Looked in sticky's first, need help servicing "sealed transmission".
 

Hello, have 2007 5 speed auto. I read several threads about changing fluid and I am lost after reading them. I guess I don't understand why I can't just drsin the fluid, drop the pan, change the filter, and refill fluid. If I can do it like that why is everyone else trying to make it so difficult?.

Looked in sticky's first, need help servicing "sealed transmission".
 

Because you’re not really getting much fluid out of the pan, less than 1 1/2 qt. The rest is kinda trapped in the system.

Torque converter holds 5+ but is not going to drain right out.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...a0fbb7ee03.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ok, I can see your point in that. But I would still like to do it the pan drop way so I can change the filter. Is there something extra hard about doing it that way or something since I can't find any info on anyone doing it that way. That is how I do my GM trucks. I always change the filter and get about 1/2 the fluid. I like to do it every 30,000 or so.

There's no harm in dropping the pan to change the filter, people do it all the time. However, as mentioned above, only about a 1.37 quarts of fluid is going to come out, whereas there is 12 or 13qts in the whole system.

I'd you're just looking to replace the filter and a quart of fluid, then dropping the pan is easy enough. But if you want to do a full fluid replacement, that method is going to take forever.

Ok, thanks. My wife Midas do some kind of trans fluid change awhile back but I knoe they didnt get filter done. I actually am suspect to them anything for that matter. I have already purchased the filter though.

my understanding is there is not a filter to change. the pan contains fixed metal mesh filter?

i did a full fluid exchange at the dealer (at 190k miles). cost about $200. worth it, considering all the fluid was about a $100 cost. treat yourself to a professional service!

Metal mesh screen. Usually just needs to be cleaned. Some replace it. Some don't.

I did the exchange in my driveway with Valvoline MaxLife ATF for under $60 for 12 quarts.

draining just the pan of a 4th gen 4runner gets more than 1.37 qts, its closer to 3qts. but as others mentioned, that only removes a small portion of the fluid, these trans hold about 12-13qts, so if you want to replace all the fluid, you have to do a full exchange, which is very simple. just need to buy 6-8ft of clear 3/8 hose, connect it to the bottom trans fluid port of the radiator & start the truck to pump out ~2-3qts, then refill 2-3qts via the fill hole in the side of the trans. very quick & easy & much cheaper than the dealer will charge.

& if you dont want to do the full exchange or feel its too difficult, then you can also do 3-4 pan drain & fills to get most of the old fluid out.

as for the filter, these arent like GM trucks, they use a metal mesh filter that most say doesnt need changed even at 150k+ miles. so dropping the pan is likely not needed. there are quite a few videos on youtube of how to do it, if youre mechanically inclined & can change your own oil, you should be able to do a trans fluid exchange.

then decide if you want to use the overpriced toyota WS fluid which is not a synthetic fluid & has been shown to have issues with heat if you tow frequently etc. many, including myself use valvoline maxlife or another brand of universal fluid which is much cheaper & fully compatible & rated for use with our toyota transmissions. not a single negative report using maxlife that i have seen.

heres a good vid of a tacoma but its the exact same transmission.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TF1EQc4A0Hk

ATF Exchange (using the cooling line)

I used this guide and it worked flawlessly

Thanks for the info guys. Like I said before my wife had Midas do it awhile back but I have since found out that they are very shady so dropping the pan will provide some piece of mind. I basically should be able to tell if they did it at all which I am doubting at this point. I hear these shops are charging for service work and often not doing it.

Since you didn't mention which engine you have, just an FYI, if you have the V6 then dropping the pan is easy enough, but if you have the V8 then it gets a little more involved, you will have to disconnect the exhaust to get the pan off because of the way the exhaust is ran on the V8.

As mentioned it's not a filter in there but a metal screen and I personally wouldn't replaced it or pull the pan, it's pointless for the most part, everyone that pulled the pan and replaced or cleaned the screen that I have read about says the screen wasn't dirty nor clogged, it definitely doesn't need to be replaced if you do pull the pan, just cleaned if that, I doubt very seriously if you would be able to tell if Midas pulled the pan or not much less replaced the screen.

Not matter what you do if you do drain and or replace any of the fluid you will still need to go through the proper procedure to check the fluid level, it's not good at all to be underfilled even 1/4 of a quart and just as bad to be overfilled, either can do damage to the transmission, many think they can just add back the amount they drain out but there's no way to know if the fluid level was correct before draining without going through the fluid level check procedure either before or after the fluid change.

There is no dipstick to check the fluid level, the proper procedure is spelled out in several topics on the forum.

Wut?

My '03 2UZ has a dip stick, right next to the oil dipstick. If I'm not supposed to use that for checking the ATF level, then shoot some links for the proper procedure.

The 5sp tranny is "sealed."

I have a 2003 with the 2UZ V8. It has a trans dipstick and a drain plug on the trans pan. To my knowledge, all 4Runner with the 2UZ V8 had the 5 speed.