There's nothing wrong with Penzoil.

http://www.castrol.com/liveassets/bp...s_ImportMV.pdf

Here's the stuff I used when I changed mine out. Check out the compatibility.
It's good for dexIII also. Like was stated before, it's backwards compatible. I'm having great results with it too.

What Quicksilvr said is right. You use the transmissions pump to get the fluid out and just pour new fluid in through the dipstick as the old fluid is coming out.

I agree. A flush isn't harmful and you should do it as part of regular maintenance. The walk through linked above is really thorough and includes a filter change with the flush. If you do just the flush portion it will take a little longer to get the fluid out but the whole process will be much simpler and faster.

that tsb is from may 2002,alot as change from then and toyota stop selling dexIII. T-IV is a upgrade, i was having minor shifting issues with my solara i switched over to T-IV problem solved. its been 60k and 1 flush, 1 drain and refill with T-IV no issues in fact improvemnt.

when you guys say flush do you mean with the machine.

The flush I'm referring to is without the machine. A flush just means that nearly all the old fluid is exchanged with new fluid, as opposed to a drain and fill.

Is there a TSB specifying that Dexron III may be replaced with T IV in Toyota transmissions?

I'll see if i can drop by a dealer monday and get it

How about a gravity feed arrangement on the return line?

Not trying to thread jack, but I figure its relavant.

No opinions on the Valvoline Max Life Dex/Merc that I mixed in when I did a drain and fill? I am starting to have second thoughts that I should have just stuck with standard Dex III.

That would accomplish the same as pouring in through the dipstick tube. The input rate doesn't have to match the output rate as long as you start at an adequate fluid level and continue adding fluid the entire time it's being pumped out. The process takes a few minutes max and can be done continuously.

Just turn the engine off after every qt. or 2 that it pumps out so you can catch up because it pumps out a lot faster than you can pour it down the dipstick tube.

Valvoline Max Life Dex/Merc is compatible with Dex III. It's fine.

I have never heard from Toyota that you can substitute Dexron for T-IV. I will look into it myself, but if you can justify our members by showing them an official Toyota bulletin, I advise our members NOT to take Brooklyn's advice. I'm not trying to sound like an ass, but until you can show us the official "OK" from Toyota. Using a T-IV in a dexron is horse poop. T-IV and Dexron have different friction modifiers and such, if the wrong fluid gets absorbed into the clutch packs and the intermediate band in the transmission NO FLUSHING will get that out, it doesn't matter how many times you flush it.

I went to Toyota Dealership in Maryland and they wouldn't sell me "Toyota brand Dexron II or III", they suggested Quaker State ATF which they had on the shelf. I've personally never been a fan of Quaker State Oil... So I decided to go with Penzoil, I use Penzoil engine oil for all my vehicles, so I thought It'd be a good idea to be consistent and go with my more favorable yet affordable brand... Of course with my luck after I dropped the pan I found out that there was a 5 day back order on my Tranny filter, so now the truck is sitting there still dripping oil after two days. I have to wait another 4 days to recieve the filter to finish my flush process.

Before I dropped the pan, the 4R was shifting gears as good as ever. I'm just hoping I havn't set my tranny up for failure over the long run by mixing T-IV... (cross fingers)

I think it would take a while for T-IV to actaully do damage. My guess is you caught it before anything bad happened.