2nd generation transmission fluid question

[RED123]

I posted this in the maintenance section and it seems like everyone is talking about newer runners in there so i decided to post it over here as well .


1994 4runner auto transmission fluid question

I have a question about the auto tranny fluid in my 94 4runner .As i am finding out my 4runner wasnt too well maintained .It wasnt drove really hard but wasnt maintained very good .It has 147,000 miles and i dont know if the tranny fluid has been changed at all in all the miles of its life .I was going to change it and a mechanic friend of mine told me to get on here and ask someone if they had any problems out of a tranny that hasnt been changed at all in a long time and then changed .He said on some vehicles when this happens it causes some tranny operation issues .I bought a case of dextron 3 from the local autozone and i am waiting till i find out for sure what the skinnny is in this topic .I have done quite a bit of maintinence on this vehicle so far from oil change ,plugs,timing belt .front and rear diff fluids.If not the auto tranny fluid what next ?By the way my 4 runner is a 3.0 v6 2wd thanks for any input .Ron

 

[fourwd1]

Although I have no history w/the Toy auto tranny, I am somewhat knowledgeable on Toys and auto trannies.

If the tranny fluid is red that's good. If it's reddish brown it needs changing. If it's dark red and smells burnt it's not good.

It can't hurt to put new fluid in the trans if the trans is good or bad.
If the fluid is dark red but doesn't look/smell burnt a good tranny flush may do the job.

 

[RED123]

when you say flush do you mean just drain and refill or is there a certain way to flush the tranny ?

 

[GSGALLANT]

when you say flush do you mean just drain and refill or is there a certain way to flush the tranny ?

Ron,

See my posts in this thread at Yotatech on how to do a flush of your tranny at home.

Your A340H transmission is a little different than the A340F that I flushed in the writeup, but it's essentially the same. Yours will have a second little oil pan below the transfer case that you can drain as well via its drain plug. This small transfer case pan will refill when you refill the tranny via the dipstick. Taking that small pan off is harder because it requires removing a frame crossmember, so you can chose to do that part or not do it.

In addition to that, the transfer chain case fluid needs to be drained and re-filled as well. That's done via the fill and drain plug at the rear of the transfer case and it takes something like 1 or 1.5 quarts of ATF to re-fill it. Again... That fluid drains and fills independantly from the transfer case pan fluid.