3rd Gen Automatic Transmission Fluid Level Check DIY

Yup. While not 100% mess free, the pump upward idea seemed like a giant mess waiting to happen. Since you're adding the fluid while everything's still cold, no issues with hot manifolds and so on.

 

Fluid change today 25,916 miles
Ambient outside temp. 75 degrees
Truck level checked with level in bed
Engine warmed up from 10 mile drive

Clean measuring device drained out
3 quarts exactly after 30 min of dripping

Jacked up front of truck just enough to get the front tires off the ground removed front wheels and picked all rocks out both sides ... An additional 1/4 of a quart drained out

Re installed drain plug filled with ( STP multi vehicle )using the hose method without spilling a drop this is the only way to go

So is this about the average amount you guys are getting out when you do a drain and fill?

If this is the case then the long drawn out process of checking the fluid level is actually easier to simply warm it up let it drain completely on level ground and put exactly 3 quarts in and be done

 

If you do that you're assuming it was filled correctly to start with. Not a good assumption given the many cases of low factory fills.

Still, it's good practice to measure the drain. Provides some level of assurance you put back the right amount.

 

I think the book states drain&fill is 3.3 liters.

 

Checked it 3 times to make certain

 

Quite often when something seems so obvious that the only conclusion is that the designer is an idiot or just didn't care, the truth is far different.

That's the case here. The truth is dipsticks for checking automatic transmission fluid never was a good idea. At least not on normal production automobile transmissions. Auto trans are and always have been sensitive to fluid temperature when checking the fluid level. On an old school 2-3 speed automatic slush box with a huge reservoir/trans pan there was a little more room for error and more importantly they weren't engineering marvels. As long as a Powerglide wasn't way too full or way too low...you couldn't really tell because they didn't work that well anyway.

Newer designs have less room for error on the fluid fill, the dipstick was a half-ass guess that worked with half-assed designed autos.

 

Not sure if I agree.

Many newer transmissions with a drain and fill plug today still rely on the technician to pull the fill plug and let it trickle out to confirm proper level.

Now, who's got the precise definition of a trickle?

I understand the concept of what you are saying, but it doesn't have to be so precise that a dipstick is inaccurate.

Unless maybe you are building a McLaren racecar.

 

I still want one of the rocket scientists on here to explain the amount of expansion per quart

 

I dont agree. Older cars had transmissions that need a correct level to properly shift. Newer trans are electronicly controlled. My 2020 was 3/4 of a quart low. Once I add the extra fluid, there was little to no change. If my 88 LC got that low on fluid, it would take about 5 seconds to go in to reverse.

 

My TRD Off Road has 152 miles on it. Checked it today using a Scangauge II. It was about 1/3 quart low. Good to go now. Thanks to all for the tips, tricks, and insights into keeping the 3rd gen Tacomas running well. Much appreciated.

 

I thought the same thing. But one question, why did you change the fluid so early, where you worried about the amount or other.

 

I thought the whole process of doing the check the manual way was because the truck computer didn't actually have the right amount read. So wouldn't the scangauge just read that?

 

Does anybody know the thread size on the check plug? I am debating buying or making a fill adapter like Fords commonly use to pump back through the check plug rather than deal with the tight area of the fill plug.

 

I think its 5mm

 

just pore 10 oz. in a Pyrex measuring cup, place in the oven. @220* check the level.

 

Im not a scientist of any kind. The information can be found using an internet connected hand held computer device.

From ambient temperature at the Toyota factory to typical operating temperature the transmission fluid might expand around 3 or 4 percent depending on the fluid. It’s a very small percentage of expansion per degree C or F. The information obtained may vary.

If the transmission holds 10 quarts, that’s 320 ounces of fluid. So your expansion might be several ounces in volume at high operating temperatures.

That’s why it’s not that critical to have an exact temperature when checking at around 100 degrees or so. The fluid will not have expanded very much.

When it was new, my Tacoma transmission was clunking when shifting from Park to Reverse and from Reverse to Drive.

After adding a quart of fluid, the clunking was gone.

Days later I did the fluid level check and just a few ounces came out. It was about 28 ounces low from the factory.

Just curious, at a later date, checking the volume of the stock and aftermarket coolers while pre filling.

 

My main reason for changing the fluid was to get new fluid in at every 25k interval and see the basic drain and fill amount so it's a snap......

And yes I triple checked the fluid level the first week we brought the truck home by adding one full quart to do the check procedure each time

Just did a 1200 mile round trip up thru all of southern colorado the week after the fluid change ..... Shifted as normal as a tacoma can shift not a single noticable difference

 

???

 

Finally checked my 2018 4x4 v6 sr5, only took ¼qt, thankfully. Was kinda worried after 30k miles, but never had any shifting issues so I'm not too surprised.

Thanks a ton for this guide!

 

Hey guys, maybe I'm wrong, but doesn't the vehicle also need to be at a certain rpm when checking the transmission? If so, does anybody happen to know what the proper rpm range is for the 3rd gen Tacomas?