The BIG Transmission Posting: Gibbons method + other goodies!

[Astro14]

Yep - sure is...

[CS Shaun]

Thanks for the great information.
I called around and found the Toyota T-IV at 8.06/quart which they gave me "wholesale pricing" since I was buying 16 quarts which ended up to be $6.20/quart.(Much better than the $29.00 per quart that my Volvo Dealership quoted.)

I ended up using 5/8" O.D. clear hose which fit very snug into the radiator without teflon tape.
Also, I wasn't comfortable with the funnel into the dipstick tube so I ended up connecting a piece of the clear hose from my funnel to the return line which worked out very well.

I got 4 quarts out of the tranny and 3 quarts per "pump cycle". After pumping 16 quarts out, I felt like the color was pretty close to the new going in.
I think that my tranny started out over-full because it was reading above the full mark before I started and after I put 15 quarts back in, it was perfect on the dipstick. I'll check it again tomorrow when I have daylight.
Anyway, everything went smoothly and it's true that if you can change your own oil, you can do this tranny flush.

[Igot2problems]

No TOOLS GIBBONS METHOD (NO TOOLS REQUIRED, empties neatly into 3 one gallon jugs with lids, took 20 minutes, 80% clear fluid on 12 qt swap out)

First, I think that Gibbons is brilliant and thank him for coming up with the method.

Second, I have limited mobility and I did version of the Gibbons method that maybe other with mobility issues can use.

1) I did not get under the car nor do i have lift, therefore I did not drain the transmission from the drain plug...Simply, I didn't drain it below.
2) I just pulled the return line from the transmission cooler/radiator and put the 9/16" O.D. clear hose (4ft long reaches the bottom of a milk jug exactly if car is on ground) in with teflon tape wrappings until it fit into the cooler hole where I had pulled out the return line by pinching the green clip.
3) I put other end of 9/16" O.D. clear poly hose into a one gallon milk jug that I marked a 2 quart fill line on the side of the milk jug (NOTE: earlier, I poured two 1 qt canning jars of water in and marked the 2 quart level on the milk jugs, three jugs total with lids).
4) I pumped out 2 quarts to the line by starting car and letting the hose run and shutting the car off at 2 qt line.
5) I added 2 quarts of new transmission Toyota Type IV fluid.
6) Since there are four quarts in a gallon, I repeated starting the car and turning it off when I topped off the gallon jug.
7) I did this until I had cycled out and added 10 quarts.

8) SPECIAL NOTE: On the last time that I would start the car and let the fluid go up to the 2 quart mark to get towards 12 quarts, I stopped at about 1 1/4 quart region - this left me 3/4 of a new quart in excess to account for spillage and to top off the fluid level after warming up the car and shifting through the gears braked and at an idle until warm. Once I had the proper fill mark between "cold" and "hot" on the dipstick, I then I drove it around a bit, backing it up in a school parking lot for 100 ft a couple of times and then driving home on the highway...all my shifting kicks and stammers were completely gone. My fluid color is 80% clear and before it was not able to see through at all. I checked fluid level as "hot" and my level happened to be within tolerance. Slightly under the "hot' mark. DO NOT OVERFILL, IT INCREASES PRESSURE IN THE TRANNY AS THE FLUID AND PARTS EXPAND AND YOU CAN BLOW SEALS AND SUCH AS I UNDERSTAND!!

NOTES: The way I did the Gibbons method saved me in the following ways:
- I USED ZERO TOOLS!!!!!!! (I don't have many but this needed done on a budget and fast)
- I did not have to take off the bottom plastic engine shield. Nor did I need to lift the car in any way nor crawl under it.
- I did everything standing up standing right in front of the driver's side headlight (I have back problems).
- My mess to clean up consists of three one gallon milk jugs with old fluid in them and the empty new quart bottles.

HELPFUL HINT: You can use the driver's side headlight wiper to hold the clear hose straight down into whatever you drain your fluid in..in my case, gallon jugs.

I was able to do this in 20 minutes and got 80% visibility on my fluid and all problems solved. I used 12 quarts that cost $77.00 including tax from a Toyota dealer.

All I can say is thank you Gibbons whomever you are, you saved me in every way!!!! I had to do it like this personally due to my physical limitations. If this method has faults to it, please chime in and correct anything that I may have taken for granted or assumed. I do not wish to proliferate nor encourage something improper. All I can say is that my fluid is 80% clean and it is on the right mark on the dipstick and all problems were resolved. I encourage people adding to or correcting this post if i am wrong in any way in the way I have done this. Maybe others have already discovered this shortcut in other posts. But what I like best is the quarts and gallon units. I have still not converted to the metric system....again, no tools

[bmesco]

Can you use Idemitsu ATF-TLS? I couldn't find the exact toyota brand and the local Bap Geon counter crossed it to this stuff. Anyone ever used it? Or should I keep looking? It does say on the box for Toyota and Lexus use.. The computer at the counter did show this for the xc 70 as well. Any thoughts??

[Astro14]

Idemitsu says that it meets T-IV.

But the real question is: why?

Don't you have a Toyota dealer nearby? They stock T-IV for a reasonable price.

Do you get UPS at your house? You can order Mobil 3309 and have it shipped for about the same price.

so, with 2 really good, inexpensive options that are perfectly suited, why bother finding other potential substitutes?

[bmesco]

Idemitsu says that it meets T-IV.

But the real question is: why?

Don't you have a Toyota dealer nearby? They stock T-IV for a reasonable price.

Do you get UPS at your house? You can order Mobil 3309 and have it shipped for about the same price.

so, with 2 really good, inexpensive options that are perfectly suited, why bother finding other potential substitutes?

Sure I could order it on ebay there is a case on there, but I too live in Va and most of it on there is in CA. Shipping says 40 bucks for a case.. And I live at least an hour or more from a Toyota dealer, so just weighing the options.. Thanks for the input

[bmesco]

Okay, so I got the correct fluid and did the change as described.. I also added a 1/2 of can of trans tune to try and clear the problem up. The car has 128k on it, it's fairly new to me so i don't know the past maintance history on it but it is doing some funny things shifting. It's usally between 3rd and 4th and it revs up and then hits hard. Typically it's when you are easy on the throttle, assuming thats because of low line pressure? Even after changing the fluid it's still doing it, it also downshifts a little harder than usall. My question is the servo, could this be a possibility? Is that a possible cause of these symtoms? Is that a easy fix? Please advise..

[Trombles]

I think I read somewhere that the only tranny fluid filter was a fine mesh screen somewhere. Is this true? And if so, could someone please instruct me as to where it is.

Thank you.

[Astro14]

Deep inside the transmission. Removing the valve body is not enough to gain access to the filter...you have to remove the transmission from the car and disassemble it...

I wouldn't worry about the filter. flush the fluid and be done with it.

[Trombles]

Thanks Astro14, I'm off to do my 2nd flush now!