Anybody ever have any problems changing trans fluid?

No truth. This job is simple drain and fill with no filter (regrettably)...and no fluid is lifetime.

 

And $3.99 per washer, two required. At least at my overpriced parts dept.

It's about on par with an oil change. You need the car raised and level, 4 liters or quarts toyota ATF-WS (it'll take around 3.5) and two of the aforementioned washers. The bolts are socket-head cap screws, requiring 10 mm hex socket. Torque is 29 ft/lb.

A funnel with 3' hose extension is simplest method to put in new fluid, just add till it overflows (with car level).

 

always remove the top plug first, it would be bad to drain and then discover you could not fill.

 

If you remove the bottom one first, then you've got motivation, when removing the top one.

 

Maybe overkill..., likely overkill but hey:

A funnel with tube extension is dead easy, and you avoid putting traces of what you last used with the pump into the transaxle.

 

Assuming you can have the car raised and level this is VERY easy.

I have four post lift and it was a doddle. Easier than an engine oil change. You'll need a transfer pump to pump the new oil in.

Looks like someone wrote it up here: Transmission fluid change DIY | PriusChat

I don't recall removing a cover but must have.. I did all the fluids in my BMW + trans/diff in my track car the same weekend so it's hard to recall. Seems a 10mm hex socket is needed. More than likely I torqued the plugs back in and reused the original washers (unless I had some in my massive assortment of crush washers).. might be wise to buy a couple of crush washers ahead of time.

 

The only problems I had were:
1) Getting enough leverage to get the plugs loose. It took a lot of muscle with a standard 3/8" ratchet.
2) Knocking over the fluid bottles and making a mess as I tried to transfer using a (new) harbor freight hand transfer pump. Next time, I'll trying going through the top with a funnel I think.

 

Sounds like you need a breaker bar. Mine is rarely used but I needed it _and_ a pole over it to take the diff drain plug off my 22K mile BMW! I use the handle of my floor jack to extend it.. about three feet from the pivot and everything so far has come out. I place a towel over the articulation in case it shatters.

Never had a problem with transfer pumps. I have two that screw onto the top of most containers automotive fluids come in

 

You shouldn't need a pipe extension on a beaker bar. Could break it too. The two bolts are only 29 ft/lb too.

 

It's actually really easy to do, just don't strip either of the bolts like I did... Turned a 20 minute job into a couple hour job.

 

Honda trannies use a socket head cap screw for drain bolt too, but with a 3/8" square recess. I remember the first time I was gearing up to change transmission fluid, I phoned up the service department, asking if they had the special tool you'd need. They checked with the mechanic, and (patiently) explained they use a regular 3/8" drive, with no socket on it.

I think a square set up like that would be pretty much strip proof, and everybody has a 3/8" drive ratchet wrench.

 

OT: you get tailgated because you block the traffic. if you drive the prevailing speed and use left lane for (quick) passing only, there will be no tailgating.

 

My typical 10-mm hex key wrench is about 3½" long, which is about 0.29 feet. 29ft-lb (NOT ft/lb!)/0.29ft=100 pounds you'd have to apply to the tip of the hex key to exert that much torque. I'd likely have trouble doing that with one hand in an awkward position under a car. A pipe or jack handle over the hex key should help lots, though.

 

A 10 mm hex bit for a standard 3/8" or 1/2" square drive would probably be my go to for such a job, fitted onto a breaker bar (torque wrench for reassembly). I have a set of hex key wrenches, but it's on the bicycle.

-Chap

 

Yeah but a breaker bar is longer to begin with, typically a minimum 16~19" handle. And the fulcrum is designed to take that torque. A regular ratchet, with much shorter handle obviously can be tough to use. Slip a pipe extension on, it may work, it might break.

Cheaper breaker bars often have a swivel head, but no ratchet mechanism. I've had a 3/8" drive one of those for a while, but needing a 1/2" drive soon, picked up a Jet, with swivel and (very solid) ratchet mechanism. Was around $60~70.

 

Left to right: a regular 3/8" ratchet wrench, a 1/2" breaker bar with swivel-head and ratchet mechanism (Jet, has 1/2" to 3/8" adapter attached), and a no-name 3/8" breaker bar with swivel head only.