Alright yesterday I noticed a faint whining sound while holding the brake in reverse, definitely a new sound.
Reading about various whining sounds it could be a planetary gear. Either way it motivated me to get off my ass and drop the tranny pan to replace the filter.
Quick background - I bought the runner 4 years ago with 166k miles. I bought it from a private seller and they had just replaced the radiator, rear main seal, and head gasket/water pump. I have always suspected that maybe they got a pink milkshake and that’s why they sold.
Anyway, when I bought it I did a complete flush and that’s how I’ve run it since. It’s now got 196k miles and I haven’t done anything to the fluid.
So back to the filter - I dropped the pan and there was a good (bad) amount of sludge in the bottom, the magnets had a bunch of meta shavings, and the filter didn’t look great.
Here’s the bottom of my pan full of sludge
Here’s the magnets before I cleaned them
Old filter
I also wanted to install a magnefine filter but the autozone doesn’t have 3/8” transmission tube, so I’ll have to do that on a follow up job.
Anyway, I didn’t notice any whine in reverse and the transmission shifts nice and smooth. I know the prevention is the best cure for these transmissions, but hopefully this + more diligence helps.
I will also keep my fingers crossed that this new filter flows better and helps it build up pressure better in reverse = no more screeching & power loss while wheeling.
Will update after my next Offroad trip next month
One side note - measuring transmission fluid is a real *****. I’m pretty sure I overfilled it by about 3 qts initially because I wasn’t sure if I was seeing it show up on the dipstick. I eventually drained it out in small amounts 4-5 times until I got it where I think I’m happy with. Definitely going to check it a few more times in the coming days though just to be sure.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk