Tranny Fluid Question

[Bigmikelakers]

I just got 4runner Friday. It came with tons of service records. But the thing is that they all came from the 1st owner who religiously did all the maintenance for it up to about 90k miles. I am now the 4th owner at 166k miles. Should I do a change and refill for the tranny fluid? I heard from a few people that doing so at such high mileage would actually be a bad thing? Is that true?

 

[kball]

Drain and fills are fine.

 

[PitbullRescuer]

Drain and fill would be a good idea. As would a new filter. What you don't want to do is a power flush.

 

[Bigmikelakers]

Thanks guys thats what I figured. No flush then. It seems to me flushes do more harm than good regardless of the transmission. On my '04 Honda Accord its required to NOT do a flush no matter what.

 

[BrianSD_42]

I heard from a few people that doing so at such high mileage would actually be a bad thing? Is that true?

It seems to me flushes do more harm than good regardless of the transmission.

Well what would be the alternative? I assume you mean doing a full flush.

I always wonder who these 'people' are that and why they are SO against doing a single full flush. What is there education with regards to transmissions? I am not an automotive engineer but neither are those I have heard speaking against doing a flush.

I think you should do a full flush at least once after 150,000 miles but if you are really worried about it then just do two drain in fills. Some Toyota dealerships are actually offering a full flush as a service now. It is not 'taboo' despite what some forum heads say.


:roadkill:

 

[Bigmikelakers]

Well what would be the alternative? I assume you mean doing a full flush.

I always wonder who these 'people' are that and why they are SO against doing a single full flush. What is there education with regards to transmissions? I am not an automotive engineer but neither are those I have heard speaking against doing a flush.

I think you should do a full flush at least once after 150,000 miles but if you are really worried about it then just do two drain in fills. Some Toyota dealerships are actually offering a full flush as a service now. It is not 'taboo' despite what some forum heads say.


:roadkill:

Hey! I think your the guy I seen on a previous post that recommended this Toyota mechanic down in San Diego. I forgot the name though.

 

[brian2sun]

I did the DIY drop the pan, replace the filter, and flush at 185K..
Dropping Pan And Flushing Transmission
I have 217K on it now and it's all good.

Mine was starting to shift really hard (as in slamming into gear when downshifting) before I did the flush and now it shifts very smooth. I did a simple drain and fill a couple months ago when I installed my tranny cooler too because it had been about 3 years.

 

[Bigmikelakers]

I did the DIY drop the pan, replace the filter, and flush at 185K..
Dropping Pan And Flushing Transmission
I have 217K on it now and it's all good.

Mine was starting to shift really hard (as in slamming into gear when downshifting) before I did the flush and now it shifts very smooth. I did a simple drain and fill a couple months ago when I installed my tranny cooler too because it had been about 3 years.

Speaking of tranny coolers, do you know a place in Socal that can install one for me? I have never worked on a car in my life and I rather have a professional do it.

 

[brian2sun]

Speaking of tranny coolers, do you know a place in Socal that can install one for me? I have never worked on a car in my life and I rather have a professional do it.

On a scale of 1 - 10, I'd say it's a 2 or 3. I don't know any shops around LA (since I live kinda far), but any decent shop should be able to handle it and I would guess it would cost about $150 labor. But, it only took me a couple hours to do. Here's a great write-up if you want to see if it's something you could tackle yourself..
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...ission-cooler-install-3rd-gen.html#post586723

 

[BrianSD_42]

Hey! I think your the guy I seen on a previous post that recommended this Toyota mechanic down in San Diego. I forgot the name though.

I take my 4Runner to "The Truck Shop" in San Diego. I am not alone, it is a pretty well known place. I have been a customer for a few years so I try to recommend them when I get a change.

Is the vehicle mostly driven in San Diego or the mountains / desert? I live near the coast and don't really have a need for a tranny cooler because of the low temps (50-85F) all year long. Instead I just had the whole radiator replaced. I am sure it will be good for at least a 100,000 miles since it is a Koyo at OEM specs.

If you are going to pay to have the tranny cooler installed it will probably be $50 - $75 in labor depending on how long it takes. The total cost for a Koyo radiator installed by a professional shop should be about $375. I was at 195k when I replaced mine.

:surfer:

 

[Bigmikelakers]

I take my 4Runner to "The Truck Shop" in San Diego. I am not alone, it is a pretty well known place. I have been a customer for a few years so I try to recommend them when I get a change.

Is the vehicle mostly driven in San Diego or the mountains / desert? I live near the coast and don't really have a need for a tranny cooler because of the low temps (50-85F) all year long. Instead I just had the whole radiator replaced. I am sure it will be good for at least a 100,000 miles since it is a Koyo at OEM specs.

If you are going to pay to have the tranny cooler installed it will probably be $50 - $75 in labor depending on how long it takes. The total cost for a Koyo radiator installed by a professional shop should be about $375. I was at 195k when I replaced mine.

:surfer:

Oh I see. I live near the coast like you do so I guess I wouldn't need a tranny cooler then. I'm sure I will be doing a lot of roadtrips through the desert however. So do you think The Truck Shop can replace my radiator? I'm willing to drive down there since I have not found a good Toyota shop up here in LA County.

On a scale of 1 - 10, I'd say it's a 2 or 3. I don't know any shops around LA (since I live kinda far), but any decent shop should be able to handle it and I would guess it would cost about $150 labor. But, it only took me a couple hours to do. Here's a great write-up if you want to see if it's something you could tackle yourself..
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...ission-cooler-install-3rd-gen.html#post586723

If you recommened a shop in the Inland Empire in your neck of the woods I would consider going there. Hell, I'll pay you to do it for me haha. I'm just way to paranoid with my truck to mess anything up.

 

[BrianSD_42]

They were the ones that replaced mine. You will have to call for a current price of course (it's a fluid market) but it should be around $350 - $375 for a Koyo installed.

One good thing about that shop is they use Toyota or OEM parts by default. They don't try to slip in any cheapo autoZone parts to make a profit on the difference.

Just google "The Truck Shop" and call to make an appointment. I believe they are open 9:30am - 6:30pm.

 

[Bigmikelakers]

They were the ones that replaced mine. You will have to call for a current price of course (it's a fluid market) but it should be around $350 - $375 for a Koyo installed.

One good thing about that shop is they use Toyota or OEM parts by default. They don't try to slip in any cheapo autoZone parts to make a profit on the difference.

Just google "The Truck Shop" and call to make an appointment. I believe they are open 9:30am - 6:30pm.

Thanks for the info man. They seem like they install mods and lifts too. Looks like they may be getting my money real soon lol. I'll probably go to Toyota for the transmission fluid change or flush since thats pretty cheap anyways.

 

[BrianSD_42]

Yes they do lifts but I recommend researching what kind of lift you want beforehand on the forums.

Do you want a coil lift or adjustable oil filled type. Sorry I am not very technical. My point is that it would be best to know what you want first. They can also order any parts at the same price you would pay.

 

[T4R_Finally]

Drain, replace filter and fill is good. Do it more often than you would a flush and fill and you may never need a risky flush.

 

[maxspeed96ct]

The 16 bottle do it yourself write up is great, easy to do and it shouldn't harm anything. Its the pressure flush that some automotive shops do that can be harmful on older vehicles.

 

[pauls4runner]

My 98 3.4l 2wd has roughly 280,000 miles, when I got it 4 months ago (5000 miles ago). I inspected the trans fluid, it was dark, but not burnt and no eveidnce of anything metallic. first thing I did was a trans power flush, 4 months and 5000 miles later, I still have no problems. if your trans fluid smells burnt or appears to have "glitter" in it, then the best bet is a traditional drain and fill. the Toyota dealership I work at, a trans flush runs about $180 depending on what fluid (dexron, typeIV or WS). if their is nothing wrong internally in the trans a power flush is perfectly fine.

 

[Nunyabiz]

To me a "drain & fill" is perfectly useless IMO.
You are basically taking 3-4 Qts of good clean fluid and dumping it into 10 Qts of manure so you now have 13+ Qts of slightly less used manure.

Personally I think the best possible solution is to take it to a T-Tech machine which does a FULL FLUSH using the trucks own pump, it is not a power flush.
It will replace 95%+ of the old fluid.

http://www.asedeals.com/ttech_fluid_exchanger.html

As far as replacing the "filter" we do not have a filter, all we have is a stainless "screen" so unless it is really bad which means you got a lot more problems than a dirty screen.
My screen is the original and it looks like brand new, not a spec of anything on it. Should never be any reason to replace it.

I think it is a good idea to take the pan off to look inside, check your magnets to see what if any metal shavings have accumulated etc.

Now you can install a inline Magnafine "Filter" if you feel the need they pick up the small metal particles as the fluid runs through it.

Magnefine Inline Transmission Power Steering Filters

I would also change the fluid with 100% synthetic of what ever brand that floats your boat, I like Amsoil.

 

[Bigmikelakers]

I gotta check the tranny fluid to see how it looks. I own a Accord too and I heard so many horror stories of people's transmissions going out right after they get flushed. Different car I know but I still worried since I want to keep this truck till 300k miles and beyond. I guess I'll have Toyota do do it. The price doesn't seem to high there to get it done.

 

[jdjohn84]

I own a Accord too and I heard so many horror stories of people's transmissions going out right after they get flushed.

Honda/Acura had some faulty trannies in the late '90s and early '00s. I have an '03 Acura TL that had a slight shudder between certain gears when I bought it a couple of years ago with 100K miles on it. I did a series of four different 3.5qt drains and refills with Amsoil ATF over about a year's time (a slow transition instead of full flush), and all is well.

The '00 T4R I just got for my son downshifts pretty hard, so I think I'll do the same slow Amsoil ATF transition with it. As Nunyabiz pointed out, there is really not much of a 'filter', and it is a lot of work to replace it.