Just wondering if anyone has had these services preformed at any service places? If so any thoughts on them as in was it a waste of money or no? I just purchased a 2000 4wd ltd. Checked the transmission dipstick and the transmission fluid was a dark brown color so im figuring it needs to be changed relatively soon and I looked under the oil cap and it seemed to have some sludge in the engine, nothing extreme but I would like to get it clean in there. Did a google search and a few people on yotatech recommended BG products for the sludge. Just trying to get other peoples perspective on these products and services.

if it is something that needs to be done (engine cleaned) do it!

we use BG products at work and let me tell you, they work. BG makes fluid treatments for everything.

i dont want to tell the stores of how BG works and cleans, so i just leave it as that they make some amazing cleaners. i believe its better than seafoam.

Would you recommend just adding the treatments myself or going to a mechanic here that has all the BG machines that does the flushes or whatever it is the BG machines do?

Always get it flush by a pro.

@asahi4runner nice to see another Carolina 4runner. Youre about the closest person I've seen to Myrtle.

If you can get a hold of the products, some are easy to do yourself.

but the BG machine will work wonders on your engine. it cleans things out that might be trouble if you do it yourself.

get a quote from the shop what they say for the tranny and the engine. i would at least getting the tranny done. the engine oil you can do your self depending how much sludge there is.

Thanks, I love seeing people that's close too where I'm . Do you know if anyone holds car meeting around this area?

From what I could tell there wasnt a TON of sludge but all I did was remove the oil cap and look in as best i could. It didn't seem as clean as others have posted pics of, and I recently sold my 01 sr5 for this limited (for multiple reasons two being almost 50,000 less miles and no previous wrecks) and the sr5 had noticeably better gas mileage. Ive already done seafoam in the pcv, cleaned throttle body, and the MAF. Which helped boost the MPG's in the sr5 but had less of an impact on the limited's MPG's



Not that I know of...I know a few months ago someone was kicking around the idea of a meeting and trail riding in Uwharie

I second this!


BG44k fuel additive is used twice a year or depending on how many miles I've put on her during the year

You can do the BG44K by yourself, but the only way to get the transmission done properly is with the machine. First step is the cleaner gets put in and the transmission is run with it for a while. This breaks up the deposits on the shuttle valves and generally cleans up everything. Then the machine, which has it's hoses connected in series with your cooler line, sucks out the old fluid and replaces it with new. A drain and fill only replaces about 30% of the fluid. A BG flush replaces all of it. Now here is where I go a step beyond BG. While BG states you do not need to replace the filter, I always say if you are breaking up deposits, some of those will get down to your filter. Yes, this does add to the cost of the transmission service, but I suggest in my professional opinion, to replace the transmission filter AFTER the flush is completed.

i'm always leery of transmission flush's because from why I have heard they can create more problems depending on how many miles and the condition of the trans. I've heard if your trans has low miles like 50k or less its fine. If your trans has above 50k and you have already done regularly scheduled oil changes on the trans then the flush should be ok too. But if you have high miles like over 100k and have rarely changed the oil in it then a flush is bad news. why? (once again just what ive heard from others).... The sediments and small amount of gunk that may be in there are actually helping to to keep things "locked in place" or secured. Once its all flushed out and clean many people in these particular situations (high mileage without regular oil changes to trans) will start having transmission problems and worst case a blown trans.

This has never happened to me its just what ive heard from a few different mechanics, dealers, and many many different people on various automotive forums.

So for me personally, I just drop the pan, change the filter, clean the pan real good, and re-fill.

that's kind of an old wives tale, kinda like the "you cannot switch to regular oil once you've used synthetic" argument. I mean, I wouldn't do a flush on a trans with 300k on it, but only because I wouldn't spend the money on it, not because I thought it would hurt the trans. When you start getting up in the high mileage area, it's also good to do a flush and drop the pan as well.

Oil very 5k & I've never tried any additives but I have had all and & mean all fluids changed every 3 years since new. I'm at 287k miles (463k km)

Tranny is power flushed, not just drained & filled.

So I should buy the cleaner and run it for a while before I get the flush done with the machine?

And just an FYI for everyone making the high mileage argument im only at 139,xxx miles so its not really high for the 4runner.

Usually the shop that does the service will put in the cleaner. You don't really want to DRIVE the truck on the road with the cleaner.