I read in the owner's manual that a 96 TL is supposed to take 2.9 quarts of tranny fluid when changing it. But, when I drained it, only a little less than a quart came out.

I figured that maybe it leaked somewhere, so that's why I didn't get 3 qts out of it. I dumped 2.9 qts in anyway, and the now dipstick tells me I'm way overfilled (probably by 2 qts).

I pulled the drain plug, and nothing dropped into the pan. The tranny drain plug is the one you just stick the 3/8" ratchet onto w/o using a socket, right? Could I have drained the wrong thing?

Any ideas why no drain? I did had the dipstick pulled out, so that's not it. Should I even worry about it being overfilled? Why didn't I get 3 qts when draining initially?

Any help is great, guys. Thanks!
-Alan

 

The first generation TL has differential fluid that we can change also. also uses th 3/8" ractchet to open.

 

Hmm. I guess I'll look around to see if I can find another of the 3/8" ratchet bolts. Thanks!

 

Ever considered having the tranny power flushed and back flushed from the oil cooler lines? I understand it is much more comprehensive than simply draining and it can be done without ever disturbing the seals or removing the pan which may cause a leak.

 

My dumbass drained the differential gear oil. I was unaware that there were 2 drainplugs w/ the 3/8 ratchet hole (you don't need to put a socket on the wrench). I have found the correct drianplug; It's located further towards the rear of the car. So I will buy some gear oil today & try to refill the diff & do the tranny fluid on the weekend.

How do you know if you should get the tranny flushed? I've got 82K on the car now....

Thanks for the help. Does anyone know where to get a repair manual for the 96 TL?

-Alan

 

you can do a tranny flush whenever you feel your tranny is rough...after you flush it, it should shift smoothly. considering the fact that TL's have bad trannys, a flush is a must. i have a friend who has over a 100k miles in his moms legend and he said that the tranny was sluggish and was stiff when shifting gears...so he did a tranny flush and it was smooth again.

one more thing mister 2, do you have a toyota? perhaps a MR2??? if so, what year? is it a turbo? i love mr2's (the old model)

 

Hey man...don't feel bad. I did the same thing when it came to changing my tranny oil, except I couldn't get the damn differential bolt off. Therefore, I didn't get as far as you did. But anyways, I do want to drain the differential fluid. After draining it (we both now know where that bolt is ) where do you fill it back and how much fluid do you use. Oh yeah, I have a 1998 2.5 ( I can't remember your profile) Your response will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Conteez
mcontes@hotmail.com

 

The refill hole is located on the front side of the diff, and you'll use a 17mm crescent wrench to loosen the plug. I put in 1 quart of Mobil1 gear oil.

One great tool you'll definitely need is an oil pump. It screws onto the gear oil bottle, and the end of the hose has a doohicky on it to hold it in the refill hole. The tool is hand operated and costs about $5 at Discount Auto Parts. I'm sure Napa has something like it (if DAP is not in your part of the country). That tool saved me loads of time. I don't think you could even fill the diff w/o it! The whole operation took me 30 minutes from setup to clean up.

Let me know if have trouble finding the filler hole. Good luck, man.

 

Thanks man! I'll give it a shot this weekend. By the way....did you have difficulty getting that drain bolt loose (Diff. bolt) As metioned earlier, I was never able to get mine off when I originally tried to drain the tranny fluid. Let me know at your convenience. Thanks again!

Conteez

 

Other than the obvious (like making sure you're cranking counter-clockwise), you can either get a long breaker bar tool or slide a metal pipe over the handle of your socket wrench. You simply need more leverage, and these options should do it for ya. You may want to try grunting and cursing a little, too.

I had no problem w/ my drain plug, though.

 

I just replaced my tranny fluid on Saturday, and yes, it was pretty difficult to break the bolt free. After a few minutes of cursing and grunting, I finally used a rubber mallet to gently loosen the bolt. One word of advice, don't forget to use a new washer every time you replace the trans fluid or the oil. This helps insure a leak free installation everytime!!

 

I have an automatic so unless you guys have 5 speed why did no one mention changing the tranny filter or our cars don't have one? Help me out because mine seems to shift a little rough at times.

 

Filter or not?

 

The guy behind the counter at the Honda parts Dept says you never need to change the filter. It is internal, and access to is virtually impossible. He said that he's never heard of a Honda tranny going bad because of the filter. This is probably why the manual recommends changing the fluid every 15K miles, too.

There's no pan to drop on the bottom of the tranny either.

 

Thanks.

 

bull**** i just changed my filter in my trans

the dealer told you that because they dont the the filter seperate you have to go to an auto parts store to get one

 

How do you get at it? There's no pan on the bottom of the tranny, so where is the filter?

 

mine is a 1996 3.2tl

the trans pan is in the middle of the vehicle

there is about 14 bolts drop it down undo the filter and your done