I just finished my transmission flush after my weekend strawberry shake. I wasn't sure how much ATF I should expect to use for topping off after the final return hose flush.

So, here's what I did after the final "flush" from the return line:

Began by adding 2 qt, the dipstick showed low. After adding another qt, the dipstick showed very little change. Added another 0.5 qt increased the dipstick level a bit, but still too low. Added another 0.5 qt, and this is where the dipstick gets a mind of its own. The fluid level jumped up a TON. There is now always a small streak of fluid down the side of the dipstick, but the fluid level appears to range from halfway between C and H marks when the 4Runner is running to way above all marks when the 4Runner has been turned off for a while.

I topped off with a total of 4 qt. This would be normal for a drain & fill, but I would have expected less for a flush where the fluid is in the lines and hasn't settled in the pan.

I was checking the ATF while the 4Runner was turned on, after doing P-R-N-3-2-1 (and vice versa).

It sure seems like it has too much ATF in it, but the dipstick doesn't seem to be very helpful at this point. Measuring with the dipstick seems to be fairly volatile when the car is running. Can someone give me reference fluid level when the car has been turned off and the ATF has been able to settle? Or can anyone give an idea of how much ATF they used to top off after a flush?

 

best source of info would be your owner's manual, it should have the total capacity of your transmission.

 

I am aware of the manual's specified levels, which are 10.8 qt dry fill and 2.1 qt drain/refill (really should be ~ 4-5 qt). However, neither these really apply in my case. Doing a flush doesn't ever remove all ATF from the system for a dry fill. And I am suspecting that the flush probably needs a smaller top-off than the drain/refill.

Perhaps now that I am done flushing I should do a normal drain/refill to get it to the right level.

 

drive your 4Runner until the engine temp hits normal. then park it. check the dipstick if the atf level is below the hot level, then add more atf if it's above the level, drain some fluid as overfill the tranny with atf is bad for it.

 

Ok, will do that tonight. I drove the other car to work today because I didn't want to drive around the 4Runner if it had too much ATF. Poor wife is at home with the kid and no vehicle for several days now. At least the weather is nice for going outside. Not like AZ where we used to live.

 

I think your erratic jump might have been due to the water in the tranny turning to steam and rapidly expanding the fluid volume. It will take a lot of work to get all that coolant out of there. Good luck

 

This. Don't worry what your dipstick says when the engine isn't running, that does you no good. If you want a reliable reading, do the same thing before each time you measure it: Let it warm up, leave the engine running. Also, I usually take at least two measurements each time I check it.

 

I'm guessing it's a combination of both responses. The 4Runner was definitely warmed up last night when it was giving me problems. The readings didn't make any sense, so it could have been steam or something messing up the pressure. Tonight after work, took it for a quick 10-minute drive, and the readings were consistent this time. Fluid is a little low, it's at the cold marks when the engine is warmed up.

Thanks for the tips!

 

The way I plan to do it (when my bloody back decides to heal enough to crawl back under the truck) is to first drain the pan into a graduated bucket (so I can measure the outflow) and then refill that amount. Then I'll go to the ATF tranny-to-cooler line and drain it a quart at a time, refilling as I go, until I've run 16 qts of new ATF through the system. That's what I'd consider a 'flush', based on what I've read about it.