I was told that I should not ever change my transmisson fluid??

P

perfectmax

New member
My transmission has 133k miles on it and... seems to be running fine. I went into a local shop and asked them to change my tranny fluid. They told me that they would not do it because it was a liability and they advised me not to have it changed in the future. Their reasoning is that the gears build up resistance to the goopy tranny fluid in older transmissions and if I drain it and put in new fluid an a older tranny, it could begin to slip.

My question to you guys is:

Is this bul$hit or should i NOT change to fluid and continue adding mileage to it?
 
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No this is BS. The guy that regularly does work on my truck says that only twice in his lifetime has he seen a tranny get worse after a fluid change.

My a/t tranny is on it's last leg, really eaten up inside. I put seafoam cleaner in it (which will get all that goopy stuff out) and changed the fluid last month. It did not change the performance at all. Not worse, not better. So if I can change my fluid on a tranny that I know is in bad shape, and it does not make it worse, then you should definately be okay.

Take it to another shop or just do it yourself, it is not hard at all.
 
on our 95 gmc sierra, with a 4l60e, we changed the fluid after towing, and put a new filter in, well something messed up because it's been slipping since.
 
I think what he may have meant was, if the fluid has not ever been changed in the 133K that you should not change it because it does loosen up built up gunk and shortens the life or what life is left in the tranny.

If the tranny fluid followed a routine change in it's life then it should be changed.


Mike
 
perfectmax said:
How many miles can we get out of our transmissions with regular use? Should I be concerned with 133k miles?
Click to expand...

If the tranny had regular fluid changes and was not used for towing all the time it should last....but if the fluid was never changed it is anyones guess.


Mike
 
I've been told the same thing at 2 different shops.. Mine has 173,000 miles, and since I have no maint. records, I've been told not to do it. I have a manual tranny, and was also told not to change the diff fluid. It seems to me that changing it would be the better way to go. I'll let you know if my truck blows up after I do It.
 
On any automatic tranny that could have a problem (no way to tell) changing the tranny fluid will cause problems. When your bands or clutches are worn out and there is extra material in the fluid causing friction or maybe even blocking a passage way (causing higher pressure) a fluid change will cause tranny failer.
 
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I changed my tranny fluid in my 4r at 205k miles (origanal tranny) and ran it till 228k (climbing out of a mud pit) the shift forks gave out
 
Well,, I decided to change the tranny fluid in my 92 with the A340H tranny. That was about 4 months ago. The 4Runner now has 182,000 miles on it. I did notice only one difference after changing my fluid.

Now, the first couple of times the tranny shifts from 1-2 after getting cold (overnight cold) , the shift is delayed -- especially if I am accelerating and not just holding a steady speed,, say-- about 30 mph. So the engine slowly winds up to about 4,000. Then if I let off the accelerator a bit, I get a bit of a harsh shift.

This ONLY happens one or 2 times until , it seems,, the transmission fluid warms a few degrees. It does not matter whether the ECT switch is ON or OFF. Once the engine and tranny get warm,, the transmission shifts flawlessly and responds to the ECT switch and the O/D switch.

There is no slippage at any time -- even when the transmission shift is delayed. Strangely, this symptom does NOT occur every morning. The only other variable I can think of that changed, is the weather got colder right after I changed the fluid. I will be interested to see if this pattern changes when warmer Spring weather arrives.

I guess that it could also be a temp sensor going south, or one of the shift solenoids. Guess I'll drive it until worse things happen, unless anyone has a suggestion. I'm open.

Mike in AR
 
Here's the deal. Toyotas are supposed to use dextron 3 ATF. Great stuff...exept that it is a very high detergent formula. That is why you don't want to change a bunch of trani fluid on a high mileage trani. As said before, if regular fluid changes are done, all will be well. But if not, the detergents will knock a bunch of built up crap in your tranni loose and really do some damage.
Here are your options. Seeing as you only have 133 thousand, which ain't bad at all, you can either just do a pan drain, or use an additive. I have over two-hundred thousand on my first gen and I did a pan drain and fill (NOT A MACHINE FLUSH), and am still rolling strong. I also don't know the maintainance history. The additive on the other hand would be a safer way to go if you suspect there might be problems with fresh fluid. Go to your local NAPA Autoparts and buy the LUCAS AUTOMATIC TRANSMISION ADDITIVE. It's extremely thick and will restore your tranni fluids viscosity level as well as help with slipping and minor leaks. You may have to drain a tiny bit of old fluid first to acount for the fluid level when you pour in the additive.
As long as your tranni is healthy, I recomend a pan drain and fill, in combination with the Lucas. Pour in the additive(whole bottle) then fill the rest of your pan capacity to the mark on on the dip stick.
 
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I have an 87 4cyl MT, and recently I've noticed when shifting into 5th gear my speed starts to drop forcing me to downshift back upto 4th, and my MPG dropped from like 24 to 13. It has 223000 miles and bought it at 222000. Any suggestions?

The guy I bought it from said he replaced ALL the fluids. I'm not sure if maybe I'm barely feeling the effect of the trannyfluid replacement or what?
 
Memo said:
I have an 87 4cyl MT, and recently I've noticed when shifting into 5th gear my speed starts to drop forcing me to downshift back upto 4th, and my MPG dropped from like 24 to 13. It has 223000 miles and bought it at 222000. Any suggestions?

The guy I bought it from said he replaced ALL the fluids. I'm not sure if maybe I'm barely feeling the effect of the trannyfluid replacement or what?
Click to expand...

How long since you performed all the routine maintenance items like: plugs, cap and rotor, plug wires, clean the TB with TB cleaner, checked the TPS and AFM for proper spec and operation?

Mike in AR
 
Plugs are good, I replaced them before leaving to my roadtrip through Baja, but haven't checked out all the other stuff. I also replaced the oil as soon as I got back. Forgot to mention in the last post that there seems to be a leak also I suspect from the Tranny but can't be to sure.
 
Memo said:
I have an 87 4cyl MT, and recently I've noticed when shifting into 5th gear my speed starts to drop forcing me to downshift back upto 4th, and my MPG dropped from like 24 to 13. It has 223000 miles and bought it at 222000. Any suggestions?

The guy I bought it from said he replaced ALL the fluids. I'm not sure if maybe I'm barely feeling the effect of the trannyfluid replacement or what?
Click to expand...

It sounds like you may be needing a new clutch, but do check on that tune up. Plugs wires cap rotor and your air and fuel filters. If it is the clutch is on it's way out, that slipping will slowly work it's way down to first gear where you will have to rev the hell out of it just to get going. So if fourth starts to go like fifth did, you need a clutch.
 
Yeah I thought about the clutch but last time I had a problem with a clutch my RPMs went up but no power, but in this case my RPMs stay the same no matter how much I floor it but, you're probably right I should still check it out. But yeah I was thinking it was either tranny/clutch or maybe even the fuel line. I'm just glad there's a place that checks trannys and clutches for free here in San Diego but I'm probably going to Tijuana to get it fixed and to check out the fuel line, WAY CHEAP. Thanks for your help.
 
TRANSMISSION NOT SHIFTING PROPERLY WHEN COLD

regularguy412 (Mike)

I have a 1993 4Runner and my transmission also does the same thing, it shift at very high rpm's when cold but mine skips 2nd all together.

Please let me know if you were able to fix the problem.

My e-mail is [email protected]

My problem also started about the time when I changed my tranny fluid.

I await your comments.....

Thanks.
Oscar Teran


Well,, I decided to change the tranny fluid in my 92 with the A340H tranny. That was about 4 months ago. The 4Runner now has 182,000 miles on it. I did notice only one difference after changing my fluid.

Now, the first couple of times the tranny shifts from 1-2 after getting cold (overnight cold) , the shift is delayed -- especially if I am accelerating and not just holding a steady speed,, say-- about 30 mph. So the engine slowly winds up to about 4,000. Then if I let off the accelerator a bit, I get a bit of a harsh shift.

This ONLY happens one or 2 times until , it seems,, the transmission fluid warms a few degrees. It does not matter whether the ECT switch is ON or OFF. Once the engine and tranny get warm,, the transmission shifts flawlessly and responds to the ECT switch and the O/D switch.

There is no slippage at any time -- even when the transmission shift is delayed. Strangely, this symptom does NOT occur every morning. The only other variable I can think of that changed, is the weather got colder right after I changed the fluid. I will be interested to see if this pattern changes when warmer Spring weather arrives.

I guess that it could also be a temp sensor going south, or one of the shift solenoids. Guess I'll drive it until worse things happen, unless anyone has a suggestion. I'm open.

Mike in AR
 
Ok having had my 87 runner a bit longer now, about the shifting issue with the A340H, if the fluid you had in there before you changed it was old, it was likely thin and lacking viscosity, making it easier to pump. Auto trans is basically a big pump. Putting new fluid in it with good viscosity will cause it to have delayed shifts on a cold morning when it is thick. As it warms it will shift easier. A new transmission may not suffer this predicament since the pump is new and tight. The only option is to get out of the house a few minutes earlier so it can warm up a bit more.

As for the issue with the with the manual trans, I have also learned a bit more on that. Im not entirely sure, but you may also want to try a new throttle position sensor. They rarely go out, but if you have access to a used one, give it a try, as it is expensive. I have an auto trans, but I had a similar experiance once. After I had done some extensive engine work, I went to go drive it, and I could not get the rpm's up enough to shift with out putting it into low gear. After 3 days of scratching my head, I noticed the plug to the throttle position was not completely plugged in. The little metal clip on the plug had gone missing and allowed it to slide off the TPS a bit. Plugging it back in and making a trip to the junk yard for a new clip fixed the problem.

sargesvs, CHANGE THAT DIFF FLUID! It's not like a tranny, or an engine. Exept that it's expensive to fix. New fluid is good! 80w-90 GL-5. Nothing thicker then that.
 
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TRANSMISSION NOT SHIFTING PROPERLY WHEN COLD

Actually I have warmed up the engine completely but still the same issue. It is the TRANSMISSION that needs to warm up, not the engine.

As you mention in you past posing, as the oil gets hotter the transmission shifts better.

I'll probably try some kind of additive before rebuilding the tranny.
 

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