Trans fluid swap, dealer only?

[Jester4kicks]

Just got back from Big-O tires, who said they could do my automatic transmission fluid change for $130. I figured this was a good price, so I brought it in.

There's more to this story, but I'm too pissed to discuss.

Anyway, long story short, they end up telling me that there's no fill port, and that the dealer has to do the fluid swap.

This can't possibly be true, right? Are these people incompetent? Or does this require some kind of equipment that not all shops have?

 

[Jester4kicks]

I think I just found the instructions in my Haynes manual.

It is seriously as simple as draining it from the drain plug, then refilling it in the overflow plug until it drips out, start up the runner, shift through all the gears, then remove the overflow plug again and fill until it drips out?

There's a section about dropping the pan, but is that really necessary for the 60k mile change? Or is there a filter that has to be changed and can only be reached by dropping the pan?

If it's that simple, and doesn't require dropping the pan, I'm going to be pissed that they couldn't do it. I could do that myself, if I could fit under my car when it's sitting level.

 

[Jester4kicks]

Well lots of views, but no replies. I think I've given up on the issue though.

I finally found a good description for what's involved in a real transmission fluid flush. However, in the process, I've also discovered that Toyota originally rated the WS fluid to 100k miles under normal conditions. I might do a little offroading, so I won't push it that far, but I don't think I need to do it just yet (64k miles).

I ended up calling Big O Tires, and I spoke to the manager. He was obviously pretty clueless about the process, and even after we discussed it for a bit, it still didn't sound like he knew how it would work. At this point, I don't think I'll be going back there for much of anything.

 

[Ducman]

Search

Please use the search :shrug:

This topic has been covered many times.

The 'sealed' transmissions WS fluid can be easily changed at home in your garage.

And don't wait till 100,000 miles either. I know my fluid was worn out long before that.

 

[Jester4kicks]

Please use the search :shrug:

This topic has been covered many times.

The 'sealed' transmissions WS fluid can be easily changed at home in your garage.

And don't wait till 100,000 miles either. I know my fluid was worn out long before that.

I'm actually a big proponent of searching before posting, which is why I did quite a bit of it. Have you actually tried it for this topic? There are a lot of unanswered threads on it, and there doesn't seem to be any good consensus on when to do it, not to mention the multitude of horror stories people have posted about dealers and non-dealers screwing up these sealed transmissions.

The sticky primarily focuses on the drain and fill aspect, without much attention to flushing it. I did see the link buried a few pages deep that has a bit of a walkthrough, but it wasn't really enough to give me much confidence.

The link I finally found was a lot more satisfying, but I don't have it in front of me. If I find it again, I'll post it.

Edit: Here's the link. Yes, it's for a Tacoma, but the process seems sound, and everything seems to be very similar to the runner.
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2n...flush-automatic-transmission.html#post1288039

 

[Ducman]

transmission fluid

Ah sorry if I came across like the 'search police' I did not realize you were looking for a how specifically only on a transmission flush.

I'm a firm believer that several drain and fills spaced about 500-1000 miles apart is the way to go (very easy to do and worked great for me).

 

[Jester4kicks]

Ah sorry if I came across like the 'search police' I did not realize you were looking for a how specifically only on a transmission flush.

I'm a firm believer that several drain and fills spaced about 500-1000 miles apart is the way to go (very easy to do and worked great for me).

No worries, I know some things tend to sound repetitive.

I've been leaning toward the whole multiple-drain-and-fill technique for a while now, especially given that I'm not doing anything too hard on the tranny, and I'm only at 64k.

 

[Desert Fox]

You should go back to Big O and thank them.
They taught you a valuable lesson. Dont let people put a wrench on your vehicle that are clueless. A tire shop is for tires, not trannys, even if it only fluid.
They hire a different level of mechanic and probably not the level you want working on your trann.

 

[Jester4kicks]

You should go back to Big O and thank them.
They taught you a valuable lesson. Dont let people put a wrench on your vehicle that are clueless. A tire shop is for tires, not trannys, even if it only fluid.
They hire a different level of mechanic and probably not the level you want working on your trann.

I've actually been going to Big O for a lot of maintenance stuff that I either wasn't comfortable doing, or didn't have time to do. Up until now, they've been great.

Honestly, the biggest thing that pissed me off is that I had them do the coolant flush as well, but only because it worked out to only be $40 on top of the tranny flush after coupons and discounts. However, with the tranny flush out of the picture, the coolant flush ended up costing me $80 on its own.

NOT happy about that.