ATF Exchange (using the cooling line)

[jreask]

I did this yesterday on my GX470. I put 3/8” clear tubing into the fill port on the side of the tranny. I ran the tubing to the right side engine compartment and used one of the cheap screw on pumps to pump fluid into the fill port. I disconnected the tubing above the cooler in front of the radiator and another clear tube from here to the milk jug. I ended up exchanging 15 quarts of Max Life through the system. The last two quarts were as black as the first three that I drained from the pan. Does this really do any good? Aren’t we just pumping out the just pumped in fluid ? I cycled the truck through the gears a few times when draining into the milk jug. Should I have left the truck run a few minutes before draining and adding again ? I didn’t see any difference in the color of the fluid when finished. It was still black after exchanging 15 quarts.

 

[pjbrownva]

I did this yesterday on my GX470. I put 3/8” clear tubing into the fill port on the side of the tranny. I ran the tubing to the right side engine compartment and used one of the cheap screw on pumps to pump fluid into the fill port. I disconnected the tubing above the cooler in front of the radiator and another clear tube from here to the milk jug. I ended up exchanging 15 quarts of Max Life through the system. The last two quarts were as black as the first three that I drained from the pan. Does this really do any good? Aren’t we just pumping out the just pumped in fluid ? I cycled the truck through the gears a few times when draining into the milk jug. Should I have left the truck run a few minutes before draining and adding again ? I didn’t see any difference in the color of the fluid when finished. It was still black after exchanging 15 quarts.

I think that you must have done something wrong. I would suggest you carefully look at the procedures in the original post. I can't think of exactly *what* could have gone wrong, since it appears that you are saying that you exchanged 15 quarts of fluid, and that ALL 15 that you pumped out were black.

Maybe you disconnected the wrong hose ??? Maybe you weren't pumping fluid into the fill port??? I'm not sure of the problem, but my biggest concern is that you say that your transmission fluid is black. That's not good. After I did this transmission fluid exchange method, my fluid looked absolutely brand new.

If you *did* do the exchange properly, maybe your transmission is really *that* dirty? Were you running Toyota-WS transmission fluid before you started the fluid exchange? If not, maybe whatever was in there behaves differently from Toyota-WS fluid, and maybe there is lots of dirt, and that's your problem.

I'm not sure what advice to give you, because sometimes when a transmission is heavily worn and the fluid is very, very dirty, it's the dirt and sludge inside the transmission that keeps it working. In those cases, sometimes cleaning the transmission and putting in new fluid, removes the dirt and sludge, and causes the transmission to slip and fail.

If you think you're transmission may be *that* bad, then often the advice is to leave it well enough alone, otherwise you might be lighting the fuse on a time bomb... :boom:

Maybe try going to a local transmission shop, if there is one that has a good reputation and that you trust, and ask them for advice and/or help.

I wouldn't want to lead you astray on this one, because a trans rebuild would be very expensive.

Best of luck with this one.

-Phil

 

[jreask]

I followed the write up to a tee. I guess the old fluid blackened the milk jug. The fluid produced when I did the temp check was red.

 

[keakar]

the only thing i wasnt sure about was when to reinstall the overflow drain plug at the end when you are finished and letting out any excess fluid.

on mine it drained a good stream, but then it seemed to keep dribbling out some like it was at the right level but turbulence in the oil pan caused some to keep coming out like a wave action for the returning fluid dripping in or something.

as soon as it wasnt a constant dribble coming out, i put the drain plug back in, i figured it was at the correct level at that point. its only got like 1" of fluid in the pan when running if you look at the height level of the over flow drain plug.

 

[barongan]

Subscribed to this one

 

[T4Ruiner]

Started getting the dreaded rumble strip shudder a few days ago. Followed this, and after about 15 miles of driving I cannot reproduce the shudder. Thanks for this write-up.

I have an 06' V6 4x4 and did this with 203,xxx on the clock. Smooth as butter.

 

[nwf_snake]

I completed this on our '07 with 140K miles on it over the Christmas Holiday. Used a whole case, 12 quarts, to complete the flush. Fluid came out initially brown, now it is a nice dark cherry red. Thanks to the OP and all the contributors.

For my tranny, 15 seconds of run time pumped out 1 quart. I tried to pump out 2 quarts before refilling each time. The initial drain from the pan was a little over 3 quarts. I used a small 12v fluid pump to add the fluid back thru the tranny fill plug. A little slow, but so much easier than the hand pump method. It took less than 5 minutes to pump in 2 quarts each time.

 

[LinuxHack3r]

Replied for referencing later.

 

[ttgrules]

This was way easier than I thought it was going to be. Did this on my 04 v8 4x4 last Saturday with 154k miles. Pretty sure it was the first time it had been changed.

Mine has the tow package so it was super easy to disconnect the return line from the small trans radiator up front.

I didn't realize how rough it was shifting until I drove it after the change. It's like a new vehicle!

 

[Lester Lugnut]

Without question, the best A750E(2WD) - A750F(4WD) ATF fluid swap write-up I've seen. Thanks.

 

[CredeCo76]

wow, that was interesting "discussion"

 

[CredeCo76]

How did my comment to another thread jump to here"

 

[CredeCo76]

Has anyone used the small electric oil pump instead of the hand pump?

 

[CredeCo76]

I have just bought a 2006 ltd w/4.7 v8. 128,000 miles. I don't think the fluid has ever been touched. I'd like to drop the pan clean it out, replace magnets and filter and close it up. Could I then use the cooler out put hose to replace what I drained via the 12v pump? Then continue to exchange the rest of the fluid running the engine while filling with the 12v pump.

 

[CredeCo76]

Performed this service earlier today - thanks for the initial write-up. I had the torque converter shudder (a.k.a. "rumble-strip") noise pretty bad recently. Seems to be improved today after the ATF change. I've only put 10-12 miles on it. Hopefully it will get better after a few more miles.

A few notes... using the output from the top of the transmission cooler (on my 2006 V8 SR5 4WD anyway) was easier than what is shown in the original post. You don't have to remove the front skid plate - just pop open the hood and disconnect the line on top of the cooler. In the photo below, it's just below the middle of the 2 horns:

Also, if using the cheapo hand-pump from O'Reilly's that screw on to the ATF bottles, be sure to check the pickup tube after each bottle. I had it fall off in the middle of 1 bottle.

Just to be clear, can you drain the pan clean it, replace the plug and then fill what you drained out via the cooler line you show? then attach a hose to the cooler fitting to "flush" out the rest of theold fluids running the engine while simultaneously pump in fresh fluid with a 12v pump?

 

[CZ75]

You can drop the pan, replace the filter, clean as you said and then finish up with the drain fill process. I did that on the wife's BMW X5 around the same time I flushed the tranny on the 4runner.

I removed 2 qts, then added 2 qts. I didn't do it simultaneously.

I just used a hand pump and it didn't take much time at all to pump the ATF back in. Working from the front of the truck, you have gravity working on your side.

My son just did his Mustang last weekend and he had to pump from below the tranny where there's more effort involved. Still it didn't take him long to pump 4 qts in.

This link will show you the correct fluid flow direction through the tranny cooler:
https://www.toyota-4runner.org/2815775-post187.html

 

[TheUltimateBohab]

Thanks for the write up!

 

[AuSeeker]

I have just bought a 2006 ltd w/4.7 v8. 128,000 miles. I don't think the fluid has ever been touched. I'd like to drop the pan clean it out, replace magnets and filter and close it up. Could I then use the cooler out put hose to replace what I drained via the 12v pump? Then continue to exchange the rest of the fluid running the engine while filling with the 12v pump.

Just to be clear, can you drain the pan clean it, replace the plug and then fill what you drained out via the cooler line you show? then attach a hose to the cooler fitting to "flush" out the rest of theold fluids running the engine while simultaneously pump in fresh fluid with a 12v pump?

To drop the transmission pan on the V8 you will have to remove/disconnect part of the exhaust, otherwise there's not enough room to remove the pan.

 

[CredeCo76]

To drop the transmission pan on the V8 you will have to remove/disconnect part of the exhaust, otherwise there's not enough room to remove the pan.

Thanks for the response. I saw a video of a guy doing this on his 06 v8 who said Toyota moved the y exhaust out of the way. I just crawled under mine to see. No exhaust blocking the pan.

Thanks for making me double check before i buy the filter kit. Had the exhaust been in the way I would've just flushed it.

 

[jumpjet]

Has anyone used the small electric oil pump instead of the hand pump?

Non-answer answer ahead
No, but I did my last exchange using a mix of gravity fill and then a hand pump once I remembered I had one. Since then I decided that the next time I have to do this, I'm going the pressure bleeder route.

I already bought a $6 bug sprayer and a couple fittings to make a bleeder out of it. Fill it up with the fluid, pump it up, clamp on the fill line, and open the ball valve to replace whatever quantity I let run out. It's large enough to hold a gallon of ATF and marked by the half-quart, so easy to keep track of. It will easily shave hours off the gravity nonsense, and a lot of mess off the hand pump option.