My transaxle fluid change and NEW custom drain and fill plugs...

Today, I drained and refilled the transaxle in my Prius"v" with 13.090 miles.

With every NEW car or vehicle that I've purchased, I've always changed the automatic transmission fluid at about 12.000 miles.

That, I did, today with my Prius"v."

Contrary to pictures provided by others, there is no small ceramic magnet in the lower drain plug.

The fluid was quite dark, but NOT burnt, like I've seen in other transmission fluid changes.

I've always hated Phillips screws and hex socket headed screws like those o a lot of European cars like BMW. Unless you have the wrench fully seated in the socket and perfectly centered with the axis of the screw, you are likely to destroy the socket. This happens especially with frozen or corroded fasteners.

The shallow hex 24mm head on the Gen II fill plug is NOT the answer. A 24mm socket and wrench is NOT a common size in a regular tool set.

Searching far and wide for nearly six months, I finally found a US made plug with a full height 19mm or 3/4 inch hex head on it. To trap the iron and steel particles coming off of he gears, I bored out the center on my machinist lathe and secured a 15 pound pull N45 high grade neodymium rare earth magnet with green 640 Loctite. 640 is the Loctite used to lock cylinder sleeves into engine blocks.

Now, I will always be able to remove and install the plugs with no worry of ever stripping out the heads.

I have considered making these for other PriusChat members, but I'm not allowed to promote sales here.

As far as the refill was, it took a few ounces more that was drained out. I believe that Toyota fills the transaxles to the lowest acceptable level to save cost.

 

Thanks.....

 

I still don't like sockets.

Sockets slip, and there is NOT enough "meat" to bore out for a comparative large neodymium magnet, and still maintain the integrity of the plug.

 

In service, the transaxle fluid will NEVER reach the temperatures you listed, except for the lowest grade magnet that you listed. In that case, you'll have more to worry about than an overheated transaxle, since damage to the inverter might likely occur.

 

It won't fit, unless you have a HONDA. The threads are NOT the same. The HONDA plug has M20x1.5 threads for the automatic transmission plug and much smaller M14x1.5 threads for the manual plug. Toyota uses M18x1.5 threads for transmission, transaxle and differential plugs.

 

I did extensive research in deciding on the plugs for this project. I chose Made in USA plugs that are of much better quality than the Chinese made ones. From my experience with fasteners and their manufacturing methods, the plugs I sourced have machine "rolled" threads, which are stronger than the die "cut" threads on the OEM plugs. "Rolled" threads are "cold forged" and work hardened.

I sourced aluminum crush washers that are the same 2mm thickness as the OEM ones but 1.5mm larger in the OEM ones for a larger sealing surface.

There is one inline vendor that just glues a large neodymium magnet on the end of an OEM plug and sells them for $19.95.

My plug is machine bored to hold a large imbedded magnet, as shown with the plug compared to an uninstalled magnet.

I have uploaded more photos that are self-explanatory.

 

I doubt that degradation or the magnetic gauss rating drops to zero at the top range of the rating. So, it doesn't even matter. At full catastrophic failure, the iron/steel particles, having a higher specific gravity than transmission oil will remain at the bottom of the transmission case.

The lowest quality neodymium magnet is still stronger than the miniscule 9mm dia. x 2mm thick ceramic magnet that Toyota supplied in the past, that is NOW MISSING from all Prius models.

 

I have decided to make up a small quantity of three piece sets, since the ECU coolant drain plug uses the same thread and gasket or crush washer.

These will fit the transaxles on ALL Prius models from 2004 to the 2015's. That includes all Prius liftback, Prius "c" and Prius"v."

Once installed, servicing the transaxle fluid and draining the ECU coolant will no longer require a 10mm hex wrench and/or an extra large 24mm socket on the Gen III Prius.

All that will be needed to remove ad reinstall ALL the plugs is a 19mm or 3/4 inch socket.

The transaxle drain plug will have a large 15 pound pull N45 rare earth neodymium magnet imbedded into it locked with Loctite #640.

Each plug will include a NEW aluminum crush washer, three in all.

These will be for sale but NOT here.

 

I tested the magnet I the drain plug to see how much holding power it had. The magnet held a 1-5/8 inch standard size jumbo combination wrench with contact made to the very small area of its curved surface.

So, it is likely that it will catch most all of the iron and steel particles worn off of the transmission gears and parts.

 

It's NOT the fees.

It is reputation and logistics.

I will gladly pay any fees.

The PriusChat Shop is a good idea. I'm sure that Danny works very hard with it's logistics and does the best job that he can.

It's the vendors. While most are very good at delivering what the customer orders, some promise more than they can delivery and are slow on delivery.

Then, there are the logistics. I custom make small batches of things so I can share and finance my hobby. Making money is NOT my main goal. Like my ideas, my stuff changes continuously.

I do sell these things but NOT here. I do it on other vendor sites. I would much rather have the fees go to support PriusChat.