05' 4runner v8 sealed tranny fluid questions

[559v84runner]

hi, my 2005 V8 sports edition have 141,000 miles currently, i bought it used at 118,000 miles, it still drives and shifts perfect even at 141,000 miles, i do tow a 18.6ft bass boat once a week, i believe the trans fluid has never been changed or flushed and i hear that its not safe to flush the transmission when the milage is high??, what am i suppose to do now? any help/thoughts on this ?

 

[asahi4runner]

Just simply drain and filled. That won't completely freshen up all the fluids but that's a good start.

 

[559v84runner]

would that be better than flushing out the old trans fluid since the miles are high?

 

[NuclearN8]

I would not put the system under pressure... just use the transmission pump to pump out the old fluid. consider it a transfusion, get it?...:redbrick:

Here's a bunch of links on the subject I have bookmarked ... If you have a obd2 bluetooth and a droid phone you can get torque pro app to eliminate the need to jumper the terminals to know when the transmission is at operating temp for the final step to ensure the proper level out the overflow plug.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/maint...d-servicing-sealed-non-sealed.html#post338482

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/1...-transmission-fluid-strainer-replacement.html (not a 4runner but this is the process pretty much for the transfusion)

you'll need a pump like this: Multi-Use Transfer Pump

DIY: Full Flush for Automatic Transmission - Tacoma World Forums
How to Drain/Refill Automatic Transmission - Tacoma World Forums
Transmission fluid in FJ Cruiser | IH8MUD Forum (has a good pdf link from the FJ manual)

 

[bob3dsf]

You ought to be fine with a drain and fill. You could do a few rounds of that, essentially a serial dilution of the old fluid so to speak, and change out more fluid. I changed mine at 107k. A second round of drain and fill after some driving for circulation, yielded fairly decent looking fluid.

 

[slyfox75]

Time out.
Save yourself some time, worry and money.(well.....maybe)
First just open the fill hole and stick a piece of paper towel or something white to check the color of the fluid.....that will tell you a lot.
If it is still redish/pink.....you are OK(IMO).
Smell it too......that can tell you a lot but my experience is if it is still redish/pinkish no need, unless it smells burnt but I've never seen pink fluid smell burnt.

WS fluid aint cheap. If your a maintenance-aholic......you're not going to sleep right until you flush it(transfusion method)....but if your practical, I'd check it before I ordered or bought new fluid that was no-need.

 

[Radial GT]

I would not stick any type fibrous material into a transmission to check the fluid...

Doing a drain and fill is really easy, once you have done it a couple times it only takes 45 minutes. No fluid should go longer than 100k imo. Drain and fill once at the very least. I did it 3 times on my previous 4runner and the change in how the transmission acted was very apparent that it like it. There are tons of threads on here that prove its benefit.

 

[Ask10]

As far as I am aware, the reason that some transmissions start to slip after having a prolonged transmission fluid service/change, is because the old fluid degraded, the clutches wore out because of it, and now the clutch friction material is floating around in the fluid instead. Changing all of the fluid could cause those clutches to "lose traction" and start to slip. Very few places now use power flushes, it's usually a drain and fill/cooler flush.

My personal opinion, I'd do a cooler flush if you can, plus transmission filter/gasket change. Reason being, a drain and fill is 3-4 qt. and the transmission holds roughly 14 qts. It's going to take a lot of drain and fill changes to properly renew the fluid, during which time you're subjecting your transmission to mostly old fluid and towing a boat. Not recommended, (my opinion).

Cooler flushes are easy and take 2-3 hours I'd say if you're taking your time and the cooler is easy to reach. Lots of writes I'm sure online already.


Anyway, if it's any consolation, I have 190k on my transmission (last change I think was was at 100-110k) and I did a full cooler flush on mine and there's no slipping. Fluid came out horrible dark red/black, and I hate to think of leaving it in there. It's very noticeable how much smoother it is and I'm sure my gearbox is happier now. Total cost was $220, DIY labor.