DIY Transmission Fluid Change?

About $12 with shipping. Still a better deal though.

 

I found a simple funnel and hose worked just fine. It's also less apparatus to either clean after, or keep segregated (you don't want to use it for other fluids).

Put a good sized drain pan underneath, dump in 3 liters, then dump in about another 250cc (a cup), and go have a look under for overflow. If not, dump in another 250cc, that should do it.

 

That doesn't involve buying new toys.

 

Yeah the thing about Harbor Freight their stuff is always on sale

Also to anyone shopping there don't leave home without your 20% off coupons I have about 15.

Great store for cheap Chinese stuff that is marked up elsewhere, but yeah if you're not near one eBay is a good alternative.

 

Yeah, I do feel like a party pooper. I've got an aptitude for stamping out frivolity, I guess.

OTOH, there's a perverse joy in accomplishing stuff the simple way.

Normal people carry around pics of the (grand)kids. Me:

 

exactly!

But I did buy a funnel with a hose as well as the pump. Hobbit's page had the funnel method and moving the inverter and all that. I popped the hood, said screw that, and went with the pump. Glad I did as it was super easy.

 

There's very few things that bring more excitement than a reason to buy a new toy......

I have an HFT about 1 mile from my house. I tend to frequent their store more often than Home Cheapo or Lowes when it comes to tools.

I also get about 3 or 4 of those 20% off coupons a month. Usually you can just print it from their website or grab a flyer when you walk in the door and it has them too. I wanted to use one for a motorcycle jack, but the 20% coupon claims it's not valid on floor jacks. I thought about trying and arguing, but for now, I don't wanna spend the money on one.

 

I buy hand tools from Sears because they are made in the USA and I'm sick of outsourcing but all the one off things or one use things come from Harbor Freight, decent stuff and a great return policy if it sucks. Their jacks seem to hold up well I bought the 2-ton cherry picker for a tranny swap and used it about 5-6 times now pulling engines in the year and a half I've had it and it's done fine.

 

I just got my $19.99 pump from the ebay guy (the.tool.barn)
eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

It came direct from Harbor Freight, all the Tool Barn guy did was order it from Harbor freight and pocket the $8.00 or so difference. I didn't mind paying a little extra to help out a small businessman, but when said small businessman acts like that it kind of ticks me off.

Beware of the.tool.barn on eBay.

 

Fancy, fancy. My tube is jerry-rigged to the funnel.

 

I changed the fluid in my 2010 a few days ago. That pump was a godsend. 8-10 pumps per quart of WS and bam moved on to the next one. So easy. Sucks you got taken we've all been there! But even at $20 it's not a horrible deal, and will save you a ton of time. At first I was going to just snake a tube down into the fill hole but couldn't figure out how people were doing it. I'm glad I had that pump.

I did have an issue popping the 10mm hex nuts out of the tranny. They were in there TIGHT. I used a long 3/8" flex ratchet and pulled HARD. I would buy new crush washers. I did not and could tell I kinda had to snug up the plug a bit more than usual. For something you do every 30k or so not really a big deal...

The old fluid had 43k on it, and smelled OK. Not *great*, but not burnt and still doing its job. I did notice a much more smoother shifting/acceleration (does this car have a CVT?) and when the engine kicks in was smoother as well. I did this at 43k and most likely will do it again at 60k just to get on track with the regular 30k changes, I like round numbers.

 

Toyota calls it a CVT but in the conventional sense it isn't. It's a planetary gear set with two electric motor/generators. It is operated by a computer and acts like a CVT. But it's better than a conventional transmission or CVT because there are no belts or clutches and the gears never shift or disengage.

http://eahart.com/prius/psd/
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/hybrid-car7.htm

I noticed the plugs were tight on mine also. I have done two changes now and still haven't replaced the washers, because I forgot to pick some up. No leaks or drips though and I'll get new washers the next time for sure.

 

My drain plug was on there extremely tight as well. The largest wrench I had was 18in, and given the enclosed quarters and my big body, it was hard to maneuver it to open.

But that pump was super nice. Just stuff the tube in the quart container and go. I would have gladly paid $40 for such a pump, so I don't feel ripped off. Also the seller used the eBay/PayPal shipping label and it showed $5-and-change shipping for the box. So basically $15-($12+tax)=$3 profit for listing it on ebay and me not having to go anywhere. I'll accept that.

My fluid was changed around 85K miles and boy oh boy that was too long. The car feels even peppier than it did and my mileage has "shot up" by like 1mpg - 2mpg or so average. My fluid was almost pitch black. I saved a sample and am debating whether or not to send it out for analysis.

 

This happened to me on Ebay, bought a tree trimmer, got a Harbor Freight tree trimmer for $10 over what I could have gotten it for. I complained BEFORE I left feedback and they sent me $10 back. I wouldn't have complained except I have a Harbor Freight 2 miles from my house.

 

Thanks for the info!

Convention wisdom says you replace the washers so you don't risk stripping the threads on the aluminum pan (oil pan) or worse tranny case in this case. I assume it's aluminum at least, not much else it could be. An oil pan can be dropped and retapped but good luck with doing that on the tranny.

Also my plug didn't have a magnet on it, I'm thinking about buying some rare earth magnets and putting them on the underside of the tranny case near the plug. Good idea or think it will screw up the electronics and/or motor/generators?

Wish this car had a tranny filter as well, kinda annoying that it doesn't. Makes me feel a lot better. Does this car have an oil cooler that runs through the radiator? Or does the fluid not get cooled? I haven't looked at it enough. If it runs through the radiator you can typically install an in-line filter on those hoses.

 

I agree new washers should be used each time.

No oil cooler but I don't think enough heat is generated in there to warrant one. The inverters do generate some heat but they set on top of the transaxle, not inside it, and have their own cooling system. I monitor inverter coolant with my scan gauge and it usually runs 10-20 degrees F. more than the ambient temperature.

I see no problem with a magnetic drain plug, there won't be enough magnetism to interfere with anything. I am not sure I would want a steel plug in that aluminum case though, if you could find one with aluminum threads it might be better?

 

Actually, the inverter coolant goes through the transaxle to cool the fluid. The drain plug for the inverter coolant loop is on the bottom of the transaxle.

When I monitored the MG1 and MG2 temperatures on an interstate trip running 75-80 mph, MG1 ran about 195 F and MG2 ran about 175 F. So the MG's run at some high temperatures.

 

Yes your right, wow I actually knew that at one time and forgot it. I even checked the torque on the inverter coolant drain plug when the TSB came out.

I checked MG temps for a month or so summer before last, and saw about the same as you, less in the winter.

Here is a link to our x-gage temperature readings thread: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...ion/75554-observed-temperatures-x-gauges.html

 

How can I tell if my 2009 Pkg 5 Prius Has Synthetic Oil?

I just bought a pre-loved 2009 Prius, from a local Toyota dealership. How can I tell if the car already has been using Synthetic Oil? Should I just call the Auto Mechanic listed on the CarFAX that did all the oil changes for the past 3 years? The oil/filter was changed every 8000 miles based on the CarFAX. Is that a normal range to change the oil on a Prius?

 

Re: How can I tell if my 2009 Pkg 5 Prius Has Synthetic Oil?

:welcome: Good to have you. Actually your question might get a better answer on this forum: Gen II Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting - PriusChat Forums

I would say yes call the mechanic by all means and find out everything you can about your Prius. I think the engine oil change interval on your car is 5K miles but 8K with a good quality synthetic oil such as Mobil 1 should be just fine. But ask on the other forum to be sure.

This thread is about transaxle fluid changes which most of us do every 30K miles. Ask the mechanic about that also, it may never have been done. If you decide to have the transaxle fluid changed tell the mechanic to use only Toyota ATF-WS fluid.