Do I need to re-do my transmission fill/check procedure?

So, my brother who is a little more mechanically inclined than me helped me change out my transmission fluid about a week or so ago and we drained out the transmission fluid and roughly measured about just under 4 quarts. We then filled the transmission back to 4-1/2 quarts to make sure we overfilled and then drained out the excess. Well, the OBD2 scanner that he had did not work for the trans temp and so I wanted to do the 'manual' way of jumping the port and sticking a pin in the trans cooler so it was open, and then go through the process to get the truck to flash and tell us when to drain the fluid. However, he had the strong belief that transmissions can't get up to temp unless you drive the vehicle and so we drove my truck for 20 minutes to get to operating temp (according to him) and then parked back in the garage and gave it about 10 minutes or so and opened the check valve until a small dribble came out. Took out about 1 quart. I was a little frustrated because I wanted to do it the 'correct' way and he was insistent that it was "dumb and the only way to get to operating temp is to drive it".

I'm now worried my trans is running with either too much or too little fluid and I was curious what other's thought. Do I need to open the fill bolt, add another qt and then do the process the correct way? I told him my concerns and he said "everything is shifting super smooth it's good to go". I don't know what to personally believe though and I'm someone that does things exactly as they are supposed to be done.

Thoughts?

 

Yeah, you drained out too much. Just how too much is the question. My belief is Toyota picked this temperature to check level because it wasn't so hot that burn injuries would occur.

 

Yeah I kind of figured it was way too hot and I assume on the hotter end it ends up draining too much. because every single video shows the truck idling and getting to temp very quickly. We didn’t do exact math but it seems that we drained about 4 quarts and then filled 4.5 to drain excess qt so still seems about .5 qt low…

I’m just annoyed I have to try and do the entire process again and waste another quart of transmission fluid. Your theory would make sense too haha.

 

Add a quart, then check it the proper way. And it’s your truck. Tell your helper you appreciate it, but this is the way it’s done. Transmission pumps pump fluid anytime the engine is running. They will get warm enough to check the fluid just sitting there idling. Worth running it through the gears during the warmup to run some through all the valve body passages you can before checking. Not necessary, but good practice.

 

I think I got it done the right way! Not without a little bit of a headache though. I was able to borrow an OBD2 reader from a friend and it was able to read trans temp1/2 and then I also jumped the OBD2 port and was able to get it to work that way as well.

I ended up not adding enough and adding another qt which, once I got just above 99F I opened the check valve and nothing came out, although I did make a mistake and shut the truck off which then caused a little bit to spill out all at once so, to be sure it was actually done right I ended up adding another 1qt and 1/2 container because I wanted to be CERTAIN. The truck sat for a while and still was already right at the temp after jumping the OBD2 port in maintenance mode putting both D and N on at the same time. To be certain it was in the temp range and not too hot, I also hooked up the OBD2 reader which read 108f-109f which for my exact truck I need to drain at 111F at the max. So, I quickly un-threaded the check valve and I had a steady stream that turned into a drip and I plugged it and shut off the truck and torqued everything properly. So, I should actually have the correct amount now! Just took me using another 2-1/2 qt's and a mistake to do so. I also made sure to pin the trans thermostat open with a sewing pin. So I think I did everything correct!

Thank you for the responses!

 

I miss a good ol dipstick...the complete fluid exchange is real tedious IMHO.

 

A drip? Oh my heavens. We may have a problem. It's supposed to be a trickle not a drip. Let the arguments begin on the definition of a trickle.

Just kidding. You should be just fine now.

 

Haha I mean it flowed out pretty good for a half second and once it came to a little drip put the check bolt back on! I was more concerned how I ended up with another almost 2 quarts in the transmission. Only thing way would be that it either wasn’t at the proper level before I changed it, or the measuring we did was a little more off than I thought.