Transmission questions, issue after fluid change

Alright it’s the check plug is stripped. Could try and get some vice grips on it and unscrew it out. Anyways I understand take it Toyota.

I would accept a diag of a new transmission. You just need a fluid level check, basically a drain and fill. Don’t get talked into anything else and if it truly is fucked, ask them to show you the video of the drain and fill, with correct level and you drive it and make sure

I really don’t believe the a750 could be toast just after an incorrect service… but of course anything can happen. But I doubt it

 

Midas has had company wide issues with poor performance for decades.
I personally threatened small claims court for a Midas shop that worked on a family members GMC truck. The demand letter I provided the manager resulted in a $900 check . Court was un-necessary to recover damages.

 

I would try to alter your attitude. I stripped the level bolt, bought a new pan, gaskets, bolts, changed the pan and checked the level. With a torque wrench it's not difficult. If you don't want to do it, find a local shop that can. The pan, gaskets, bolts are available at almost all dealers. Until the level is checked, you have no idea what could be causing the issue. Wouldn't take a shop more than an hour to change the pan.

Transmission worked fine-Midas did something with the fluid-transmission doesn't work fine-highest level of probability is level and or fluid are the issue. These are robust transmissions, even having level off or wrong fluid for a short while won't usually damage them.

 

A bolt extractor should be able to remove the standpipe plug.

Replace the standpipe plug.
The torque spec is really low… like 5 ft-lb (barely snug). Should not be any reason to remove the pan which will potentially result in breaking pan bolts, etc. (they break often)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXpo_DmXnzk

 

You sure you can order the standpipe by itself? Thought it was integrated into the pan.

 

Because you cannot make this stuff up and because you folks have colorful responses. I took it to the local Toyota dealership again. Ive used them a couple times with no real issues. I dealt with one of the service managers that I used to play music with. He texted yesterday, asking how many miles it took for it to misbehave, as the tech drove it for 30 mins and no issues. This doesn’t really surprise me as it is always intermittent. So he states “fluid looks great and no codes”. They really didn’t want to do anything else if they couldn’t experience it failing. They didn’t charge me anything.

I get it home and I crawl beneath it just to look at the plug. It is exactly the one I saw the day before, even with the blue marker paint the Midas guy put on it.

I texted them today and asked “how do you know the fluid is fine?” No answer. One can interpret that sequence of events a couple ways.

I guess I’ll extract the plug and check myself. Apparently maintaining a 4Runner transmission is too much to ask the auto service industry. Dad was an old timer that said things like “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”. I should have listened.

 

yep they never checked it. WTF!!

 

Well, they didn’t charge you anything. Sounds like you got what you paid for. Sorry.

 

I was thinking Highlander that has a removable plastic standpipe under the drain plug that is easily stripped. OPs check plug is stripped (rounded hex), that is available as a replacement part without replacing the pan.

 

Don’t go to shit shops for this. Make sure they have a fluid exchange machine and are charging you for the appropriate quarts of fluid.

 

Yes, the hex plug is available, if that plugs pan threads were damaged, it's time for a new pan.

I found the pan to be somewhat soft and threads are easy to strip if not using a torque wrench or being careful. I gave it just a little too much and spun the plug on mine.

 

https://yourcovers.com/pml-toyota-a750e-a750f-deep-transmission-pan.html

 

Not maintaining the transmission because it's not as simple as it used to be isn't an excuse or good practice for vehicle longevity. It's not a hard process to learn and most of us here have learned how by videos, explanations, etc.

 

After recent experiences with my local Toyota dealership service dept, this isn't surprising.

Took my '07 4Runner in for a minor leak at the rear pinion seal, paid $700 for new seal installation and fluid, 2 months later I see it's still leaking, take it back and pay $190 for a new pinion yoke (they warrantied the seal, labor, and fluid)...picked it up and 12 miles later the rear diff seized and was super hot when I crawled under it. After some BS from the service advisor about needing a $3K rebuild, we settled financially given it was an 18 year old vehicle with 308K miles, and I bought a 1 year old 5th gen elsewhere.

And my '19 RAV4 purchased as a Certified Pre Owned supposedly with new brakes wore the rear pads down to the backing plates in less than 10K miles before it's first year. Took it back, brakes aren't covered by warranty, $600 for new rotors and pads which also wore out approx 10K miles later. When I re-did the job myself, the caliper slider pins were dry as a bone and sticking. Toyota corporate gave me a parts credit useable at any dealer, which covered the replacement rotors & pads along with several oil filters, coolant, and WS trans fluid.

I rarely use a shop anyway, but this is just sad.

 

Update.

Toyota Service Manager texted me back to “confirm fluid was ok per tech” …..

I have trust issues, so I ordered a replacement check plug. It came in today.

Old plug came out easily with a new set of vice grips.

I warmed the pan to 115F using an IR temp gun.

leveled the 4Runner

Removed the plug and waited. Nothing came out. Nothing.

I fed the funnel hose down and inserted it into the 24mm fill hole that I burned the $@@& out of my hand getting out. For future reference, take that out first.

I poured in about 1.5 quarts of fluid.

Warmed back to 115f, shifting through the gears while idling (one YouTube guy said so).

I removed the plug again and about .5 quarts came out before it went to a dribble.

I don’t know what I’m doing, just following instructions. Unless I did it wrong, that would mean that it was at least 1 quart low. This seems significant in my mind.

it was also mean that 2 different shops are either incompetent, sloppy or fibbers.

It also doesn’t mean it is fixed. I drove around town, and no issues, but that isnt uncommon. Only more miles will tell.

If it was low, hopefully no long term damage was done. If I’m incompetent, and it is now 1 quart too full, hopefully that doesn’t have its own issues.

 

Only thing I didn’t see in your write up was installing a crush washer with the new level plug.

 

interesting observation. The new one did not come with one. And the old one did not have one. So I assumed there wasn’t one. I suppose the previous installer lost it. Which probably explains why the surface had a bit of silicon. I’ll check for a replacement and add it.

 

How did I miss this one? Lost me at Midas I'm surprised they still even have stores open.

Sounds like you check level correctly at least.

 

whoopsie!


Make sure the engine is running when you remove the check plug to add the gasket, or you will be filling and checking level again.

 

Probably because this thread is 2 years old.

 

I know that you can get varying temps with IR guns depending on the quality of gun and depending on precisely where you aim and get your measurement. That said, I believe both of my trusted mechanics said they would be getting the temp reading from their OBD-11 scanner. The guy I watched on YouTube that used an IR gun did a great job so if you watched his video I’m sure your readings were good and you were indeed low. Just makes me wonder why they didn’t detect the proper level because I’m sure they used a scanner to check temp when leveling the fluid.

 

Part number should be 35178-30010

if you remove the level plug with the transmission cold and engine idling, you’ll lose little to no fluid.

 

It's not.

 

Being 1 qt low should not have damaged anything, it's less than 10% of total capacity. At least now you can definitively say level is correct. I know many old school mechanics that don't have experience setting levels on sealed transmissions. It's no excuse for any professional mechanic though.

 

You got about 11-12 more in there. It's not ideal but it isn't going to ruin anything.

 

Probably but still missed it.

 

Tell me more. What happens when engine is running? Does it suck up oil in the pan and thus it doesn’t come out?

 

When engine is idling, the transmission fluid is circulating and the fluid level (temp dependent) is at the correct level.

If you remove the check plug at idle, with cold temp, you should not lose any fluid beyond excess in the transmission. You can safely remove the check plug and install the gasket. You might get a trickle of fluid, which is normal.

When the engine is off, circulating fluid drains down into the pan. If you remove the check plug with engine off, you’ll drop a quart, or so, of fluid from the standpipe; then you would have to go through the fill/check procedure to ensure proper fill level.

edit to add: you would be in a good position to add a bit of extra fluid and perform the check procedure per the factory service manual. There is a transmission fluid check mode that idles the engine at a certain speed and tells you when the transmission is at the proper temperature.

I’m looking for the 4Runner procedure to attach…

Here is an online copy:
https://toyotamanuals.gitlab.io/PZ471-Z00W0-CA/htmlweb/rm/rm1151e/m_40_0002.pdf

here is another version:
https://www.to4runner.net/adjustment-751.html

You want to follow the fluid check procedure not using Techstream which will have you jump pins 4 & 13 of the OBD port then cycle the gear selector in a specific sequence. It looks tricky and overwhelming, but it’s not terribly difficult once you read the procedure a dozen times and practice stumbling through it before doing it for reals.

 

Does anyone know approximately how much a dealer charges to drain/fill the transmission fluid?