Automatic Transmission Fluid Change

[waltrav]

Ok I the car is still on blocks because I did not have a new filter & Gasket.

Here are some pics before I do an HTML write-up.

That's an excellent writeup. I wish someone would do this for the 4.3. How many quarts of ATF are you putting back in?

[cinder88]

it should be almost 4.5 quarts, that is how much I put in when i cleaned the internals of my RAV trans.

the procedure is probably the same for the 4.3 RAV, they have almost identical trans.

Also Waltrav, what fluid are you using ?.... I can see a castrol bottlo in one of the pic's.

Are you using the castrol import ATF....., I just did an ATF change with that stuff in my friends 05 honda civic., and so far they love it ..!

Im thinking of using it for my next ATF drain/refill.
cheers

[waltrav]

Shelbrain maybe I will post it on the 4.3 too.. The procedure should be the same, just maybe some diff. locations & volumes.

Cinder I would liked to have used a part or full Synthetic one but I wanted to play it safe for now.. After others like you have used it for 100 K then I will try it on my next swap :D

I am doing a full flush so, 3.9 L / 4.1 Qts out of the Pan has been removed last night.

The bottom pan is temp. attached, clean & dry.
So tonight I will put in the new filter & hole gasket set, hook up a hose to the return line near the rad & flush the torque converter, holding 4.4 L / 4.7 Qts.
Continually draining 1 liter at a time and refilling the same amount through the top cap.

As for the total actual fluid amount on a 4.2.1 RAV (2L engine) it is 8.3 L / 8.8 Qts l, but 9 L / 10 Q or more is needed for the job.

Cheers, Walt

:D

[cinder88]

Hey Waltrav

Just an idea.... I replaced the 3 OEM magnets in the trans pan with 3 very strong small neomodium magnets , I picked up on ebay....,

A flush is a good idea...., I did 3 drain and re-fills instead....

So did you use toyota T-IV or Mobil 3309 ?,
Maxlife ATF and castrol import ATF are also good choices, if you dont want to use dealer fluids.

A good flush, and cleaning the trans pan every 40-50k is great maintence, that trans should last 300,000kms+

cheers

[waltrav]

Cinder, I used Toyota T-IV just to be safe.

Your magnet suggestion is good but it's too late now :D

As was mentioned here many times the Filter is re-usable, but yesterday a friend (smart) who works with a Mechanic told be they are disposable in most other cars and come in a kit, gaskets etc.... Anyhow I phoned and it's definitely re-usable.
I don't like this fact because of using chemicals, gloves, gas mask, air hose,, etc....
Still you can't see inside and do a 100 % job

Anyhow, I cleaned the filter, pan, gasket, magnets, and filled the pan, then put a hose on the return line and flushed most out into a bucket.
Tomorrow I will buy another liter or 2 (already used 9) until it comes out like clear cough syrup.

Originally Posted by cinder88

Hey Waltrav

Just an idea.... I replaced the 3 OEM magnets in the trans pan with 3 very strong small neomodium magnets , I picked up on ebay....,

A flush is a good idea...., I did 3 drain and re-fills instead....

So did you use toyota T-IV or Mobil 3309 ?,
Maxlife ATF and castrol import ATF are also good choices, if you dont want to use dealer fluids.

A good flush, and cleaning the trans pan every 40-50k is great maintence, that trans should last 300,000kms+

cheers

[Scotty61]

Hey Walt, have you come across an "O" ring mentioned in the service manual? Looks like it goes on the cylinder on the top of the filter that enters the tranny.
I have the tranny gasket and O ring in hand and plan on tackling mine this weekend.
Tranmission pan gasket was $17.00 and O ring was $5.00 from local dealer.

[Bluenoser]

Walt and others that have done this themselves, have you found many particles on the magnets.......???

[waltrav]

Scotty yes there is one where the top cylinder of the filter fits in.

BlueN, There are 3 tiny magnets on the bottom of the tray, 3/4 X 1/2 inch or so. I was expecting longer bigger ones I'd seen in a different car writeup.
As for Metal filings, well my car has only 25,000 km (over 4 years).
The bottom of the pan had a slight metal mud film...
The magnets had some M mud, & some shavings, but not much.

There where filings, not significant to block the 5" X 4" or so screen, but noticeable enough.. and a bugger to clean.
Overall it looked as if I could have waited another 2 years,,
but the oil was abit dark and murky, so a proper analysis would determine this.

I expect to keep the RAV another 11 years, so maybe 1 change in 5 to 6 years.

[cinder88]

also , type-IV fluid is inherintly a dark fluid, so dont expect the flush to come out pink or red............., it is like a cherry red fluid......

Do you notice a difference in the shifting of auto trans now ?

A year ago I did a full 12quart flush with Quaker state ATF, but last month I went back to JWS 3309 which is the same as the toyo stuff.........,

I like the JWS fluid better, you can find it on the mobil 1 site, I bought 12 quarts for $50. lots of shopping around.