How many guys are still on original transmission fluid? Come on in!
- Thread starter luke87gt
- Start date
Staceman
New member
original owner of a 2007 Sport V8 4WD. I drained and refilled 3.3 quarts at 100K. Was really black, so did it again 3 days later. Still had pink. Drained and refilled 3.3 quarts again at 150K, still had pink. I'm at 167K now. Will do it again at 200K. As long as there is some "fresh" fluid in there, I'm good with that.
Hesitation. It surged while accelerating normal, didn't if you floored it. Took a long time to shift into second. Took a ping time to downshift if I manually did so, especially towing. Then started not shifting past 3rd gear, falling out of overdrive down into 3rd, and the worst is it would slam into gear occasionally. Like if you neutral dropped at 3k rpm's. I had codes for high voltage on 3 shifter solenoids too at the end. Replaced fluid and I'm having none of those issues anymore. I have about 800 miles on since the full flush. Towed my trailer for 50 miles too with ~4500 - 5000 lbs in it.
Sent from the drivers seat of my 05 4runner.
luke87gt
New member
It's interesting how much psychology is tied into transmission fluid changes.
Black fluid is a no no, but diluting the black with a few quarts of fresh fluid and giving it a hint of pink, I'm good with that.
I'm not picking on anyone, just an observation about these tranny fluid posts.
Here are my thoughts:
- Lifetime fluid almost certainly means lifetime of warranty.
- Many 4Runner owners are apprehensive to do the full flush due to the increased complexity over the drain and fill. I think people are afraid of making a mistake on a high dollar mechanical part that is the transmission. It sounds like those that have actually done the flush, report that it wasn't overly complicated.
- Drain and fill is most likely better than never replacing it at all.
- In the automotive world, there seems to be anecdotal evidence of correlations between tranny fluid replacement on very high mile transmissions and tranny malfunction/failure. This could partly be that people over/under fill the transmission and partly could be that the transmission already has a lot of miles (a high mileage transmission is more likely to fail than a newer lower mileage transmission, and transmission replacements typically occur on transmissions that have higher miles).
I'm still on the fence, but eager to continue to listen to opinions.
Some basic math (from what I understand, the transmission holds about 12 quarts of fluid and the drain and fill requires about 3 quarts).
1 drain + fill will get you 25% new fluid (3 new quarts)
3 drain + fill will get you just over 50% new fluid (9 new quarts)
5 drain + fill will get you just over 75% new fluid (15 new quarts)
8 drain + fill will get you just under 90% new fluid (24 new quarts)
New to me truck.
167k miles
Not sure how long, but was driven for 6 months without the dipstick in the check port (2003 v8, so I have the dipstick).
Here's the color of the fluid. Plenty pink, just going to do a drain fill at the next oil change, and maybe make it an annual thing going forward.
167k miles
Not sure how long, but was driven for 6 months without the dipstick in the check port (2003 v8, so I have the dipstick).
Here's the color of the fluid. Plenty pink, just going to do a drain fill at the next oil change, and maybe make it an annual thing going forward.
Ralph Blake
Member
If the fluid is really dark "black" i am thinking, you have condemnation from some place getting into it.
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jfry008
New member
There's no way man. My transmission and me serve the Lord! :amen:
Tman, you said that the shop simply unhooked the tanny cooler, and plugged the lines into the fluid exchange tank correct? Obviously new fluid going in, and old getting caught in the container.
My thought is that this could be done at home by letting the old fluid flow in a 5 gallon jug, and letting the transmission suck the new fluid out of a separate 5 gallon jug.
What was the process for running the truck? (Example: idling in park? Shifting through gears while holding the brakes?)
This would basically be the same thing, but without the fancy tube thing
I would think you could do it like that. I idled in park, but holding the brake and shifting wouldn't hurt. It changes it fast too. Only took a few minutes.
Sent from the drivers seat of my 05 4runner.
You're the man. I figure if you put an extra 2 quarts in the fill bucket, there would be a safety threshold to prevent air in the lines or other accidens.
Someone give me a heads up if it's a bad idea
07V8
Member
The transmission will NOT suck from a bucket. Others have tried and failed. Use the cooler line method all over this site and Tacoma world.
cloudrunner
New member
07 V6 2wd here. I went to the local dealer and asked the tech what they would recommend at 140k miles, fluid was never changed before. They recommended a drain and fill. Truck has always shifted fine and continues to do so. I will probably continue to do several more drain and fills over the next year and then leave it be until about 200k or so.
Not sure why anyone would want to change maybe 5 quarts, let it mix with the old crap, and repeat, often? Do you drain 1 quart of engine oil and refill? I know Trans fluid lasts longer but the point is the same. It's easy to just flush it all and you know what shape the oil is in and the protection it provides. It cost me $150 and 15 minutes to have it completely flushed.
BTW, drove 251 miles up the freeway to home at 90 mph last night. Ran flawless.
Sent from the drivers seat of my 05 4runner.
BTW, drove 251 miles up the freeway to home at 90 mph last night. Ran flawless.
Sent from the drivers seat of my 05 4runner.
Ralph Blake
Member
My major problem is not with the engine oil or the Trans fluid, it with them no good son of a *****'s who keep KEYING my paint. and even one keyed a wheel rim.
They just seem to sneak around the parking lots, find my 4Runner and key it.
If my states statutes were not so strict on the use of deadly force, there would be a bunch of dead keyer's if i could catch them.:ak472:
They just seem to sneak around the parking lots, find my 4Runner and key it.
If my states statutes were not so strict on the use of deadly force, there would be a bunch of dead keyer's if i could catch them.:ak472:
What is the difference from the bucket and the process that [MENTION=101553]t-man[/MENTION] had done?
Not being a smartass, just trying to learn.
The only thing I can think is the pressure of the outlet is pushing in the new fluid. So it doesn't have to suck it up because it is still a closed system.
Sent from the drivers seat of my 05 4runner.
BlackWorksInc
New member
I would just point out that you should still check the fluid level afterwards. Just because you suck up 5qts from the bucket doesn't mean 5qts is what ends up in the transmission and 5qt is what comes out.
Variables such as temperature, fluid flow rate, fluid in the lines, length/width of lines used, ect. all contribute to fluid amount transferred. These transmissions can be finicky if underfilled/overfilled by as little as a 1/4 of a quart.
Variables such as temperature, fluid flow rate, fluid in the lines, length/width of lines used, ect. all contribute to fluid amount transferred. These transmissions can be finicky if underfilled/overfilled by as little as a 1/4 of a quart.
