ATF exchange done. What did I miss?

[ecco123]

So I tried to follow the intructions for a complete ATF replacement, but I think I did something wrong.

I bought a 20 liters can of Castrol Transmaz Z, the most recommended fluid for my transmision. (It's a 1991 Toyota Land Cruiser with a fully hydraulic automatic transmission)

That should have been more than enough (the FSM says that it has 16 liters I think).

The Transmax Z is a clear green colour, so it's good to do the flush as you can perfectly see when it starts to flow instead of the normal red ATF.


So this is what I did:

1) Removed the drain plug and put a scaled bucket underneath so I could see exactly how much was it coming out. I got exactly 5 liters this way.

2) Cleaned the drain plug magnet (got some grease and some tiny metal shavings but nothing to worry about).

3) Refilled the 5 liters from the dipstick hole.

4) Disconnected the return line of the cooler, so only a bit of old oil in the line from the cooler to the transmission was going to remain in there.

5) Routed a hose to a bucket and started the engine. It started to flow and got my brother to move the gearstick while that between gears.

6) When it had pumped 4 liters, it started to pump air, so I stopped the engine, refilled 4 liters and started to do it 2 by 2 liters from then on.

7) So I kept on doing the same: pumped out 2 liters, stopped the engine and then refilled 2 liters from the dipstick hole while my brother was moving gears.

I expected it to suddenly become green at one point, but when I had pumped out about 17 liters, I realized that it was gradually becaming less red and more green, but not suddenly.

So I guess it was getting mixed somewhere. At 19 liters, it was not completely green yet, but I stopped and reconnected the line cause I wanted a spare liter to be able to refill in case the level was low after finishing.

So I took it for a ride, came back and checked the level (ATF hot and engine running), it was a bit low, added half a liter and took it to the max part of the hot section.

I cleaned the dipstick with a piece of paper and it was a bit more green than the last that had left the cooler before reconnecting everything but still a bit of red left.

I put in the same paper a bit of the old red, a bit of what was in the dipstick and a bit of the new one that was still left in the can and the one from the dipstick is definetly on the green side, but not completely clean.

What have I missed?.

My theory is that maybe I shouldn't have moved the gearstick throught the gears, maybe that caused the old fluid to mix with the new instead of completely replace it?

 

[Sayjac]

Here is the procedure that many seem to follow here. There is no mention of running the trans thru the gears. And, you should have been adding trans fluid during the process.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsdPAadc9fY&feature=related

Other than that, you used the return line, which is the one difference from the youtube (used supply) that I would also recommend.

HTH

 

[Steve S]

You did fine, it takes much oil to completly flush the torque converter out as it holds lots of oil . The oil from the cooler lines comes from the torque converter which generates the most heat in the transmission . It is not the clean oil pushes out the old oil ot mixes as the oil comes out of the torque converter.

 

[ecco123]

Originally Posted By: sayjac
Here is the procedure that many seem to follow here. There is no mention of running the trans thru the gears. And, you should have been adding trans fluid during the process.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsdPAadc9fY&feature=related

Other than that, you used the return line, which is the one difference from the youtube (used supply) that I would also recommend.

HTH


Thank you sayjac

Yes I had seen that video before. I basically did the same thing. The running through the gears thing I was advised by a friend to do so. He thinks that if you leave the stick in Park some of the oil in the "clutch trains" of the transmission would remain unchanged, but I think I shouldn't have done it.

Why do you recommend to use the supply line instead of the return?. You get the cooler flushed as well if you use the return. I could have used compressed air like the guy in the video but I haven't got a compressor. Anyway I can't see much difference between the two ways other than the cooler being flushed or not.

 

[ecco123]

Originally Posted By: Steve S
You did fine, it takes much oil to completly flush the torque converter out as it holds lots of oil . The oil from the cooler lines comes from the torque converter which generates the most heat in the transmission . It is not the clean oil pushes out the old oil ot mixes as the oil comes out of the torque converter.


Thank you steve

What worries me is that it started to became green progressively instead of suddenly start to pump the new fluid like in the video (Well, in the video you can't see it that clear, but I guess so by the way the guy speaks).

 

[hate2work]

Stop worrying, you did great. I'll bet you got around 95-98% new fluid in there, that's seriously as good as you could have done.

The thing you have to remember is that the fluid in the tranny is not a direct in-direct out deal. There will almost always be some fluid in the TC and other internals that "hides" from you when flushing. You did a good thing by shifting through your gears and getting out some of that "hidden" fluid.

 

[Sayjac]

Originally Posted By: ecco123
Why do you recommend to use the supply line instead of the return?.
Poorly worded on my part. IMO, you did the right thing using the return line rather than the supply. (The youtube used the supply.) And, as pointed out, it may just be that you have quite a bit of fluid (capacity). The Honda's may not have to add as much to start running in the desired, clean color.

 

[dsmith41]

Amsoil has a PDF on the subject that is basically the same as the Youtube video. I'd say you did it just fine as it sounds like you pretty much did the same procedure.

https://www.amsoil.com/dealer/techservic...0Procedures.pdf

 

[ecco123]

Thanks a lot guys.

So it seems I didn't do it as bad as I thought. I was thinking I had been mixing old and new oils all the time.

Anyway, I really should have added new fluid as the new one was being pumped out insted of doing it by 2 liters each time. The Amsoil write that dsmish41 posted also advises to do it that way. The first time, it even pumped air with bubbles for a second. I hope I didn't damage the pump.

There's other thing in the Amsoil write:

"Inspect the pan before cleaning. A small amount
of fine gray clutch dust is normal. However, if
you find metal shavings, there could be a mechanical
malfunction or transmission damage."

I found a tiny amount of metal shavings in the magnet but I didn't mind much, but this statement from the Amsoil website got me thinking. Is it normal to have some metal shavings in the magnet?

 

[WishIhadatruck]

I think you did the best possible. Only using more fluid would have exchanged it more completely.

As far as the metal shavings, when was the last time you looked at the magnet? Those shavings could have been there for a long time and not mean a thing. If they just showed up last week then I'd be more worried. Most likely it isn't anything to worry about if the transmission is working fine. I've never found shavings in my pans however, just a thin dark layer of very very fine particles. I'd just drive it if it is working fine and see what it looks like after a few thousand miles. If you don't see any more shavings then all is fine.

 

[chefwong]

Turkey Baster for PS at every oil change

Brake Fluid. Every 2 Years. If I have time , it may be 1X a year...

 

[ecco123]

Originally Posted By: WishIhadatruck
I think you did the best possible. Only using more fluid would have exchanged it more completely.

As far as the metal shavings, when was the last time you looked at the magnet? Those shavings could have been there for a long time and not mean a thing. If they just showed up last week then I'd be more worried. Most likely it isn't anything to worry about if the transmission is working fine. I've never found shavings in my pans however, just a thin dark layer of very very fine particles. I'd just drive it if it is working fine and see what it looks like after a few thousand miles. If you don't see any more shavings then all is fine.


Well, I had never looked at the magnet really.

This is the third ATF change I do in this car. The last two were done in a transmission workshop where they dropped the pan and installed new filter and gasket, and then flushed it with a flushing machine. The last change was only 1 year and a half and 20.000 km ago, but I overheated the transmission and the fluid didn't look as good as it should, so I decided to do the change myself this time but without changing the filter as it's only 20.000 km old.

About the size of the shavings, some were as thin you could barely see them, the biggest were less than 1mm thick and about 3-4 mm long. Really small, but they were there.

The transmission works fine. I noticed slightly smoother changes after the change, specially when doing a quickdown from 4th to 3rd (it's a 4 speed).

 

[Sayjac]

Originally Posted By: chefwong
Turkey Baster for PS at every oil change

Brake Fluid. Every 2 Years. If I have time , it may be 1X a year...

The PS seems like a lot. Just wondering when you use the turkey baster for power steering do you have to worry about going all the way to the bottom? In other words, can air get in the system?

Same for the brakes, and do have to bleed them after or is it not needed?

 

[unDummy]

For the PSF, the vehicle doesn't need to be running. Just siphon it as much as you can and refill it prior to starting vehicle. So, you don't worry about air.

Concerning the cooler line ATF flush, what you saw is normal. There is just too much mixing in the TC. This is why you need a gross amount of ATF to flush it out. I've mentioned it many times before. Even the best machine flushes at the dealer/trans-shop is only about 90%.

 

[mcrn]

You could always take a little of your new fluid in a cup and drop in some red tranny fluid to see how much it takes to effect its color? I know a little bit of red in some fluids have a very strong effect. Red might be a dominate color? I don't know how that works but I have seen it in hospitals. Takes very little blood to make other fluids look red.

 

[Quadrasteer]

I noticed in the Amsoil PDF that there is no mention of using any sealer on the trans. pan gasket, is that the usual way to go?

 

[oilboy123]

Normally don't use sealer.

I figure when I am changing over to Amsoil trans fluid that the first time gets probably 90% new fluid. I figure the next time I do it will be about 99% changed over.