Auto Transmission Filter

I did a series of drain and fills and eventually pumped all the fluid out and poured new fluid in using the transmission's pump - easy peasy - and it's still running great.

IIRC I also did a filter and gasket it was pretty much a non-event, nothing terrible happened.

I think where folks ruin a transmission is doing dumb stuff, like neglect forever then power flush black fluid out. Just be gentle and methodical. If it's failing it's going to fail regardless, doing dumb stuff just speeds it up.

YMMV

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This has been debated ad nauseam. It’s all theories that no one has proven either way. My theory is that the people that believe in not changing fluid waited until the transmission was already starting to slip to try changing the filter and fluid. Then when the transmission started to fail further they blamed the filter/fluid change, but the transmission was already going to fail anyways. If your fluid is black and burnt it has lost a lot of its lubricating properties that automatic transmissions need to be happy. Change it gradually or change it all at once, but change it.
 
Here's some theories that are popular with what happens after a transmission gets flushed.

1) If a transmission was abused and never or very infrequently got fluid changes, excessive wear resulted in the transmission internal components like the clutch disks. The fluid is now holding suspended friction material that the transmission is relying upon to shift properly and not slip. When you flush out all the old fluid and replace it with new fluid, that friction material is lost and then the transmission has issues.

2) Under the same situation, you have an abused transmission that gets a flush. ATF has very good detergent qualities. With the transmission being abused with no fluid renewals, sludge deposits have built up inside the transmission. When you introduce a bunch of new fluid with great detergent qualities, the sludge deposits can start to break free and be transported to different areas of the transmission. Some of these fluid passageways are very small like throughout the valve body. The sludge deposits can lodge in those tight passageways and starve area of the transmission of fluid.

For the above reasons, this is why some people say it's a risk to do a full flush on an abused transmission. It's sort of a roll of the dice. But, others say that's a bunch of BS and it's never a bad idea to give your transmission some fresh fluid.

When people tell me they have a transmission with very dark fluid and an unknown service history, I always suggest they do the exchange slowly with pan drain and refills spread out over a decent amount of miles. But, even that method could have negative consequences. The key is to regularly service your auto transmission to avoid this situation. I do drain and refills of my auto transmissions every 10,000 miles to keep them in good operating shape. I've never actually given any of my rigs a full flush. Regular drain and refills is an excellent way to keep your transmissions fluid in good shape. I have confirmed this via an oil analysis of a sample i sent into Blackstone Labs. Some would say that is very excessive and a waste of money. I say it's good insurance to maintain the health of my transmissions. I regularly drive in the mountains and push my rigs hard. If you have a vehicle that rarely travels in the mountains and doesn't tow, you could get away with longer service intervals.


For those that would like to drop the pan to replace or clean the filter, this video will show you how to get it done.

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For those that would like to perform a full flush, this video will show you how to get it done.

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t
 
I kinda hate you right now. I was thinking right before I clicked that "I really hope this isn't a Scotty Kilmer video" and it was. I can't stand the ****ing moron. All he does is yell at the camera, give out of date mechanic advice, and praise his (lack of) abilities. I can only hope that someone breaks into his house, gang rapes him, then murders him. Yes, this escalated quickly...
 
[MENTION=708309]McLoven1t562[/MENTION], I agree it not worth it on pan seeping snug bolts add if needed.
Wana ask what is service history on 321k trans ?
Fluid ever changed 200k mi ago 150k pan screen service, if this is service history and Master tech knows this
I agree with what he said. Start messing with neglected trannys shit happens ride it till it quits.
If fluid's been serviced different story go ahead full service pan drop fluid flush after shoot for 400k.

I've only owned the vehicle for 1 year and it was already near 300k miles....I never saw a tranny service on the report but could've been done somewhere else or by 1 of the 2 previous owners....Ultimately, I have zero clue if it was ever serviced around 200k which I why I was thinking about replacing the fluid entirely with OEM Fluid
 
I kinda hate you right now. I was thinking right before I clicked that "I really hope this isn't a Scotty Kilmer video" and it was. I can't stand the ****ing moron. All he does is yell at the camera, give out of date mechanic advice, and praise his (lack of) abilities. I can only hope that someone breaks into his house, gang rapes him, then murders him. Yes, this escalated quickly...


lol tell us how you really feel!!!! but no, I agree. :withstupid:

I've watched a few of his videos and they were just so terrible....I've seen 20 years olds do videos that were a million times more informative, had facts to back things up, and they spoke very well when explaining the details ha ha
 
I kinda hate you right now. I was thinking right before I clicked that "I really hope this isn't a Scotty Kilmer video" and it was. I can't stand the ****ing moron. All he does is yell at the camera, give out of date mechanic advice, and praise his (lack of) abilities. I can only hope that someone breaks into his house, gang rapes him, then murders him. Yes, this escalated quickly...
Geez why don't you tell us how you really feel.. :D good grief..lol.

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Greetings!

New user here, apologize if i'm in the wrong section. I havea 96 Surf(Japanese RHD 4runner) with a 3.0 diesel engine and Auto A340F tranny that I just got to deliver rural mail. The transmisson is burned up, so I need to rebuild it and I see lots of kits for the job. Does anyone know if there is any difference in the 340F trannies used for US v6 engines , and the 340F with my diesel engine? Thanks for any help!
 
Well I done it on transmissions with over 200k plus on them without anything done to them. But this is me. :)
The spill and fill can slowly exchange out the fluid if someone is concerned about it.
Nothing is going to stop a transmission from failing if it's damaged.
I can see folks saying don't do anything. Since it's a slight risk. For me I rather know if a transmission is bad before it leaves me stranded.
From my 30 years experiences with Toyotas. It's best to change your automatic fluid then not.
I probably would do a gallon at a time method. To get some lubercation back into the fluid. Then after 3 gallons is exchanged then change the filter and clean magnets.
Always the owners choice as it's your rig. :)
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Hoping I don't sound incompetent, but what do you mean after changing 3 gallons? From what i've read, says the vehicle only holds 2.10 Quarts of fluid, so are you just adding up several fluid changes til it hits the 3 gallon mark???

Only ask because the conversion chart I looked at says that'd equal 12 quarts of ATF
 
I kinda hate you right now. I was thinking right before I clicked that "I really hope this isn't a Scotty Kilmer video" and it was. I can't stand the ****ing moron. All he does is yell at the camera, give out of date mechanic advice, and praise his (lack of) abilities. I can only hope that someone breaks into his house, gang rapes him, then murders him. Yes, this escalated quickly...

Wow, you really hate the guy. I don't necessarily hate him but I'm mystified he has the following he does. He's got over 5 million subscribers and I don't think his content is that great. But, what do I know? I appreciate videos that give accurate and specific information and teach people something. That's pretty much what we try to do with the videos we make for our Timmy the Toolman channel. Some of our stuff is for pure entertainment like the 4wheeling trip videos, but most of our stuff is fairly educational.

Scotty's stuff is way too general for my taste, but I guess people love him for it. Same goes for Chris Fix, his stuff is too general in a lot of cases. For example, he shows you how to pull a transmission from a Ford Mustang and then that's suppose to prepare you to pull one out of any vehicle. Yeah right. "Hey, I'm Chris Fix and all automotive work is easy if you just watch me." But again, people love his stuff. I don't get it. There are obviously general topics that would work for any vehicle like how to take scratches out of automotive paint. I just hate when a guy like Scotty or Chris will get people to think that if they watch them do a very specific job on one vehicle it prepares them to do it on any vehicle. That's setting up people for a potentially very frustrating experience that leads to them giving up and towing their vehicle to a shop to finish the job. Some of our stuff is general too like how to do a coolant flush which could translate to most vehicles. I'm just saying I would never try to tell our audience they could do a very intricate and involved job like a transmission swap on any vehicle by watching me do it on a 3rd Gen 4runner. There's just too many differences in the design of vehicles for that to be true.
 
Hoping I don't sound incompetent, but what do you mean after changing 3 gallons? From what i've read, says the vehicle only holds 2.10 Quarts of fluid, so are you just adding up several fluid changes til it hits the 3 gallon mark???



Only ask because the conversion chart I looked at says that'd equal 12 quarts of ATF
Very good question. The entire transmission system holds 3 gallons. The pan holds about 4 quarts itself. The transmission and torque hold quite a bit.

When I personally change fluid. I exchange it. I use the transmission cooler lines to do this. I use the one line with transmission pump it out. I use the other line with a pump to pump new fluid into the transmission at the same time.

Well this is what my v6 3rd gens are holding as I done this on serveral of mine thus far. :)

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Wow, you really hate the guy. I don't necessarily hate him but I'm mystified he has the following he does. He's got over 5 million subscribers and I don't think his content is that great. But, what do I know? I appreciate videos that give accurate and specific information and teach people something. That's pretty much what we try to do with the videos we make for our Timmy the Toolman channel. Some of our stuff is for pure entertainment like the 4wheeling trip videos, but most of our stuff is fairly educational.

Scotty's stuff is way too general for my taste, but I guess people love him for it. Same goes for Chris Fix, his stuff is too general in a lot of cases. For example, he shows you how to pull a transmission from a Ford Mustang and then that's suppose to prepare you to pull one out of any vehicle. Yeah right. "Hey, I'm Chris Fix and all automotive work is easy if you just watch me." But again, people love his stuff. I don't get it. There are obviously general topics that would work for any vehicle like how to take scratches out of automotive paint. I just hate when a guy like Scotty or Chris will get people to think that if they watch them do a very specific job on one vehicle it prepares them to do it on any vehicle. That's setting up people for a potentially very frustrating experience that leads to them giving up and towing their vehicle to a shop to finish the job. Some of our stuff is general too like how to do a coolant flush which could translate to most vehicles. I'm just saying I would never try to tell our audience they could do a very intricate and involved job like a transmission swap on any vehicle by watching me do it on a 3rd Gen 4runner. There's just too many differences in the design of vehicles for that to be true.

Hate is an understatement. I'm not sure they have discovered the words to describe my extreme degree of dislike towards him. It gets amplified every time I have to deal with a customer that mentions him. Customer conversation is over at that point, and my management is reminded why letting mechanics talk to customers is always a bad idea.
 
Very good question. The entire transmission system holds 3 gallons. The pan holds about 4 quarts itself. The transmission and torque hold quite a bit.

When I personally change fluid. I exchange it. I use the transmission cooler lines to do this. I use the one line with transmission pump it out. I use the other line with a pump to pump new fluid into the transmission at the same time.

Well this is what my v6 3rd gens are holding as I done this on serveral of mine thus far. :)

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well alrighty then....glad to know All Data is not explaining the fluid capacity properly lol. Used the system at my shop and under "Automatic Transmission Fluid" just says Dexron II - 2.10 QUARTS (for 3.4 V6 w/ 4x4)

seemed like barely any fluid, but I was like........alright sure lol
 
well alrighty then....glad to know All Data is not explaining the fluid capacity properly lol. Used the system at my shop and under "Automatic Transmission Fluid" just says Dexron II - 2.10 QUARTS (for 3.4 V6 w/ 4x4)

seemed like barely any fluid, but I was like........alright sure lol
Another thing. Don't use Toyota ws, or Toyota T4.

Use a dexron 2 or late model dexron III compatible fluid. I use valvoline max life fluid myself. Others have their own favorites. :)



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Another thing. Don't use Toyota ws, or Toyota T4.

Use a dexron 2 or late model dexron III compatible fluid. I use valvoline max life fluid myself. Others have their own favorites. :)

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I got the bottles from Toyota last week say nothing about any WS or T4, it simply just says "Toyota ATF & Power Steering Fluid" on the bottle
I get discounts with the Dealerships because of work so I tend to lean toward OEM (if it's a little cheaper then alternatives)

<a href="https://imgbb.com/"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/LhKcfcs/20220627-163002.jpg" alt="20220627_163002" border="0"></a>
 
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I got the bottles from Toyota last week say nothing about any WS or T4, it simply just says "Toyota ATF & Power Steering Fluid" on the bottle
I get discounts with the Dealerships because of work so I tend to lean toward OEM (if it's a little cheaper then alternatives)

<a href="https://imgbb.com/"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/LhKcfcs/20220627-163002.jpg" alt="20220627_163002" border="0"></a>
If it doesn’t say Dexron III or compatible with Dexron III then don’t use it.
 
If it doesn’t say Dexron III or compatible with Dexron III then don’t use it.

did just check the back and it states: "Formulated to replace Dexron III in applicable Toyota models"

so looks like the Dealership gave me the right stuff then
 
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