DIY Transmission flush...who's tried it?

oxfordethan

oxfordethan

New member
Hey. It's been a while. I was wondering how many here had performed a DIY trans flush and how did you do it? I found this video yesterday and was wondering what y'all thought of it. I'm sure this topic has been beat to death (maybe not as much as the "trans cooler bypass" topic) but I couldn't find a thread that showed this particular method. TIA for your opinions and thoughts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WngXE_7vg-Q
 
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Ethan,

I'm sure a flush is probably a better approach, but for my daughter's 99 4Runner, I drain and drop the pan each year and replace the filter with a new one. It also gives me a chance to see how many metal particles are in the pan or stuck to the magnets.

If I recall correctly, it takes about 4.5- 5 quarts so I am replacing probably a little less than half the fluid with each change. I use the Valvoline Maxlife ATF since it meets Dexron III/IV and Toyota WS specs (and I can use in my FJ Cruiser).
 
GHARP57 said:
thats pretty much how our flush machine works here at the dealership.
Click to expand...


That's what I was wondering. Thanks!


SilvFx said:
Ethan,

I'm sure a flush is probably a better approach, but for my daughter's 99 4Runner, I drain and drop the pan each year and replace the filter with a new one. It also gives me a chance to see how many metal particles are in the pan or stuck to the magnets.

If I recall correctly, it takes about 4.5- 5 quarts so I am replacing probably a little less than half the fluid with each change. I use the Valvoline Maxlife ATF since it meets Dexron III/IV and Toyota WS specs (and I can use in my FJ Cruiser).
Click to expand...

I'm planning on doing a pan drop, filter change, then flush. Overkill? 145k on it. I've always just paid attention to the color, level, and smell of the fluid. The fluid is not "bad" now but on its way. Daily driver ~ 20 miles/day.
 
I think a flush is overkill, and some people claim flushing it can hurt the tranny since shit will become dislodged. I would just drain the pan and replace the filter, do that every few months or whenever you change the oil and you'll have essentially new fluid within a year that's staying refreshed over time.
 
I guess if it has never been changed then the flush might make the most sense. Maybe depends on what you see when you drop pan and change filter. Are you going to save the old fluid when you drop the pan and put back in the old before you flush it? Otherwise you are just going to waste 4-5 qts of the stuff....but I am not sure I like the idea of putting in a clean filter and then running all the 'dirty' fluid through it.

This is partly why I just try to stay up on it and change out a portion each year.
 
SilvFx said:
Are you going to save the old fluid when you drop the pan and put back in the old before you flush it? Otherwise you are just going to waste 4-5 qts of the stuff....but I am not sure I like the idea of putting in a clean filter and then running all the 'dirty' fluid through it.
Click to expand...


Good point.
 
170K on my trans did a flush a few weeks ago and it shifts so much better now. again we have a pressurized system so it got everything well but if you drain the pan every couple hundred miles you can get all the fluid "flushed"
 
Good to hear GHARP. I need to sleep on it I guess. May just drop pan, replace filter and do the drain/fill a couple of times and see how it goes.

Now if I could find an easy, inexpensive way to service the transmission on my '05 Tundra...
 
Now you do not need to replace that "filter" its really a baffle. you can get some parts cleaner and clean it up and reuse it.
 
I just did a flush on my 97 on Tuesday, couldn't be happier. 170k and fluid was a little black (only owned the Runner a few months and slowly doing all the maintenance). Used Valvoline Max Life. Will drive for a month or so and then drop the pan and replace the filter, already have the new one. made a huge difference in the shifting
 
ralatkins said:
I just did a flush on my 97 on Tuesday, couldn't be happier. 170k and fluid was a little black (only owned the Runner a few months and slowly doing all the maintenance). Used Valvoline Max Life. Will drive for a month or so and then drop the pan and replace the filter, already have the new one. made a huge difference in the shifting
Click to expand...

I have done the transmission flush myself. I rigged up a Arizona Tea gallon jug with the bottom cut out of it to hold more than one quart at a time as I cranked the engine and pumped the old oil out and the new fluid in. I bent a coat hanger in a V shape and attached it to the Arizona tea jug and hung the jug upside down with the tube connected to a brass barb in the cap of the jug. This barb, I connected the fill hose and put in the transmission fill pipe. It worked like a champ.

Of course, I removed the line to the radiator (from the transmission) and dropped the end in a 5 gallon bucket. So, as the fluid when in, the old fluid came out. If this is a confusing thing to picture in your head, let me know and I will get some picks of the way I set it all up. When the fluid runs red (like new) the flush is complete. Connect everything back up, run til warm and check the transmission dip stick. Top off if necessary.

After the flush, I drain and refill (about 4 quarts) every 6-10 months with Mobil1 Synthetic transmission fluid. It ALWAYS comes out clean as the day it came out of the bottle.

Have 264K+ miles on my original A340F transmission....no grinding, no slipping, shifts like new.....
 
oxfordethan said:
That's what I was wondering. Thanks!
I'm planning on doing a pan drop, filter change, then flush. Overkill? 145k on it. I've always just paid attention to the color, level, and smell of the fluid. The fluid is not "bad" now but on its way. Daily driver ~ 20 miles/day.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's overkill, if you plan on filling it up again after the dropping the pan. If not, I'm not sure if a flush will work right with low fluid, might be too much air in the system. I don't know.

If you don't drop the pan though, you don't know the condition of your transmission by seeing if there's shavings on the magnet or not. You run the risk of circulating them through the system and causing damage. A lot of shops around here have stopped doing flushes all together for that very reason.
 
Ok. I guess a pan drop to inspect the magnet and pan and clean the filter should be conducted first. I'm not thrilled about putting new fluid back in just to flush it out.

A) So put the old fluid back in and then do a flush?
or
B) Fill it back up with new fluid and drain a few quarts every couple of weeks until the color of the fluid is good?
 
oxfordethan said:
Hey. It's been a while. I was wondering how many here had performed a DIY trans flush and how did you do it? I found this video yesterday and was wondering what y'all thought of it. I'm sure this topic has been beat to death (maybe not as much as the "trans cooler bypass" topic) but I couldn't find a thread that showed this particular method. TIA for your opinions and thoughts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WngXE_7vg-Q
Click to expand...

That is exactly how I do mine. Pictures are on my thread...
 
willbgood said:
That is exactly how I do mine. Pictures are on my thread...
Click to expand...

What is the reasoning behind using a stand-alone pump instead of using the transmission to pump it?

I'm about to replace my shift solenoids tomorrow and flush the juice out using the transmission as a pump.
 
Drcoffee said:
I watched that video and from what I could see, he did not vent the top jug so the atf couldnt flow out of the jug. Now the fact that he let the engine run for 10 minutes with no fluid in the trans makes me wonder if he damaged his tranny.

Here is a thread I started for my sienna on flushing the ATF. Its basically pumping 2 qts out at a time until all 12 qts are used.

DIY Transmission flush on an '08 Sienna XLE - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums
Click to expand...

For some reason I can't see the thread you linked. Bad link or just my phone?
 
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