Changing transmission oil

World standard means. Its a standardized oil for all regions of the world. Different countries have different requirements on there oil formulations and this oil meets all those standards.

 

I get that. My problem is, when I went into the dealer and asked them for the WS fluid, he said, "Why do you need to change it, it's a world standard fluid." The guy at Toyota was implying that the fluid is good FOREVER, not that it meets requirements for all regions of the world. If what you are saying is true, his first comment should have been, "No matter where you live this fluid will comply." See the difference? The "WS" title has no relevance to the lifetime of the fluid.

It Toyota thinks the fluid is good for the lifetime of the car, they should rename it "Lifetime World Standard Fluid." Just by saying it's a "World Standard" fluid only implies it's good for all regions of the world but has nothing to do with the longevity of the fluid.

 

If you have a fluid exchange pump which you need to fill from the filler hole its a 5 to 10 minute job. Simpler than an oil change as there's no oil filter. Fluid a full list orcs is $28. So the dealer should be able to do it less than $50 total if they charge $100 hour labor.

 

A funnel and 3+ feet of hose will do.

I'd scale transaxle fluid change slightly more difficult than an oil change, at least for a DIY'r, because:

1. You're likely going to need the whole car raised and horizontal: due to to the lack of a dipstick and the method of checking level relative to the upper (fill) bolt hole.

(If you're currently just using ramps for oil changes, the minimum extra investment is 2 safety stands and a floor jack, to raise the back and get the car level. Or with 2 more safety stands you can dispense with the ramps: raise the whole car and set it down on safety stands, my preference.)

2. There's 2 bolts and washers to remove/install/torque, and they need a 10mm hex socket.

3. Fill is a bit more awkward, requiring something, either a special funnel with hose, or a pump.

 

Since this is a 2G forum, pls note that the fill plug requires a 24 mm socket.

 

Dooh #2

Well, you still need a hex socket for one them I hope. Ok, I'll slink away.

 

Actually, just driving up on a pair of $20 service ramps works just fine. A lot less work than using a jack on each side to get it up on jack stands.

YouTube - Prius Transaxle Transmission Fluid Service

 

You do not need to raise the car level. Driving up on service ramps is just fine. It's about a 3 degree difference vs being perfectly level and won't effect the amount drained. I drained 3.9 qts and added back exactly 3.9 qts. Doing it through the front filler also means you can't overfill by accident.

The extra fill plug on the front is easier to remove than the extra oil filter on the bottom. For me, it took less time than an oil, but I used a fluid exchanger. If you use a funnel and a hose, I'm pretty sure it that would make it more time consuming than an oil change.

 

I guess you get comfortable with one method or the other. Having the car on jackstands is useful for multiple services, say brake inspection or tire rotation.

As to jacking method, I raise the front end with the front jacking point, 2 jackstands in at the two front rocker panel jacking points, then repeat for the back, if I want the whole car up.

 

Say the ramp is one foot high and the car is 15 feet long, for a ratio of 1/15.

If the ATF tank is 30 cm long, you are overfilling by 2 cm.

My advice for anyone filling on an incline is to open the fill plug once the car is level and let the excess drain out.

 

Yea, but no you're trying to have your cake and eat too. You said it was harder than an oil change because you needed to use 4 jackstands as opposed to just raising the front of the car for an engine oil change.

If you decide to raise on 4 jackstands, then the transaxle change is still easier than an oil change if you have a fluid exchanger.

 

The height of my service ramps is 6" which is more than enough to change engine oil, coolant, transaxle, etc. This works out to 1.9 degrees of rotation which is still nearly flat. If you do it in your driveway which must have a minimum of 1/8" per foot of slope, then it's 1.3 degrees.

 

The length from front to rear wheels is 106 inches, so the ratio using only your front ramps is 6/106 = 1:17.66. I have little doubt you are over filling 1 - 2 cm higher than "bottom of the fill hole on level ground," as recommended by Toyota.

 

That's unlikely given the same amount of fluid was put back in as came out

 

Just a note on refilling, I use a(new clean) pumpup sprayer to put fluid in hard to reach areas of engine/transmission just cut off sprayhead. Easy to measure correct amount of fluid into sprayer pump up and pull trigger.

 

Good point. I used ramps on a moderately downsloping driveway, and I suppose the car ended up very close to level. What ever works for you. I gotta say though:

Ramps made me nervous; I was always concerned I was going to go off the front of them, or the side. And once or twice I had them kick out when trying to start up. Depends on the material a lot I guess.

Once I started using jack and safety stands I appreciated that method's advantages: no need to start up the car, can be done easily in a confined garage, allows you to take wheels off, and so on.

The one big source of nerves with a car up on jackstands: that something is going to bust while you're under there. I make a rule now to always put something thicker than me and more solid under there first

 

I use 4 homemade solid wood ramps to raise the car and keep it level. Works very well. Pictures here:
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...-visual-inspection-dummies-5.html#post1206928

 

I use jackstands too, and also leave the hydraulic pump in place as a precaution. It is also a good idea to put stops of some kind in front and back of tyres to prevent the car rolling.

 

In one of the pics you can just see a ramp on the rear tire as well. So, I gather you push one of these ramps in front of all four tires, and drive up onto them. Effectively the whole car staying level and rising.

The only concern I would have is they might get out-of-sync somehow, ie: one or more kicks out a bit. But I suspect that doesn't happen in practice.

Interesting!

 

Exactly! And actually in both pictures you can see the rear tire on a ramp.

So far they haven't got kicked out yet. The lip of the ramp is pretty thin/shallow so it slides under the tire pretty well. The ramps are relatively heavy also.