Transmission flush, brake bleeding and oil change

[06YarisRS]

Working down through my routine maintenance checklist.

Transmission service: I've been wondering what the fluid looks like after the transmission has been under heavier load with the turbo. It's been working great with no signs of issues. I had changed out the fluid in the fall (2 drain and fills). The fluid came out clear and clean, with zero debris in it. I strained it to see if there was anything untoward in the fluid. I did one drain and fill and will do another as I have 3 quarts of WS left.





Brake Bleeding: This is what came out, again, like the ATF, no debris or signs of moisture. Pretty clean. This process was done about a year ago. My son helped me by being my brake pumper.



Gotta keep that evil corrosive brake fluid off the hardware.



Front calipers:



No pics of rear wheel cylinder bleeding.

No pics of oil change as those have been seen 1000 times. I used SuperTech 5W30 Full Syn and an OEM filter this time.

[CrankyOldMan]

Pro tip: there's a removable panel above the master cylinder reservoir. Makes it much easier to access it. ;)

[06YarisRS]

Originally Posted by CrankyOldMan

Pro tip: there's a removable panel above the master cylinder reservoir. Makes it much easier to access it. ;)

No kidding, eh? I did not know that. I'll have to take a look. Thanks.

[lorne]

I have a 2007 domestic Japanese Vitz with full-time AWD (badged as 4WD). It has a 1.3 L. 2NZ-FE engine, and an "ETC" 4-speed auto transmission. It's a 'Japan Rail East' ex-rental car with 166K kms (103K miles).

Everything from Toyota that I read, as well as a label on the auto transmission dipstick says "Not necessary to change transmission fluid, except under especially harsh conditions. Rear drive fluid is different; see owner's manual." Other information I've found says the fluid should last the life of the transmission — or car, I can't remember which.

So, I am eager to read opinions on this. And yes, I have trawled the site for answers.

And, 06YarisRS-san: did you drop the pan, or suck it out with a vacuum pump?

Cheers, and thanks in advance

[lorne]

Answering my own question: I trawled the site again and found all kinds of opinions on this question of changing ATF. I don't wanna waste anyone's time, so unless someone really wants to chime in, I'll just let it be.

BTW: I used to do all my own fluid changes, and I filled a couple of drums up. Recycling oil here in Japan is really difficult — at least AFAIK. So I started going to garages. I hate doing this cuz for decades I serviced and repaired everything myself and have a lot of tools.

So my plan is to get them to get Toyota to drop the pan, drain, clean any magnets. (Toyota told me 3 years ago there was no filter !!!) ... and then replace the 2 -3 litres that come out. And do it again in two years when the next mandatory licencing inspection comes around. Gotta do the rear diff too. SIGH!

[06YarisRS]

That sounds like an amazing car you have. AWD on a Yaris. Never heard of that before.

I'm guessing that you've come to the conclusion that a lifetime ATF is a fallacy. Yes, a car will reach its expected life without fluid service, but that 'expected life' is much shorter than it would be with maintenance. ATF will collect debris - even though it's a closed system. I have seen contamination in the transmissions of cars with less than a few thousand kms on them. Contamination could be from initial break in of the clutch packs and possibly some swarf from the manufacturing process even though I think they take steps to clean everything. I have changed the ATF on very low km vehicles that I've purchased. For example, I bought a Kia Rondo with 12000 kms on it. The fluid I drained was cloudy and opaque. After a couple flush and fills and another 30000 - 40000 kms, the fluid was crystal clear.

I did change the filter on the 2008 LE that I sold not long ago. I have not yet changed the filter on my turbo RS. I don't worry about its condition as the fluid in the system is impeccably clean. I will, though, at some point in the not too distant future, change that. There is a drain bolt on the trans pan that takes a 10mm hex.

I hear ya about stockpiling used fluid. In my case, it's very useful as I use it as a rustproofing agent. My neighbour gets a gallon or so from me on occasion to rustproof his vehicles.

[lorne]

Originally Posted by 06YarisRS

That sounds like an amazing car you have. AWD on a Yaris. Never heard of that before. >>>>SNIP>>>>>>>

Thanks for answering. Yes, the AWD rendition is unusual, because it was AFAIK largely a domestic Japanese model. A lot of quite usual Japanese cars come with an AWD/4WD option due to the ruggedness of the country and the snowy conditions that can prevail in Honshu and Hokkaido winters.

This is a 2nd gen Vitz. It came me to me through my Japanese in-laws, one of whom works for Japan Rail East car rentals. So it spent a good number of its 166K Kms in Fukushima Prefecture where there is some very rugged country that can be choked with snow in the winter.

On this site, I found a link to a Russian YouTube presentation that featured a model that allowed the 4WD to be uncoupled on a switch in the centre consul. On mine there's an outline in the plastic where that switch would have gone, but AFAIK the 2nd gen car did not have this facility. Consequently, fuel economy suffers. The VVT-i wakes up the engine when you crack the whip, and there's no hint of torque steer.

I am waiting for a Haynes manual that hopefully will include more info. In the meantime, I've trawled around trying to find out stuff. Now I am 99% sure there is no filter in the transmission. I confirmed this last night using a link on this site that led me to a parts list for this exact model. I also learned that there is a transfer case to the right side and aft off the AT housing. The driveshaft for the rear diff appears to be in two pieces with a central bearing and universal knuckles at each end. The coupling is viscous, but I don't know at which end. The rear diff does not look like the usual banjo type, but is rather squarish with a protective plate bolted under it. The rear drive shafts have gatored drive boots like the common front ones.

My approach this time around will be to let Toyota do a front to back service: LOF, ATF change for the 2-3 Litres they may get out of it (no way I'm going to flush an AT that I don't know its history) transfer case drain and fill, and the same for the rear diff. And while it's in the air, I'll have the brake hydraulics flushed. I'll have them record all the fluid types. ¥¥¥¥¥ but next time around, I'll do most of this myself, piecemeal. In the meantime I have to figure out what to do with 30 or so Litres of used oil I've stored up over 20 years!

Wish me luck, cuz my Japanese falters badly on these sorts of occasions.

[lorne]

OK ... I picked the brains of the manager at Toyota today and got an appointment for some service. ¥¥¥¥¥ after decades of self-reliance, I don't like paying out the money. But the estimate looked reasonable, and I will not be lying in my driveway in pools of oil blah blah. And next time around I'll being doing the maintenance and knowing what I'm doing.

Now, not to get too far off topic ... some news. On the AWD (they badge as 4WD) the transfer case uses the same fluid as the transmission. The fluid is shared. This is despite an apparent contradiction on the AT's dipstick. I questioned the manager sharply about this, but he insisted this is the case.

The NCP95-AHPNK does not have an AT filter. Now Toyota (the NETZ division) says yer good to go after a drain for 50K. (So much for the "lifetime" claim so commonly bandied about!) This particular trans was drained at 144K Kms. Today at 166K Kms, I showed them the colour of the ATF. They were rather surprised because 5 Litres came out the last time it was drained 22K Kms ago. And the whole thing holds only 6.5 Litres.

So, they agreed with my theory that the car rental company (a previous owner) cared little about maintenance (duh). There must be some crud stored up in the casing. So it was decided by me, the manager and the mechanic to drop the pan, dump everything and clean the magnets.

Another mystery was solved: the viscous coupling for the AWD is in the rear diff — something that was being wondered about in a thread from some years ago.

These cars are a bit of a mystery in places outside of Japan. I hope these tidbits help fill in a gap or two.

06YarisRS: you should be OK with drains cuz I'm sure you have that rather large filter, and you say your ATF is clear.

— Lorne