Changing Transaxle oil

I still have one of the plastic bottles with a little bit of WS in it from when I changed my fluid. I will take a look at it to see if it has any markings when I get a chance.

 

No "WPP" on the bottom of my bottles, just "A32", a symbol which looks like concentric "C"s and the recycle symbol. That's it on the bottom of my bottles.

Zhe Wiz

 

I last bought WS about a year ago, have around 150 ml left over in the tin can. The can has a *lot* of Japanease writing on it, claims "Made in Japan."

 

My guess is that Mobil makes ATF WS sold in the US, based upon two facts:

1. the black quart bottle shape is the same as that used for Mobil 1 oil, with the fat bottle opening which is normally found in gallon-size containers. I don't see other oil manufacturers using this quart container.
2. Mobil makes ATF 3309 which is equivalent to ATF T-IV

Mobil ATF 3309

 

cSt@40C / cSt@100C / index
7.4 / 35.3 / 183 - Type T-IV (PdMA)
7.2 / 35 / 180 - Mobil ATF 3309 (web specifications)
6.4 / 30.7 / 166 - Red Line D6 ATF (pdf specifications)
5.5 / 24.6 / 171 - Type WS (PdMA)

It sure looks like Mobil ATF 3309 would be a Type T-IV substitute.

Bob Wilson

 

Hi Bob,
Yes I will pull a sample at 2K on the Redline. I am going to have my original WS at 6K analyzed also as the UOA place you recommended in Tampa I drive by about once a month so I plan on going there next week too.Thanks.

 

Thanks for asking about my buddy Rambo. He's a 10 year old Shetland. Runt of the litter.Shetland's are very strange. One person dog (me) and very timid
and easily spooked.Extremely well behaved and always looking to please.Perfect house dog. So different than my last dog Eddie a Fox Terrier nut job who was fearless.


Trying tonight to upload some pics but there all 3Meg size and the PC server does not like them.

 

Hi Ed,

If you are looking at your photos file album in Windows and right-click on the file of interest, a drop-down menu should appear. One of the options is to e-mail the photo. If you select that option, you will be given the choice to reduce the size of the file. Then you can e-mail the reduced photos to yourself, copy the reduced files to your desktop, and finally upload to the forum.

 

We have a nut job named Digby. He is wild in the house and my other dog Dingo is very calm and well behaved. When we go out for a walk, they switch personalities. Digby becomes a well behaved dog, and I have to watch out to make sure Dingo doesn't get too close to unfamiliar dogs.

 

ugh hate having to bump older threads. I was looking at Hobbits very informative step step guide on this, but it's beyond my ability probably

does anyone have a guide with pictures for gen II's that is a bit less technical. He removed the inverter, etc. Also can you do this without jackstands? all I have are ramps and wheel blocks. I can get the WS fluid for 4.95 qt. and want to do this.

I have the 3 foot tube and proper funnel, + the basic tools.

 

Yes this is our position as well from the head mechanic who is our 'Prius Certified' specialist. The transaxel oil in the 2004+ vehicle never has to be changed. In fact such a service is not found anywhere in the Owner's Maintenance Manual. Now additional precautions are usually not a bad thing....but there's no requirement. Our store does not do it unless specifically requested.

 

Hi Matt,

Just for fun, Hobbit removed the inverter. This certainly is not required for a routine transaxle fluid change.

You will need to raise up the front of the vehicle so that you can easily find the transaxle fill plug on the side of the transaxle that faces the radiator. So, whatever means you have to raise the front safely will be satisfactory.

Hi Bob,

You may recall that Classic vehicles had a rash of transaxle failures in the past. This prompted the idea of used fluid testing. Bob Wilson showed great leadership in getting samples from many Prius located in a variety of geographic areas, and a complete library of those samples is stored at Yahoo toyota-prius-sat2 group files (you may have to join the group to access this.)
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/toyota-prius-sat2/files/transaxle%20oil%20tests/

That testing showed consistently high levels of Si and Fe in the used fluid. Although the 2G transaxle is apparently more robust and reliable based upon relatively few failures being reported, used fluid testing on a sample of those vehicles also shows the same relatively high Si and Fe content.

Since a failed transaxle is the most costly hybrid-related part that could fail (much more than a failed traction battery, inverter, or HV ECU) it makes sense to me to change that fluid regularly as a preventive move. I personally enjoy draining the nasty dark used fluid out of the transaxle, cleaning the drain plug magnet, and pouring the clean new fluid into the funnel.

What amuses me is to have the parts clerks at some of my local dealerships here in Orange County warn me about how hard it is to change the fluid, that you have to be worried about the temp of the transaxle, and other such uninformed BS. Transaxle temp is relevant when changing fluid on a conventional transmission, but irrelevant with Prius.

 

It is for the Canadian Maintenance Menu.

There is nothing unique about operation in Canada vs the US. Temps in the Northern Plains and Alaska are just as cold as Manitoba.

Yet Toyota Canada requires a Prius transaxle fluid change, and TMSUSA does not

Based on the personal observations of my recently sold 2004, a Prius owner has the highest benefit by doing the initial fluid change at around 16,000 km. I noticed that subsequent fluid changes, the fluid remained clean

 

Patrick I looked down behind the inverter and can not spot the fill hole. I rode up onto my ramps and was able to find the drain hole.

While I was under there i drained 1/4 or so of oil since the dealer put 4 quart in. Brought it just shy of the full mark. I'm a bit leary of my ramps, they are quite old and are not the best quality, plus a small crack near the bottom, I don't trust them anymore to crawl under the car completely for any extended period of time.

back to the fill hole, I guess you just fish the tube down, crawl under and guide it in.I would really like to drain this old gunk out, and replenish with fresh blood..but I think it might be more trouble than I can deal with since I can barely reach the fill hole with the ramp system I have.

will check with the dealer on prices, I already have the fluids.

 

Hi Matt,

Yes, you will not be able to see the fill hole by standing in front of the car and looking down. You must crawl under the car so that you are looking upwards into the space between the transaxle and the radiator. Then you should be able to see the 24 mm fill plug on the side of the transaxle.

If a ramp has a crack in it, then I'd suggest that you discard the pair now. When you find out how much your dealer will charge for the transaxle fluid replacement you may decide to invest that money instead into a hydraulic floor jack and a pair of decent jackstands, so that you can DIY this job as well as many others. Good luck.

 

Hobbit took this photo a long time ago. I added arrows to the drain and fill plugs



You can see why it's so hard to find the fill plug, it's partially hidden.

Get new ramps ASAP

 

This is what I needed!
Thanks!!!!

 

The photos show Prius' belly with some plastic panels removed. Do this, and the transaxle servicing becomes quite easy.

Yeah, ramp safety. You think if I used cinder blocks I'd admit it here???

 

ahh thanks for the pic. So you fish the tube down, crawl under and guide it in correct? That's not so bad. I'm going to check on getting a some Gorilla Ramps. The ones I have are 6 years old, wal mart special..not the best.

 

I just did a "WS upgrade" to yet another friend-of-a-friend's
2002, and it was pretty easy. You don't need to get the car
fully up on ramps -- in fact tilting the thing way up like that
may allow less old fluid to drain out, and give you a misleading
level indication on refill since the [proper] fill hole is on
the front. I just did like I do for oil changes, use a scissor
jack to *partially* unweight one side of the car which raises
it by several inches and allows much more room to crawl under.
As in the oil-change case I raised the opposite side to where
I was working, but it's less clear how a gentle side-to-side tilt
affects the case of transaxle draining. I managed to do it
without removing any of the under-plastic, just barely getting
the socket head up past the edge of it to the fill plug.
.
I'm also about to do my own fluid again since I'm up over 100K,
and expect to find a healthy amount of pinkness left since what's
in there is its second load. I'm debating a full analysis, but
I already hear Bob jumping up and down over there... and this
time, really, the only reason to mess with the inverter would be
to get to some of the firewall ground points behind it just to
check up on their corrosion level. Nothing to do with transaxle
fluid. The front plug is the right/simple way to fill; the top
plug was an entertaining discovery and convenient at the time
given everything else that was going on.
.
The hardest part is figuring out when to stop when re-adding
fluid, without dribbling a lot of it out the fill hole. A
flashlight and inspection mirror can give some indication of how
close you are, as the "finger test" can sometimes be misleading
as you pick up some fluid from the hole threads. The Classic
of a couple of days ago took a little less than 4.5 quarts;
remember that that's about a quart more than a second-gen.
.
_H*