Auto Tranny Fill Level

[Petrucci914]

Hey,I had my tranny flushed about a year ago with AMSOIL Universal ATF. I've always complained about the tranny because I think most of the time it sucks at shifting. I checked my fluid level today after driving 15 minutes from work on the highway and the fluid level was about an inch above the highest HOT tick-mark. At cold it is around the HOT area. Is this way over full? I remember purchasing the number of quarts that the manual said and an extra that they needed to run through and then I got it back. With their flush machine wouldn't it be impossible to overfill? Thoughts?

[kevera]

Sounds overfilled to me.Being overfilled will make it shift like crap,sluggish like.You filled it with AMSOIL Universal ATF,not flushed it with,right.Edit:did you check the fluid with the engine running or not.

[Petrucci914]

I had it entirely flushed and replaced with the AMSOIL ATF. I checked it cold and I checked it today after driving 15 minutes on the highway as I mentioned in my first post.

[joatmon]

THe owners manual has a procedure to follow for checking it, I'll assume what you did was similar and the level is too high.You said you had the fluid replaced a year ago. Has it always been this high since then, is this being high a new development, or is this the first time you noticed and can't say how long it has been too high?I am all for keeping the levels where they ought to be. I am not sure what the effect would be of having too much, all the owners manual says is that if it is overfilled, some might leak out, perhaps onto hot exhaust and catch fire. I don't know if it has an easy drain, but if not maybe one of the cooling lines to the radiator would be an easy thing to open to drain some out.

[Lancer]

Check it after it's warm, and while the engine is running. Mine is high, too when I checked it with it not running.It wont catch fire, just smoke a little.

[Petrucci914]

I believe it is to be low when it is cold and get higher when it warms up. They say that overfilling a tranny is very very bad. You'll get bubbles in the fluid, it'll overheat, it won't circulate well, you'll have poor shifting, lack of down and upshifting..........etc..........same type of syptoms I've been *****ing about. It must have been this way since I had it flushed. I guess I shouldn't have trusted the professionals and checked it myself. I'll have to drain some tomorrow.........an inch or so above the hot level on the dipstick.........not cool. At cold it was at the hot level.

[Petrucci914]

Brought it into where I got it flushed. He said the flushing machines cannot possibly overfill. He checked the level and it's fine.......my dumbass didn't check the level when it was running. He thought he heard a vacuum leak or a hissing sound but is unsure if that is actually normal or not for our engines. Do you guys hear that? He took it for a drive and realizes what I'm complaining about. He said the shift points are kind of crappy and that I should get it re-mapped but then he looked on his computer and nobody will do a recoding of the ECU. So I guess my best bet is the UNICHIP?

[joatmon]

for future reference, the 2003 vibe owners manual has this procedure for checking the fluid levelQuote »p 6-24How to CheckBecause this operation can be a little difficult, you maychoose to have this done at the dealership servicedepartment.If you do it yourself, be sure to follow all theinstructions here, or you could get a false readingon the dipstick.NOTICE:Too much or too little fluid can damage yourtransaxle. Too much can mean that some of thefluid could come out and fall on hot engine partsor exhaust system parts, starting a fire. Too littlefluid could cause the transaxle to overheat. Besure to get an accurate reading if you check yourtransaxle fluid.p 6-25Wait at least 30 minutes before checking the transaxlefluid level if you have been driving: When outside temperatures are above 90F (32C). At high speed for quite a while. In heavy traffic -- especially in hot weather. While pulling a trailer.To get the right reading, the fluid should be at normaloperating temperature, which is 158F to 176F(70C to 80C).Get the vehicle warmed up by driving about 15 miles(24 km) when outside temperatures are above 50F(10C). If it’s colder than 50F (10C), you mayhave to drive longer.Checking the Fluid LevelPrepare your vehicle as follows: Park your vehicle on a level place. Keep the enginerunning. With the parking brake applied, place the shift leverin PARK (P). With your foot on the brake pedal, move the shiftlever through each gear range, pausing for aboutthree seconds in each range. Then, position the shiftlever in PARK (P). Let the engine run at idle for three to five minutes. p 6-26Then, without shutting off the engine, followthese steps:The automatic transaxledipstick has an orangehandle and is located nearthe front of the enginecompartment. See “EngineCompartment Overview” inthe Index for moreinformation on location.1. Release the tab and pull out the dipstick and wipe itwith a clean rag or paper towel.2. Push it back in all the way, wait three seconds andthen pull it back out again.3. Check both sides of the dipstick, and read the lowerlevel. The fluid level must be between the twodimples in the hot range.4. If the fluid level is in the acceptable range, push thedipstick back in all the way; then press the tab downto lock the dipstick in place.

[djb383]

Yep, same procedure for '05.

[goodvibe]

How did it shift before the amsoil? There's no such thing as a universal fluid for modern autos.

[Petrucci914]

Yes, there is. AMSOIL Universal ATF. $9 a quart.

[kevera]

The unichip does not change shift points.I would put the proper fluid in your tranny,see if it makes a difference.

[joatmon]

Quote, originally posted by Petrucci914 »I believe it is to be low when it is cold and get higher when it warms up. They say that overfilling a tranny is very very bad. You'll get bubbles in the fluid, it'll overheat, it won't circulate well, you'll have poor shifting, lack of down and upshifting..........etc..........same type of syptoms I've been *****ing about. It must have been this way since I had it flushed. I guess I shouldn't have trusted the professionals and checked it myself. Have the symptoms you've been asterisking about been there since it was flushed?There's got to be a technical reason for the incompatibility between different types of ATF, and I'm skeptical of claims that one fluid can be universally compliant with all of those different specs. Before going after an ECU tuning, I'd follow kevera's advice and try putting the fluid the tranny was designed to operate on back in, and see if that has an effect on the issues.

[Petrucci914]

The fluid specificially states that it is certified for Toyota Type-T and Type-T IV. The fluid is fine. It shifts the same crappily way it did before the flush. I got it flushed hoping it would correct the issue. I was told that the UNICHIP seems to make shifting a lot smoother.