transmission fluid flush/replacement

[Ali0227]

Thank you, I'm relieved!

The “jerk” you are feeling is normal when shifting between gears when the engine isn’t at operating temperature. When the engine isn’t at operating temperature your engine rpm will be almost twice as high vs when the engine is warmed up. This causes the jerk feeling when going between gear selections. The higher rpm’s combined with the ring and pinion backlash in the differential can feel kinda jarring, but it’s normal operation.

If you are experiencing harsh shifts between gears (1-2, 2-3, 3-4) then you probably need to adjust the line pressure cable for the transmission (commonly called the kickdown cable incorrectly).

I'm the original owner of an 04 V6 limited and this is how my vehicle has always operated. :humble::humble:

 

[Ali0227]

I would still recommend fluid and filter change. With your current fluid condition and maintenance history I would remove the pan, change the filter, fill the transmission back to the correct level, then do a drain and fill every 4K-5k miles or every oil change. This would gradually introduce new fluid, but will take 4-5 total drain and fills in order for you to have mostly new fluid in the transmission. It takes around a gallon to refill after a filter change or draining the transmission pan. Be sure to only use Dexron III or a Dexron III compatible fluid. Don’t use Toyota T-IV or WS, or mercon transmission fluids.

I'm curious, I have an 04 V6 4WD, why do you say not to use Toyota IV for ATF change?

 

[Ali0227]

Thank you, I'm relieved!

The “jerk” you are feeling is normal when shifting between gears when the engine isn’t at operating temperature. When the engine isn’t at operating temperature your engine rpm will be almost twice as high vs when the engine is warmed up. This causes the jerk feeling when going between gear selections. The higher rpm’s combined with the ring and pinion backlash in the differential can feel kinda jarring, but it’s normal operation.

If you are experiencing harsh shifts between gears (1-2, 2-3, 3-4) then you probably need to adjust the line pressure cable for the transmission (commonly called the kickdown cable incorrectly).

I'm the original owner of an 04 V6 limited and this is how my vehicle has always operated. :humble::humble:

 

[Bad Luck]

I'm curious, I have an 04 V6 4WD, why do you say not to use Toyota IV for ATF change?

This is the 3rd gen section (1996-2002). You own a 4th Gen. Any 3rd gen specific information/recommendations are probably not relevant to your vehicle. You have a different engine and transmission than a 3rd gen.

But to answer your question, Toyota T-IV is not compatible with Dexron III. Dexron III is what came in 3rd gen automatic transmissions and specified in maintenance specifications.

 

[brillo_76]

So with that said, it would be safe to say not to use Dexron-VI/Mercon LV fluid even though it's backwards compatible with Dex III? I've been using AMSOIL multi-vehicle synthetic ATF with no issues, but SuperTech has the Dexron-VI/Mercon LV fluid that's significantly cheaper, but I don't wanna run it if it's going to cause issues. I'm fine with sticking with the AMSOIL stuff for the transmission.

IF the fluid has a higher spec of Dexron. Most likely it would be fine. As the spec is there. The supertech fluid should be fine because the Dexron spec 4 is there.

 

[Ali0227]

Black fluid and it still drives? Pull the dip stick and look at the fluid for yourself. This isn't like engine oil, there's no reason the fluid should be black unless your clutch packs are about gone. Bad joo joo!

YOU WILL NEVER GET ALL THE FLUID OUT. There will always be some residual fluid in the torque converter. I've never had any of my transmissions flushed. I just drain it till it quits dripping, crank it up for 30 sec, let it drain some more and refill.

But when my radiator busted I did my own home flush before adding an external cooler (highly recommend the B&m 70264). Take the lines off of the radiator and drop them in a 5gal bucket. Drain the pan, reinstall drain plug. Start the engine and watch it puke all that old fluid out into the bucket. When it quits, reconnect lines, dump 3 qts down the fill tube and run it for a few min. Drain the pan, reinstall drain plug. Throw the lines back in the bucket. Start the engine and watch it puke all that old/new fluid out into the bucket. When it quits, well you get the idea. Just repeat until the fluid coming out looks like the stuff your dumping in.

What’s the difference between the drain and fill and the home flush you mention? Is your home flush really a full fluid exchange? Not trying to be technical, but everyone seems to call it something different and I’m trying to understand.

I have 128K on my 04’ 4 spd tranny and wasn’t aware that I should have changed it a long time ago. My mechanic and brother both checked the dipstick and it looks good. I saw it and I’d say it’s a little darker than the bright red surprisingly, at least on the dipstick anyway. I was concerned about doing a flush at my mileage with original fluid and was going to drain and fill 3 or 4 times.

Im looking for some guidancee. I’ve read posts where they do a full fluid exchange using cooler lines or the trans pump. I don’t understand those two methods, I’m not a mechanic. Is the method using cooler lines for the sealed transmission? Is the “trans pump” short for transmission pump? Which method do you recommend for my vehicle and mileage? Thank you!

 

[brillo_76]

What’s the difference between the drain and fill and the home flush you mention? Is your home flush really a full fluid exchange? Not trying to be technical, but everyone seems to call it something different and I’m trying to understand.



I have 128K on my 04’ 4 spd tranny and wasn’t aware that I should have changed it a long time ago. My mechanic and brother both checked the dipstick and it looks good. I saw it and I’d say it’s a little darker than the bright red surprisingly, at least on the dipstick anyway. I was concerned about doing a flush at my mileage with original fluid and was going to drain and fill 3 or 4 times.



Im looking for some guidancee. I’ve read posts where they do a full fluid exchange using cooler lines or the trans pump. I don’t understand those two methods, I’m not a mechanic. Is the method using cooler lines for the sealed transmission? Is the “trans pump” short for transmission pump? Which method do you recommend for my vehicle and mileage? Thank you!

I just exchange the fluid out. With my bucket exchanger. You can see a version of it in my signature thread. I just built a smaller pump version.


What it does is pump the old fluid out with the transmission pump. Then at the same time you pump new fluid back in. It just exchanges the fluid out of the system. I changes all fluid at once. All done via the transmission cooling lines in the bottom of the radiator.



The other method of drain the pan and fill exchanges the fluid more slowly. It mixes with the old fluid which is fine and gets the fluid lubercating again. After 3 changes you get alot of othe old fluid out.

If you did the pan drain 6 to 9 times you get almost all the old fluid out.


Hope this helps.

Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk

 

[mtbtim]

What’s the difference between the drain and fill and the home flush you mention? Is your home flush really a full fluid exchange? Not trying to be technical, but everyone seems to call it something different and I’m trying to understand.

I have 128K on my 04’ 4 spd tranny and wasn’t aware that I should have changed it a long time ago. My mechanic and brother both checked the dipstick and it looks good. I saw it and I’d say it’s a little darker than the bright red surprisingly, at least on the dipstick anyway. I was concerned about doing a flush at my mileage with original fluid and was going to drain and fill 3 or 4 times.

Im looking for some guidancee. I’ve read posts where they do a full fluid exchange using cooler lines or the trans pump. I don’t understand those two methods, I’m not a mechanic. Is the method using cooler lines for the sealed transmission? Is the “trans pump” short for transmission pump? Which method do you recommend for my vehicle and mileage? Thank you!

A drain and refill is just draining the contents of the pan, which usually ends up being around 4-4.5 quarts. This amount is about 1/3 of the system. The system holds approximately 12 quarts. Drain and refills done frequently enough will keep your transmission fluid in great shape. Instead waiting a longer interval like 30-50k miles to do a full flush, I do a drain and refill of the pan every 10k miles. I sent in a sample to Blackstone Labs to be analyzed and my fluid report came back showing it was in great shape.

So, it's personal preference whether you wait a longer interval and do a full flush or you do something like I do and do more frequent drain and refills. Some people think a drain and refill of the pan every 30-50k is sufficient to maintain the health of the fluid but I call BS on that. The only way that could be remotely sufficient is if you never drive the truck in the hills or mountains. Any mountainous driving will increase your trans temp by a lot and lower the effective life of the fluid.

If you'd like to perform the flush, the below video will help you out. A drain and refill really needs no instruction because all you're doing is removing a drain pan bolt, draining the fluid, replacing the bolt with a new crush washer, tightening the bolt properly and finally properly refilling what you drained out.

Good luck!

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