azari

But the good thing about flushing is that it also gets rid of the gunk and residue that's been sitting or sticking to your transmission parts after years of operation.

damon

Ychachad has a very relevant observation. The effect of changing 2 quarts this often is very likely to prevent your vehicle from ever having residue, gunk or metal particles accumulate in the valve body or filter screen
& it is indeed a cost effective method.


I have a fairly high mileage 94 LS that I acquired despite not having adequate maintenance records. At 140,000 mile I had no idea what the history of the fluid in the car had been. I was very anxious to rectify this situation & went with a full flush last Thursday. I found a Toyota dealer that had a BG Automatic Transmission flush machine ( Toyota of Plano ) & went ahead & ordered the BG part 106 pre-flush treatment from:
http://www.lmsspeed.com/bgproducts.htm

This requires ,as per instructions, the rear tires to be elevated so that the treatment can be "Cycled" through the transmission in its different gears prior to the actual flush. This is supposed to address the issues of cleaning the valve body & the filter screen. I was not allowed to watch the process at the dealer , but the service rep relayed that the initial fluid appeared brown , but not burnt ,so I was very relieved.

Cost was $119.91 total with tax. Let's hope that the old adage is true, "an ounce of prevention......"

Thanks, Mark

ychachad

I have never changed the Transmission filter. These are unlike oil filters, the oil filters being designed to trap small particles. Actually speaking, in no car manual does it state to clean the tranny filter. I changed mine once after 200,000 miles, and the bloody thing was clean as a whistle. Don't worry about it, as the constant draining will clean out all particulates, and you won't require a filter change.

ychachad

Thanks Mark for the compliment.

LamSV

Hello Y. Chachad,

Thank you for your tip. You have a very logical explanation and I will want to try it too.

I have a 1994 LS400. I think I know where to find the plug to drain my engine oil. However where do you locate the transmission fluid in the pan? How to drain it? Like draining the engine oil?

Thanks for tip.

LamSV

ychachad

The pan aft of the engine oil pan is the transmission oil pan. Draining it is the same as draining the engine oil. Same tool as well I believe. Good luck.

persian451

I have a 1991 LS400 and I went in to the toyota dealership to ask about the tranny flush...

they told me that the 1991 doesnt use Toyota Type IV (which i requested) ..... they said use standard ATF
dextron... etc....

i just want to know which fluid should i use for optimal performance from my LS?

LOTC

Dont use Dextron, it will mess up the LS's tranny. Use Toyota Type IV

Lvangundy

You CAN use dexron, but many people have complained it gived them hard shifts.

The toyota dealer is technically correct, BUT really try to stick with toyota type IV. Much smoother.


yah..just stick with type IV toyota!

damon

I know why you are confused because I am to. The Manual for my 94 LS 400 says that it takes T II.

T IV , I'm sure is backwards compatible , but I also know that some of the 4 wheel drive models are very particular. Hard shifts would not bother me, tranny damage would.

LOTC

T II is discontinued, so they use T IV now

damon

Thanks Celsior Master. Now If I can only get the Toyota Dealership that flushed my Transmission the other day to confirm what they used!! I'm not having any problems, but I am curious as hell.

Never occurred to me that it would be anything other than t-IV , but when I looked at the receipt it was not specific. Then I called & was told ( not by my service rep) , that it was "the same fluid all Toyota's get".

damon

persian451

so the viscosity of T-IV will work well if not better for the 1991 LS400?

pascualjr

Go with the Toyota Type IV if at all possible. If not, a friction modifier additive must be added to Dexron III. Any good shop knows this.

cnacne

Hey guys,
I'm also reading that different types of fluid should not be mixed. Is this true?
This would be important as I do not know for 100% sure what is in there now.

Joe