Hey, at least it's dark red and you can see it! Know to check while it's warm, running, and after shifting into each gear for 3 seconds?sideshowalan wrote:Thanks, I'm doing a drain/fill for a relative and I HATE trying to read an auto trans dipstick.
That will help me ballpark it without having to measure what comes out.
Adding an interesting comment to this. Al least you HAVE a dip stick to look at and measure fluid levels! The wife's G8 Gt does not have one at all! Must be GM's Holden division in Austrailaia who think you never need to check the auto trans fluid. Not worrying about it for a long time as she only has 28k miles on it. Just interesting though.sideshowalan wrote:Thanks, I'm doing a drain/fill for a relative and I HATE trying to read an auto trans dipstick.
That will help me ballpark it without having to measure what comes out.
No kidding! It's hard to find a GM car (and a growing list of others) with a dipstick anymore - if your car has one, consider yourself fortunate. Sadly we now live in a world where the accountants apparently decided that the transmission is a sealed, disposable, non-serviceable unit. And complicated fluid checking procedures ensure a good revenue stream for their service departments.tpollauf wrote: Adding an interesting comment to this. Al least you HAVE a dip stick to look at and measure fluid levels! The wife's G8 Gt does not have one at all! Must be GM's Holden division in Austrailaia who think you never need to check the auto trans fluid. Not worrying about it for a long time as she only has 28k miles on it. Just interesting though.
DUUUUH, it never leaks! Silly!cptnsolo77 wrote: What the heck are you supposed to do when it leaks ????
From what I've been able to find they're the same size bolt (same thread size) as well, so if the trans bolt uses a washer they should be the same. It would be a good thing to know before all the fluid is drained out, though.ColonelPanic wrote:Given that the drain plug is the same 14mm head as the oil plug, maybe it's the same.
Well, I could be missing something here, but as far as I'm aware the only way to get fluid back into the Vibe auto trans is through the dipstick tube.tad2much wrote:If worse comes to worst, you could refill by pouring ATF in through the dipstick spout, but that would be messy and take forever.
Correct.Mark wrote: Well, I could be missing something here, but as far as I'm aware the only way to get fluid back into the Vibe auto trans is through the dipstick tube.
Mark wrote:I couldn't find any T-IV around here, so I went by the Toyota dealer and picked up a case. He gave me a 10% discount so ~$6.50/qt. I also asked about a transmission drain plug washer and yes, there is one. Part number 90430-A0003.
It's a completely different size than the oil drain washer, and it looks and feels more like a single-use crush washer.
well, I learned something new. My previous cars have always had separate dipstick and fill holes for transmission fluid. I've had hondas and nissans, so this is my first toyota. Oh, and those were also manual transmissions now that i think about it... Sorry.sideshowalan wrote:Correct.Mark wrote: Well, I could be missing something here, but as far as I'm aware the only way to get fluid back into the Vibe auto trans is through the dipstick tube.
From my limited experience. If a car has a transmission dipstick tube, that's the only way to fill. No tube means there is another cap or bolt somewhere used to fill.
Did you ever figure out what washer is needed? I was quite close to popping the plug this afternoon but figured I'd check again into this washer issue.Mark wrote:Mark wrote:I couldn't find any T-IV around here, so I went by the Toyota dealer and picked up a case. He gave me a 10% discount so ~$6.50/qt. I also asked about a transmission drain plug washer and yes, there is one. Part number 90430-A0003.
It's a completely different size than the oil drain washer, and it looks and feels more like a single-use crush washer.
Scratch that, it's definitely the wrong gasket for my 04. The washer on my plug is smaller OD that this one's ID. The dealer is ordering a different part to see if it's the right one, he said he found two different transmissions listed for the 04 Matrix.
Here's the one on my Vibe: