binhsterbinh
Member
I followed these instructions but decided to simply drain and fill only and then skip to Step #39 to flush the rest of the system with all new fluid. Total of 16 quarts.
I used Valvoline Maxlife Dex/Merc ATF. Maxlife Dex/Merc is fully synthetic. The old Toyota fluid I removed had no more than 30k miles on it and came out pretty clean. The shifts with Maxlife ATF are definitely quicker and smoother than the old fluid yet still feels firm. The old fluid was always very firm shifting which is not a bad thing as it probably did not have that many friction modifiers in it to make the clutch engagements slippery and smooth which tends to cause more clutch wear.
After 4k miles with the Maxlife Dex/Merc on the 4Runner, I would definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a good synthetic that won't break the bank. I also did a Maxlife ATF 3 Quart drain and fill in my mother's '99 Accord 2.3 liter inline-4 a few weeks ago to replace the old black/ Honda Z1. Needless to say, it firmed things up in significantly in that car as well with 139k miles on odometer. The short lived Honda Z1 ATF is notorious for putting too many modifiers into their fluid to create seemless shifting yet more transmission wear and reduced gear holding torque.
If I were to do it all over, I would have used Redline D4 ATF instead. From my research on BITOG forums, Redline ATF uses some of the highest quality synthetic base stock in their ATF fluid which can pretty much last the lifetime of a transmission. The downside is that it cost between $9.50-$12 per quart. I know Amsoil, Maxlife Dex/Merc, and Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF are also all great choices as well in the synthetic department.
I'm running a combination of 66% Redline Racing (Type-F - no modifiers)/ 33% Redline D4 in my '05 TL and absolutely love how it has brought my tranmission to life. Shifts are faster and gear holding torque feels like a manual transmission. I can spin tires in 1st and into 2nd gear at WOT. With the aged factory Z1, I could barely spin the tires into first gear let along 2nd.
I used Valvoline Maxlife Dex/Merc ATF. Maxlife Dex/Merc is fully synthetic. The old Toyota fluid I removed had no more than 30k miles on it and came out pretty clean. The shifts with Maxlife ATF are definitely quicker and smoother than the old fluid yet still feels firm. The old fluid was always very firm shifting which is not a bad thing as it probably did not have that many friction modifiers in it to make the clutch engagements slippery and smooth which tends to cause more clutch wear.
After 4k miles with the Maxlife Dex/Merc on the 4Runner, I would definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a good synthetic that won't break the bank. I also did a Maxlife ATF 3 Quart drain and fill in my mother's '99 Accord 2.3 liter inline-4 a few weeks ago to replace the old black/ Honda Z1. Needless to say, it firmed things up in significantly in that car as well with 139k miles on odometer. The short lived Honda Z1 ATF is notorious for putting too many modifiers into their fluid to create seemless shifting yet more transmission wear and reduced gear holding torque.
If I were to do it all over, I would have used Redline D4 ATF instead. From my research on BITOG forums, Redline ATF uses some of the highest quality synthetic base stock in their ATF fluid which can pretty much last the lifetime of a transmission. The downside is that it cost between $9.50-$12 per quart. I know Amsoil, Maxlife Dex/Merc, and Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF are also all great choices as well in the synthetic department.
I'm running a combination of 66% Redline Racing (Type-F - no modifiers)/ 33% Redline D4 in my '05 TL and absolutely love how it has brought my tranmission to life. Shifts are faster and gear holding torque feels like a manual transmission. I can spin tires in 1st and into 2nd gear at WOT. With the aged factory Z1, I could barely spin the tires into first gear let along 2nd.
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