I have a '99 Limited V6 with automatic trans. It has 51k miles.

When I went in for my last oil change, and had the guys check the car over (as I am going on a long trip). They told me that the automatic transmission fluid was black, and should be red. They suggested a several hundred dollar process for flushing the transmission.

Now, I'm not a gearhead, but I get the feeling I was about to get worked over by the mechanic. He described it as a process of hooking the trans up to a pump that would push fluid through the trans until it ran red.

Now, my questions are:

1. Does the transmission require a full flushing (until the fluid runs red)?

2. If so, is this something I can do at home, or do I really need to take it to the shop to do?

3. If not, do I just drain the trans, and refill it?

I've got the Haynes for the car, and I've read through it. 50k miles and a several hundred dollar flushing job seemed a bit odd to me.

Thanks.

T

This should help you out a bit

http://www.gadgetonline.com/TransFlush.htm

Gadget has a bunch of other info on his site too. Definitely worth looking over the rest of his site, especially for the 3rd Gens out there.

Jon

Anyone have an idea how much one of these machines are? Is this something that only a shop can afford, or is this something that an individual can afford to have?

I guess the real question is, is it going to be cheaper to take the truck to the shop to have them do it every 30k miles, or is this something that I can invest a couple hundred bucks in, and in the long run save myself some money?

Thanks.

I am not a gear head but to me it makes more sense to pay the guys to do it then do it yourself.

Why?

Well let me tell you. For discussion sakes let's say the service costs $200 and the machine costs $100. So without looking at what prices are for what, ones first instinct would to go with the $100: but in my opinion that is wrong. Even though getting a machine for $100 might be cheaper, it is not a good choice. Here are my reasons why:

Regardless on how much the machine costs, transmission flushes are not done that often on ones vehicle they own. So regardless if you have one, two, or three vehicles, how often are you going to do it?

Whether you did it once or twice, if you are not in the business to do this over and over again, you will own a machine collecting dust and taking up room for something more useful for your needs.

Why put the hassle on yourself if you are not one that does the car work yourself? If you change your oil, and do many of the repairs yourself, and this is just one more thing to learn, then I can see the benefit. But you said it yourself that you are not a gear head so this does not really relate to you.

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Some things are worth doing yourself: like mods and and tinkering. But if you are not a gear head, leave the more involved stuff to the experts. Even if this is not involved, I am sure this is a lot easier to do if you have a lift, then to do it on a jack. My wife and I almost bought a house where the guy had his own car lift in his garage: but I was certain he was going to take that with him.

If you flush the transmission yourself you also have to look at the hassle of disposing of all the tranny fluid.

The last full transmission flush I had on my Chevy Tahoe ran me $79.00 so was not too bad and it included a new filter.

I agree with what the others said about it not being worth it to do it yourself. It might be worth it though if you plan on doing his service if you have more than one car. I know there are a lot of people who drop the pan, clean / replace the filter and replace what fuild they can that way.

But if a total flush is what you need, you can find a Jiffy Lube and have them do it. I believe prices rance from $80-$90. But that still doesn't do anything in regard with your tranny filter.

It'd be good to do both.

Probably even better to get a second opinion as to how much needs to be done.

Jon

PS. here's a link with a slight bit more information
http://www.top4runners.com/ja/synthetic.html

A total transmission flush would be a good thing to do, But when you bring it to a jiff lube or something they are not using good fluids.

This is what i suggest for the do it yourselfers. Drain the fliud and take the transmission pan off. Take the filter off and see if there are big Debris of metal. Then clean the filter or install a new one. The filter is just a wire screen so you really don't need to buy one just clean it. Clean the pan out and check for metal debris on the magnet on the bottom of the pan. Clean it all up and put the pan back on with a 1/8 inch bead of black silicone. Fill the transmission up with TOYOTA Transmission fluid and drive it around for a week or so. Then drain the fluid and fill it back up with fresh TOYOTA transmission fluid. That should take care of most the fluid that was left over in the torque converter.

Make sure to use OEM TOYOTA Transmission Fluid. Toyota has a special additive that is in the fluid.

For the non do it yourselfers. Take it to a Toyota Dealership and have them perform the Job.

After that Just change the fluids more often. Maybe every 30,000 miles. You don't have to take the pan off everytime, once every 2 changes would work.

My transmission on my 4runner has over 250,000 miles on it. I do a bunch of towing and offroading and it still runs like new!

Mike

So you think the Toyota fluid is better than just the dextron 3 or whatever it says on the stick? Just drained the pan and refilled it with what it called for - don't remember now - got 5 vehicles to keep track of. Should I drain it out and go after the Toyota fluid?
It's been in there for a month or so.
Also, I didn't drop the pan as it looked like the dip stick tube was hooked on solid to the pan - bolted onto the manifold - figured I'd brake that off and not be able to reattach. Any helpful hints - this is on a 92.
thanks

Well since you didn't use the toyota fluid and you have new fluid in the tranny right now, goto an autoparts store and buy the additive for the toyota vehicles. Toyota fluid has a special additive in the fluid, that keeps the seals from dry rotting and friction control.

As for the pan you should have taken it off when you changed your fluid. The pan is easy to get off there is a joint connection for the transmission pan and dipstick. it just pulls apart. Just unbolt the pan and pull the pan straight down.

hope this helps!

Mike

I work at an Army post. Fortunately for me, almost every post has a car care place you can bring your car to and the employees there can either do the work there for you or you can DIY. I chose to DIY today. I like to DIY as often as possible, too.

I chose to drain the fluid, replace the filter, and gasket my self:


New filter:


First, remove the drain plug with a 14 mm socket on a speeder handle:



Watch the old nasty fluid fall out:


After draining is complete...so far...start loosening the pan bolts:


I had to use a putty knife to separate the pan from the mounting surface of the transmission. Some A-hole decided it was a great idea to use RTV. I loathe RTV:

Here is the transmission 340 with the filter and RTV removed. I did the best I could:


The old filter:


I coated the cork on the new filter with new transmission fluid. I used Pennzoil for my refill:


My pan after I used an air tool to help removing the RTV:


Cleaned up and ready to go:


Don't forget your magnets.....like I did. :


I had to remove the pan after installing it the first time to reinstall the effin magnets:


Those are all the pics I have of the procedure. But I laid the new black rubber gasket on top of the pan and inserted the bolts into the holes. I then brought the whole thing up to the transmission. I made sure to connect the dipstick tubes together first before bolting the pan back onto the transmission. First I got all the bolts hand tight and then I screwed the bolts incrementally onto the pan in a star formation. I did not use a torque wrench to install them or to even check if they are at the correct torque.

It is not leaking.

Feedback is appreciated. Thanks.