Searched and read many threads on this here, but seems that there's no clear answer.

Basically have 03 4runner at around 130K miles, not sure if any transmission flush has been done before but the fluid still looks kind of reddish on the stick, the smell is weird to me but I don't have any experiments with how would ATF smell like before anyway.

Was going to do a flush (using external pump type) at the dealership, have heard stories that it's not good if done on a vehicle at this age without dropping the pan and replace the filter/strainer and magnets so I required that to be done before the flush.

However the guy at dealership strongly opposed the idea of doing that replacement before flush and their service manager also said that they haven't done it for years and don't even have those filters in stock.

They also wanted $375 for dropping the pan

Any suggestions on how to proceed? I do want to keep it for some time so want to do it right.

btw. searched a few parts store online and saw 2 parts, one is :
MAINTENANCE & LUBRICATION / TRANSMISSION / TRANSMISSION COMPONENTS / Strainer
and the other is
MAINTENANCE & LUBRICATION / TRANSMISSION / AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION / FILTER

So just wondering if anyone have an idea on which one would be the filter that I want to replace if I need to do it?

Thanks!

I had my pan dropped and replaced the filter, etc. I just don't see the point of doing a flush without changing the filter as well.

I had mine done for $250 with the whole nine yards.

Wow that sounds like a very good price, how did you get it?

Not sure of the year of Fuzzy Fingers' ride, but the early 4th gens. (yours) have part of the exhaust crossing under the trans. pan & that has to be removed to remove the pan. That MAY be the difference in price. My 2005 is clear under that pan & will be easy to drop.

My 04 pan dropped out easy no issues and yes I would recommend it. If your going to do something, do it right. You wouldn't wanna brush your teeth without toothpaste right

2007 V6
Fairly common price in the greater Atlanta area. Was having problems with a fairly hard shift from neutral into drive. With the new fluid, it took care of itself over a few weeks.

I personally think that none of this flushing or pan dropping stuff is necessary. Just a drain and fill every 30k miles and you're good to go.

Many manufacturers don't recommend flushes. They do recommend a drain and filter replace and then refill.

Changing the fluid every 30-50k miles is what you want to do. And if there's a filter then that should be cleaned/replaced. New transmissions are expensive. Preventative maintenance is cheap.

Trans fluid is bright cherry red, if it's dark red it def needs changing. If it's brown or smells burned you may have problems.
If it's a paper filter element it def should be changed, if it's a metal screen type it's not as important.

i agree with this theory. I always drain the 2 quarts out of the pan every other time i do an oil change(3000 miles) and have never had a problem.

That's tough to do with the 05 (maybe 04) and later transmissions. Since they don't have a drain plug.

They've got a drain plug and a check plug. It's just a bit more diifficult to check for proper fill, but there's a link on here somewhere to the Repair Manual Procedure. Did a drain/fill on my 08 last week.

For the guys who are dropping the pan...are you buying a new pan gasket from the dealer or just using form a gasket to seal up the pan?

Toyota uses FIPG for the transmission pan to seal it up.

Also most of our modern transmissions from the early 2000's and up use a nice metal mesh screen filter that does not need to be replaced. Most people who are set in their ways about replacing the transmission filter every service are used to Domestic vehicles and their paper filters that barely hold together (I was one of those people as well ). Normally I wouldn't bother with the filter unless you really feel like it, the Toyota stuff tends to hold up pretty damn well into 200k (around the time you may want to consider a second or third transmission fluid flush). On my vehicle I did a full flush (via drain and fill) with about 12qts of fluid at 100k and will drop the pan to clean the fluid filter when I do my second service.

Was there ever a definite answer if this is a filter or a strainer?

When I think of a filter I think of foam or paper element.

A strainer is a fine metal sieve.

My Haynes manual says to change it at 30k miles but I can't see the point if it is a metal strainer.