Changing Transaxle oil

Did anyone have a virgin sample of amsoil ATF tested to check if it initially had high levels of copper?

 

I bought 5 qts of toyota ws for the discount price of 10$ per qt...(more expensive than BMW!!) from my local dealer. Well, at least it's a pretty long drain interval for the transaxle fluid

Plan to do it next week...I have access to a lift.

PS I like this forum!
Nik

 

I think you bought one quart too many - since chances are that all the old oil isn't going to drain out. The specs say only 4 quarts, but hey, always better to have too much then too little.

 

I alway buy a little more than needed...Murphy's law;somehow I'll spill a quart somewhere or the bottle will break ( something bizarre). Will keep you posted.

Nik

 

Oh and btw: the second place I bought the ATF WS + gaskets from charged me extra for shipping - since the stuff was so heavy (An additional charge of $14.35). At least they emailed and asked if it was OK first - but they really should build that in to the order site... $14.35 + $9 for shipping is kinda expensive when compared to ebay.

Not wanting to delay anymore (plus I didn't wanna go to my dealer's parts department to pickup the gaskets - would have saved only 6 bucks at most), I accepted the additional charge... this time.

I think the cheapest place to get ATF WS is from ebay and purchase the two gaskets separately from your dealers' overpriced parts department. I'll probably do that next time.

 

I don't think $5.99/qt is that much overpriced over ebay. I also won't trust my multi-thousand dollar transaxle to fluids bought from ebay as much as that from an official Toyota dealer.
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...24-changing-transaxle-oil-16.html#post1002343

 

5.99 a quart? Where?

I'm paying an effective price of $7.96/quart:
$6.02 per quart of 00289-ATFWS x 12 = $72.24
Shipping= $9 + 14.35
=7.9658/quart shipped to my door

Uhh, the one on ebay is supposedly a case of genuine toyota ATF WS (12 quarts) which is sold by a toyota dealer.

Genuine Toyota ATF WS Transmission Fluid 12qt Case:eBay Motors (item 400080483110 end time Dec-20-09 06:50:50 PST)


US $72.00 + $14.62 shipping (for me) = 7.2183/quart
US $72.00 + $19.79 shipping (if you live far away) = 7.6492/quart

 

The $5.99 price is great, as long as you are nearby and your shipping charge is low. That Mechanicsville, VA website quoted me $36 UPS ground shipping to Arizona.

 

Yep you guy's are all lucky. My Toyota dealer just quoted me $59.00 Au for a 4 liters of ATF WS. That's equiv to about $13.00 US per quart. Ouch!

 

$5.99/qt was the price when I bought from Lexington Toyota (MA) back in September (2009):
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...24-changing-transaxle-oil-16.html#post1002343
I was lucky to be near enough to drive there to avoid shipping.

Yes if the eBay account belongs to a Toyota dealer then I would trust it more than some random sellers. Good find!

 

Very helpful thread for me to read. I am also an avid DIY. My Prius is not even close to have her transaxle oil changed, but this is a nice start for me to familiarize myself on the 'how to' details. I may start looking around for the correct size funnel with a 3 foot long tail. As far as 4 qts. of ATF oil is concerned, I would assume that the transaxle is almost full once you've already put in at least 3.5 quarts. (??)

 

I would estimate that it is about 3.7 or 3.8 qts to refill. I can't give an exact amount because I filled it until overflow and then allowed it to drain even with the bottom of the filler hole with the car level.

 

I've always put in exactly 4 quarts on the Gen II. Haven't done the Gen III yet. I use a funnel with extension, designed specifically for use with transmissions. Probably got it at Kragens/Schucks. If you want to take a chance on a synthetic, Amazon sellshttp://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B000T9MQ72?tag=priuschatcom-20 shipped, which works out to $8.21/quart. That's what I'm using now.

 

Good info. I may also use the 'finger stick' dipstick technique to check for transaxle oil level. I may have to be a little creative to make sure that the Prius is level with the front end jacked up and on stands.

 

Thanks for your input.

 

I've changed the transaxle oil today... and I tell you, trying to figure out how much fluid it has in it is the hardest part.
I eventually just gave up adding a tiny bit at a time and hoped that I put enough - seeing that my finger got red with atf each time i poked it through... and felt fluid- but you can't really tell how much fluid is in there.

I filled it approx 3.5 quarts. They really need to add a dipstick to check the transmission fluid.

The second hardest part is making the car level. To do this I drove the front on ramps, and then jacked the back end with the rear jack point and put two jackstands on the jack points gently.

Was too scared to jack the front end - read a thread where someone was worried about damaging the front jack point (crossmember?)

 

Hi Bob,

Allow me to suggest a way to make it easy for you in the future: just add 4 US quarts of ATF WS. If you've added too much, the excess will drip out of the fill hole and into your drain pan. When the fluid stops dripping, wipe up the spill and replace the fill plug.

I'm concerned that at 3.5 quarts, your fluid level may be low. I agree that it is not easy to use your finger as a dipstick.

 

I agree with Patrick, but I found that you didn't need to pour in the full 4 quarts, the fluid will start dripping from the fill hole before the last bottle is empty. Since the spec is 0 - 5 mm from the bottom of the fill hole, it is easiest just to overfill slightly and let it drip until level with the fill hole.

 

Nice tip guys.

Simplifies a lot of things. I simple jacked up the front driver side, put a block of solid wood under the front tire (just incase - since I have no idea where to put the jackstand when im using the jacking point to jack up the car - and I didn't want to damage that K looking black crossmember(?) thats between the front tires).

Anyway, once thats jacked up, I unscrewed the fill hole with a 24mm hex socket. Fed my funnel + 3ft vinyl tube down and into the fill hole. Placed an oil catch pan under. And dumped the rest of that one bottle into the funnel, watched some of it drip into the pan to make sure it was lined up before un-jacking the car down. Then I waited until the rest of the excess drained out before jacking it back up and tightening the nut to 29 ft-lbs of torque.

MUCH easier then trying to jack up all four corners of the car and trying to make sure the front was level with the back.


Anyway, here are my set of instructions for changing the gen2 Prius tranaxle fluid (more condensed with information with hopefully more details):
Prepare/Buy the following tools:
Funnel with 3 ft hose (note: don't get a really thick hose. If its too thick, you'll have a hard time bending it or fitting it in the fill hole.)
Oil Pan
Floor jack & jack stands (optional if you can fit under the front of your car without problems)
24mm Metric Socket
10mm Metric Hex Bit Socket
Torque wrench that can be set to 29 ft-lbs and fit the above sockets

Optional: breaker bar that fits the above sockets.

Consumables:
4 quarts of genuine Toyota ATF WS (other brands MAY cause damage to the copper winding in the transaxle - use other brands at your own risk!) Toyota Part #00289-ATFWS
2 crush washers (gaskets) Toyota Part #90430-18008

Instructions:
Step 1: Remove the plastic cowl under the hood. use a small screw driver to give it the plastic fasteners a half a turn or so. Note: these are NOT screws, do NOT keep turning them.

Step 2: Jack up the driverside front of the car. Use jackstands or another piece of insurance to make sure you do NOT get crushed by your car.

Step 3: Locate the ATF fill hole. This is located directly above the drain bolt, near some insulated coolant pipes of some sort near the front of the transaxle. Do NOT mistake the coolant drain bolt. Tip: the bolt that requires the hex key is the ATF drain bolt.
Use jayman's picture for reference: http://i653.photobucket.com/albums/uu256/jayman_photo/Prius%20Stuff/Priusundermotorshieldsoffcopy-1.jpg

Step 4: Remove the fill bolt first with a 24mm hex socket. Why? Because you'll be screwed if you drain all your ATF out and can't remove the fill bolt to put it back in.

Note: Do not use your torque wrench to loosen bolts - doing so may damage its calibration. Use a breaker bar instead.
​

Step 5: Put the oil catch pan under the drain bolt.

Step 6: Remove the drain bolt with a 10mm hex bit socket.

Note 1: Do not use your torque wrench to loosen bolts - doing so may damage its calibration. Use a breaker bar instead.
​

Note 2: ATF is REALLY watery, so you may want to put newspapers under the pan and around it. Depending on the type of oil catch pan you have, it may splatter EVERYWHERE.

Note 3: Remember, you should NOT have to use a hex SOCKET. It should be a hex KEY socket. The hex socket is the coolant drain!!!
​

Step 7: While it's draining, clean off the metal fragments that have been caught on the drain bolt magnet (if any). Also change out the washer for a new one.

Note: You may be able to re-use the old washer... but don't blame me if it leaks after!
​

Step 8: Once all the fluid has drained, replace the drain bolt with the 10mm hex bit socket. Hand tighten, and then use the torque wrench to tighten to 29 ft-lbs.

Step 9: Feed the funnel tube from the top of the car hood to the fill hole and stick the tune in the fill hole.

Step 10: place the oil catch pan under the fill hole/drain hole area.

Step 11: Using the funnel (with tube attached and going into the fill hole), dump 4 quarts into the funnel. You will hear excess fluid draining out and into the catch pan.

Step 12: If your car has only one side jacked up, then lower it so it is level. Leveling your car will cause more extra fluid to drain out. If your car is already level (as in both front and back and left and right sides of the car), then go to step 13.

Step 13: Once all the excess fluid has drained out of the fill hole, raise the car again and replace the fill bolt (with the new crush washer). Hand tighten, and retorque the bolt the rest of the way with your torque wrench set to 29 ft-lbs.

Note: You may be able to re-use the old washer... but don't blame me if it leaks after!
​

Step 14: wipe off any fluid that may be still dripping down from the transaxle.

Step 15: Do a sanity check. Make sure you remembered to add fluid and that you've done all the steps. Then, lower your car, start the engine and check for leaks.

Step 16: Replace all tools in whatever toolboxes, cabinets, you got them from.

Note: set your torque wrenches back to 0 ft-lbs to reduce the chances that they will become uncalibrated.

​

And your done!

 

Just changed out the ATF with toyota WS ATF. I used 4 qts and used a hand pump from the parts store to pump the fluid. After 70k miles the atf looked like black water (so called "lifetime" fluid). I have access to a lift so the job was straightforward.

Also changed the engine oil since I had the lift!
nik