Easy Peasy transmission fluid exchange V6

[00GTvert]

If you don't want to get under the truck to do this, read on!
arty:

Well this is great news. Thanks for doing the write up!

I do have some questions though before I do this.

- to connect the outgoing fluid line to the clear line could a double male fitting be used? Any idea what size?

- does the truck have to be up to normal op temp for this to work or cold?

- is there any cycling through the gears as in the other trans flush doc?

thanks again!

 

[bob3dsf]

Mine is due for a fluid change, so I'll be trying this method when I have time. Last time I did the cooling line flush but connected my hose down lower (in the other, older thread on this method). I cycled through my gears while it was pumping out fluid. Mine was at temperature, but that was mainly so it would flow better I guess. But, I was also doing an initial drain from the pan drain. This method looks like it's omitting the drain from the pan.. I think. OP?

 

[badattitude]

Well this is great news. Thanks for doing the write up!

I do have some questions though before I do this.

- to connect the outgoing fluid line to the clear line could a double male fitting be used? Any idea what size?

- does the truck have to be up to normal op temp for this to work or cold?

- is there any cycling through the gears as in the other trans flush doc?

thanks again!

I'm doing this trans flush soon. I have some thoughts:

It looks like 3/8 ID to me, not sure. I have a 3/8 to 3/8 barbed connector I expect will work on the output hose.

I don't think I'll get the trans up to temp. I don't want the volume measurements to change as it cools down over the 2 hour transfer process.

I don't imagine we'll have time to shift through gears. Or think it's a good idea while ATF is pumping out.

This looks so easy I may make it annual maintenance. perhaps trade out 12 quarts this Spring and then just trade out 5 quarts each year

I plan to use Valvoline Max Life.

 

[jumpjet]

I tackled this one today and, while it didn't make a huge difference in the shifting, the fluid that came out at 161k was nasty.

Couple of things I did and would do differently if I tackle this again. I'm not a patient man, so constantly refilling the funnel and waiting annoyed the hell out of me. I took a 1/4NPT air hose fitting and screwed it into the cap of a gallon jug of ATF and suspended it from the hood. That helped a little bit, but then I got out my gear oil pump. That worked wonders and was far faster getting the fluid in.

If I do this again, I'll use a power bleeder for the fill side. Something akin to this: YouTube. Hope that helps someone out in the future.

 

[Terminator03]

This is something I definitely want to do this summer. The sealed trans really bugs me because you have no physical way to even check the condition/color of the fluid without doing a process like this. I have no clue if mine has ever been serviced, but it’s around 130k miles now so I’d like to do it just for piece of mind. I was very surprised though when I dropped my front and rear diffs, and transfer case oils to find that they were definitely serviced not too long in the past, and looked very good/clean. Hopefully I’ll have a similar “nice surprise” when I see the trans fluid.

 

[BC4runner06]

You will DEFINITELY need a new gasket. I just had all of this done at a shop as it was there for something else. Pan drop, filter replaced, new gasket and fluid.

In the end, with 2 hours labour, new filter (screen) and gasket, plus cost of fluid, cost me $400 CAD

Vehicle doesn't shudder anymore and shifting is way better, but next time I would have done the method in the original post and saved myself some bucks.

Just an update for anyone interested. Full tranny flush/filter service and 2 bottles of shudder fixx later and my 06 4runner V6 4WD is still shuddering. I thought it went away but not the case.

I've read some people saying that the shudder fixx has taken a bit of time to work but just as many people if not more say it worked instantly.

I'm hoping it's not my tranny/torque converter needing replacing. Anyone got any tboughts/ideas?

 

[badattitude]

I'm doing this trans flush soon. I have some thoughts:

It looks like 3/8 ID to me, not sure. I have a 3/8 to 3/8 barbed connector I expect will work on the output hose.

I don't think I'll get the trans up to temp. I don't want the volume measurements to change as it cools down over the 2 hour transfer process.

I don't imagine we'll have time to shift through gears. Or think it's a good idea while ATF is pumping out.

This looks so easy I may make it annual maintenance. perhaps trade out 12 quarts this Spring and then just trade out 5 quarts each year

I plan to use Valvoline Max Life.

I will not be performing this trans flash soon.

 

[Bluesky 07]

I will not be performing this trans flash soon.

Man, what a shame. Glad you’re (presumably) okay.

 

[AuSeeker]

I will not be performing this trans flash soon.

Oh Crap!

Sorry to see this, I guessing they might total it for that much damage, who was at fault?

 

[badattitude]

Their fault, they pulled into traffic without looking, no traffic light. Yea I'm okay, thanks. Other person had to go to the Hospital. It will be totaled. The estimator stopped adding it up at $13,500 in repairs.

It is a shame that was an extra clean Sport Edition. Looking at 2014 SR5 tomorrow. Hard to find a nice Sport Edition now a days.

 

[Benny123]

Caution

While I like the idea you should definitely drop your pan and clean your magnets. It takes time but is the right way to do it. There are several posts and people damaging their transmission doing a flush without dropping the pan and cleaning and magnets on Tacomaworld.com When I dropped mine it had over 100,000 miles. There was a lot of debris on the magnets and all that would've been flushed into the valve body doing this procedure. You can absolutely wreck your transmission if that happens.

 

[Zeffe]

While I like the idea you should definitely drop your pan and clean your magnets. It takes time but is the right way to do it. There are several posts and people damaging their transmission doing a flush without dropping the pan and cleaning and magnets on Tacomaworld.com When I dropped mine it had over 100,000 miles. There was a lot of debris on the magnets and all that would've been flushed into the valve body doing this procedure. You can absolutely wreck your transmission if that happens.

Is this true? Doesn't seem to me you're introducing any abnormal pressure spikes that would dislodge debris that is on the magnets.

 

[Terminator03]

Is this true? Doesn't seem to me you're introducing any abnormal pressure spikes that would dislodge debris that is on the magnets.

I believe he’s referring to the power flush with the machine that the dealer does. In that case, yes, it can be more harmful than good for an older trans. With the DYI methods talked about on here, all you are doing is replacing old worn out fluid with new. Still not a bad idea to drop and clean the pan though, if you’re going through the trouble and expense of a fluid swap. To me “not” dropping the pan is similar to doing an oil change without changing the oil filter...

 

[UrbanRunner651]

Since the fluid is not returning to the system the same time it is exiting, would this not potentially introduce air into the system and result in improper levels?

 

[00GTvert]

System Will Purge Itself of Air

I just did this yesterday and was shocked/thrilled about how quick/easy it was. Sure I had to make a trip to the HW store to get some parts for the job but total cost was <$10 and it didn't take much time to find everything.

I swapped in 8 fresh qts of WS and a tube of shudder fix. The old fluid was black (190K miles) and as of the last 2qt flush I did the fluid had returned to a dark red even though 4 qts of the original were still in the system.

Not only was it a quick/clean/easy way to do this without even having to get on the ground my truck was shifting/driving MUCH better right away. Before the ATF swap I'd get the "shudder" after every gear change. Upon the first test drive it only did it around 40mph. The more I drove it the better it got. I only put about 15 miles on the thing before the shudder was completely gone. I can imagine it'll get even better with time.

What a fantastic resource this page and its members are!

Since the fluid is not returning to the system the same time it is exiting, would this not potentially introduce air into the system and result in improper levels?

When I did this yesterday and was filling the system from a funnel I had hanging above the engine bay I thought the same as you about introducing air but as I poured in the ATF I could see it was forcing the air back up out of the funnel so Im positive it was all purged out.

 

[azgold]

Did this fluid exchange today on my 2006 T4R V6 with 207,000 miles (i dont know if it has ever been changed).

I used 3 gallons of the Valvoline Max Life. By the time I was done with the third gallon, the return line had nice looking clean fluid coming out.

No noticeable difference in drivability, but the peace of mind is priceless.

 

[Bluesky 07]

Did this fluid exchange today on my 2006 T4R V6 with 207,000 miles (i dont know if it has ever been changed).

I used 3 gallons of the Valvoline Max Life. By the time I was done with the third gallon, the return line had nice looking clean fluid coming out.

No noticeable difference in drivability, but the peace of mind is priceless.

What did the old fluid look like?

 

[Supersonic]

the science: the return line goes back to the transmission towards the pan, the fluid out of the tranny comes from the TC side,

Just to be clear on this the 'return line' is the one at the top of the radiator?

I did this on my 2010 Sienna and one fella had a YouTube video that was so easy to follow because it's right at the top of the radiator.

My thought is do the initial drain and fill, then the flush through the return line, and then do one more drain and fill to be sure I have the proper amount in the pan because I'm not gonna go through the measuring the temperature and opening the drain tube. I change the filter 2 summers ago and probably put on 3000 miles So I don't think I need to do that.

 

[azgold]

What did the old fluid look like?

It was very dark, and smelled a bit, but it was still liquid. Likely worn out and may not have the cooling or lubrication properties that the new stuff does.

I doubt it has ever been changed, or at least I cant find it in any service done to the vehicle through the dealer anyway.

 

[Johns06yota]

Thanks for this! just did this today as I was having some jerking and weird revving despite having the filter done last year. Turns out they must have only refilled the pan which is only 4 quarts out of the 14. I used valvoline maxlife and it is amazing the difference this makes. The shifts are like butter now