stick?

 

[CJ3Flyr]

2006 4runner sr5 v8
30k miles

Time for the first oil change. Went snooping below the car, saw the pan. Took out the plug, drained the oil, about 4 qts came out. Understanding i was putting 6.5 qts back in, i was a little suspicious only 4 came out, but kept moving so i could get on the road for thanksgiving early. Anyways, Put the plug back in, went up front, changed the oil filter, continued to pour 6.5 qts in the engine. Cleaned up, got on the road.

Got caught in traffic in charlotte, and i noticed the car was really riding weird in 1st gear. It would idle high, kind of be jumpy, and then be back to normal. Wasnt shifting too well. Got another 30 mins in, and after accelerating out of traffic, the car would not shift in to 4th gear. Oh crap. No idea whats up.

I pulled over, took a once around, checked the oil. Everything looked fine. I assumed it was just a trans problem, and since it was riding fine in 3rd gear @ 4k rpms, we just decided to keep going and take it easy (were 30 mins awway from our destination). Ended up getting back on the highway, and the car suddenly started shifting into 4th gear no problem, so we continued on at 70 mph

Got to our destination, and i started poking around trying to see what was wrong. Oh shit... i think i drained the transmission fluid and not the oil. I looked up closer to the engine, and i see something that looks much more like an oil pan. Looks like what i drained is directly below the trans

So few questions.

- how much damage did i do? Unknown, perhaps none perhaps more, only time will tell.I ended up riding about 300 miles to my destination like this. The car rides fine at high speeds, but just rides funny at low. Nothing too terrible, but somethings up.
- How much is it for them to flush the trans fluid? I read this is a new type of trans fluid that only needs to be changed at 90k miles? Should be $125-$200. It must be a very specific fluid. Don't trust a Quickie Lube type place. A reputable Foreign car place should be able to handle it or the dealer.
- If i didn't drain the oil, but put 6.5 qts in the engine, where did that extra oil go? Did it just burn up? Are you sure it's gone? I'll bet you're still WAY overfilled. Some will burn out through the PCV system. Don't leave the extra oil in it.

It sounds like you drained the transmission. This link and the links contained within will explain all about the special fluid, level checking etc for the transmission. http://www.toyota-4runner.org/maint...ission-fluid-servicing-sealed-non-sealed.html


I wouldn't drive it anywhere other than to be fixed. Be gentle, light accelerations, low RPM's etc.


Good Luck!
:cheers:

 

[eskimochaos]

2006 4runner sr5 v8
30k miles

Time for the first oil change. Went snooping below the car, saw the pan. Took out the plug, drained the oil, about 4 qts came out. Understanding i was putting 6.5 qts back in, i was a little suspicious only 4 came out, but kept moving so i could get on the road for thanksgiving early. Anyways, Put the plug back in, went up front, changed the oil filter, continued to pour 6.5 qts in the engine. Cleaned up, got on the road.

Got caught in traffic in charlotte, and i noticed the car was really riding weird in 1st gear. It would idle high, kind of be jumpy, and then be back to normal. Wasnt shifting too well. Got another 30 mins in, and after accelerating out of traffic, the car would not shift in to 4th gear. Oh crap. No idea whats up.

I pulled over, took a once around, checked the oil. Everything looked fine. I assumed it was just a trans problem, and since it was riding fine in 3rd gear @ 4k rpms, we just decided to keep going and take it easy (were 30 mins awway from our destination). Ended up getting back on the highway, and the car suddenly started shifting into 4th gear no problem, so we continued on at 70 mph

Got to our destination, and i started poking around trying to see what was wrong. Oh shit... i think i drained the transmission fluid and not the oil. I looked up closer to the engine, and i see something that looks much more like an oil pan. Looks like what i drained is directly below the trans

So few questions.

- how much damage did i do? I ended up riding about 300 miles to my destination like this. The car rides fine at high speeds, but just rides funny at low. Nothing too terrible, but somethings up.
- How much is it for them to flush the trans fluid? I read this is a new type of trans fluid that only needs to be changed at 90k miles?
- If i didn't drain the oil, but put 6.5 qts in the engine, where did that extra oil go? Did it just burn up?

that sucks

 

[robdog09]

answers

- the '06 is the year that doesnt have the dip stick. You have to get tranny flush "professionally" done because of the hard to access input hole.
- the fluid was brown/blackish, looked nothing like the red it should be, which is why i thought it was oil. The car does have the new 100k tranny that only requires changes at that interval. Is it more of an "oil" and not have the reddish color?
- i wasnt driving it like a stick. I could feel the car shaking and riding very unsmooth < 10 mph. I can tell what gear its in by counting. Riding at 70 mph at 5k rpm on the tach, i knew something was up. When i slwed down and start back up, it switch up to 3rd gear and stuck there.

I plann on taking it to a place on friday for a tranny flush and oil change. I think that will obviously fix my fluid issue, although you cant check the tranny fluid because there is no dip stick.

What i am trying to get a sense of is how much damange i did.

 

[progress4m]

Sorry to hear this…. I would not drive it anywhere and call the tow truck to take it to the shop.
Also, you wrote “time for the first oil change” but looks like the truck has 30K.... was oil never changed..?

 

[robdog09]

oh sorry, no bought the car at 25k miles.

 

[CJ3Flyr]

- the '06 is the year that doesnt have the dip stick. You have to get tranny flush "professionally" done because of the hard to access input hole. False. It's not super easy but it's not bad...
- the fluid was brown/blackish, looked nothing like the red it should be, which is why i thought it was oil. The car does have the new 100k tranny that only requires changes at that interval. Is it more of an "oil" and not have the reddish color? Read this: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/53168-ws-transmission-fluid-stands.html
- i wasnt driving it like a stick. I could feel the car shaking and riding very unsmooth < 10 mph. I can tell what gear its in by counting. Riding at 70 mph at 5k rpm on the tach, i knew something was up. When i slwed down and start back up, it switch up to 3rd gear and stuck there.

I plann on taking it to a place on friday for a tranny flush and oil change. I think that will obviously fix my fluid issue, although you cant check the tranny fluid because there is no dip stick. False.

What i am trying to get a sense of is how much damange i did.

Did you click on the thread link in my 1st reply?

 

[MikesToy]

You can't assess the damages unless you get the right fluids in there and test drive it if it drives like normal. Right now, you can assume you might have some gear problems in your tranny.

 

[robdog09]

sorry, didnt see it. Ok, that makes sense. Im at the inlaws for the weekend, and i think im just going to take it to their local import guy and him do an oil change and tranny flush. that will at least get me back to square 1 to assess further

 

[riverider]

Sadly your transmission is toast. No matter what people on this or other forums try telling you that maybe it's not ruined,real truth is,your going to have to get a transmission rebuild or a new transmission installed.

Funny but not funny at all,this has happened many times before.

Unless you really do some close looking or remove the large metal cover, it can happen.

Finding that small cover in the larger cover is missed many times.

 

[jstutz101]

I wouldnt get too excited until I got all the fluids replaced correctly and see what happens. If you made it 300 miles the way it is, thats got to be a good sign. Im sure you tooka few years off of it.

I am surprised the engine didnt run worse then it did being overfilled that much.

Good Luck!

 

[robdog09]

yea, what i keep thinking my saving grace is that i only emptied above the fill line. THere was still some fluid in there, but maybe just not as much as it would like to have operated on.

Thanks for everyones input

 

[Will_4R]

I am surprized the tranmission didn't seize up with no fluid in it. There must still be a bunch in there to keep it going.

Are you 100% sure yo udrained the wrong thing? Now that you have had a second look, and compared it to pics and diagrams online? Also, have you had a chance to see if the engine oil dipstick reads over full?

I once had a transimission that wouldn't upshift and was behaving weirdly. It turned out to be a bad bushing and nothing to do with the transmission.

 

[CJ3Flyr]

I am surprized the tranmission didn't seize up with no fluid in it. There must still be a bunch in there to keep it going.

Are you 100% sure yo udrained the wrong thing? Now that you have had a second look, and compared it to pics and diagrams online? Also, have you had a chance to see if the engine oil dipstick reads over full?

The way this one works is the transmission drain plug allows 4 of 12-13 quarts to drain. 8 quarts is enough to avoid seizing but not enough for it to operate normally, just as he described...

 

[Mike07SE]

Like CJ said, taking the tranny plug out wil only take 1/4-1/3 of the total amount out. Enough to drive, but enough to do damage. :dammit:

 

[Kmvreter]

sorry, didnt see it. Ok, that makes sense. Im at the inlaws for the weekend, and i think im just going to take it to their local import guy and him do an oil change and tranny flush. that will at least get me back to square 1 to assess further

What kind of import guy? I would make sure this guy knows what Toyota WS tranny fluid is first. Only use the OEM Toyota WS fluid. I don't think you have cooked the tranny but if it was me and I was away from home I would get a full tranny service at a stealership.

Also, as others have asked, what is your oil level on the dipstick? No need for an oil change. Just drain the excess and do your own change when you get home.

 

[rook]

Hold on a sec, I'm confused...
If the OP REMOVED 4 quarts of trans fluid and ADDED 6.5 quarts of motor oil to the crankcase, isn't the problem in the engine now, having 13 quarts of oil? The crank would whip the oil into a froth and cause even more problems..

 

[TechWrench]

I am surprized the tranmission didn't seize up with no fluid in it. There must still be a bunch in there to keep it going.

Are you 100% sure yo udrained the wrong thing? Now that you have had a second look, and compared it to pics and diagrams online? Also, have you had a chance to see if the engine oil dipstick reads over full?

I once had a transimission that wouldn't upshift and was behaving weirdly. It turned out to be a bad bushing and nothing to do with the transmission.

Draining the transmission pan by removing the drain plug only results in removing about 1/3 of the trans fluid. The remaining 2/3 's is in the torque converter, and will not drain. So, while the transmission may not work normally, and may have been damaged, it will VERY RARELY seize up unless there are other factors involved.