Transmission Flush advice

[TN22Corps]

Recently got tires rotated/balanced and they looked over my front-end vibration problem and a few other things.

I spoke with the tech and he recommended a flush, he said he does a full exchange with new fluid and empties it out into a bucket.

So, of course, I said not at the moment and immediately hit the forum. I understand a power flush is a no go. I called back today and spoke with a female service rep (no offense intended) who really didn't sound like she knew what I was asking her. She said that it was an inline flush, that it didn't include replacing the filter, and that it didn't included dropping the pan, all of which seem very important to me... if adding fresh fluid, add a new filter, visually inspect the pan.

I called another dealership next county over and he said they don't do flushes, just drain and fill. Hmmm.

Now, I'm going to call again Monday and request to speak to a tech on the floor. If it's a pump inlet flush, all should be well.

I know several of y'all are passionate about NO FLUSHES, just DRAIN and FILL. However, this seems to be lacking real evidence to back it up.

Why would a dealership recommend this if they're really that detrimental?

 

[TN22Corps]

Silence?

 

[GottaBeTRD]

haha im not sure, but i too would be interested in this.

 

[mastee]

I read up a few threads before doing my drain n fill, please keep in mind that not all reps at the dealership r knowledgeable


As I understood it:
If power flushes were not done consistently from early on (like 30kish miles), then doing it later at higher mileage will loosen the dirt and metallic particles that have wedge themselves around and now keep the tranny going, it almost always fails shortly after a power flush.........so a drain n fill is the only way on a higher mileage vehicle

Dropping the pan and changing the filter is never a part of power flush service, as it is a more involved and therefore expensive job (labor wise)

Just doing the drain n fill yourself from the pan is very easy, but a simple drain n fill will only get like quarter of the fluid out, there is a DIY somewhere showing a more through flush.....

 

[TN22Corps]

From what I understand, this wouldn't be a power flush. This just uses the vehicle's trans fluid intake pump to draw in new fluid and pump out old.

 

[ropeman]

4th gen transmission flush

I had the dealer do the flush on my 2004 4runner v8. paid 345 i dont think it was worth the price. all they did was do a flush with the machine replaced it with 12 qts of the ws fluid. Next time i will just do the drain and fill and check it by jumping the 4th and 13th pin to check the temp. (check here for instructions)Welcome to Land Cruiser Owners On Line. the price of the fluid had come down to about 8-10 buck a qt. Far as problems with the flush there is no problems, shifts smoother than before. I did the flush at 75000 and will do the next drain and fill sequence in another 50-60k miles.

 

[BrianSD_42]

if adding fresh fluid, add a new filter, visually inspect the pan.

From what I have heard, the "filter change" is a joke. Changing this filter is not something people do. It is a metal filter that is designed to catch gunk&metal but when you remove it you just shake it off and put it back in.

I would have the dealership do a full flush or a local Toyota guy if you can find one. The drain an fill is just what it sounds like but they only drain a small percentage of the total fluid. I PAID $160 for a total transmission flush at Toyota Dealership in Santa Cruz, CA. I don't know why anyone would pay $350 for it, that is a huge rip off. The cost of living in Santa Cruz (& bay area in general) is absurdly high so I doubt you will pay even that much if you live in AL.

I have only done a single "flush" on my tranny and it was at 180,000 miles. Before that all I did was the drain & fill.

FYI: I would not switch to synthetic. If you are running DX-III then stick with it.

 

[Nunyabiz]

From what I have heard, the "filter change" is a joke. Changing this filter is not something people do. It is a metal filter that is designed to catch gunk&metal but when you remove it you just shake it off and put it back in.

This is basically correct, because we do not actually have a "filter" in our transmissions it is nothing but a simple fine mesh screen.
There is no filter material at all so really no point in changing it.

When I looked at mine which supposedly had 65,000 miles since the last fluid change the screen looked like brand new, not a speck of anything on it.
The only time you need to change transmission filters is when they are actually filters, usually has some sort of felt material in it.

 

[Avarice]

I'd agree about the filters. I had a bit of material on mine, but it was very little. I could have easily washed it out and let it sit and reused it. That said, my truck had no history available so my plan of attack with it was to replace all the basic stuff as preventative maintenance.

I had to clean the pan anyways, so for $60 I got the rubber gasket a new filter, and peace of mind knowing it will be a long long long time before I have to even think about cleaning it. I would never ever use the Toyota RTV sealant again as that stuff was a MASSIVE pain in all aspects of removal and cleanup.

 

[brian2sun]

Do the flush yourself and save $$.
Dropping Pan And Flushing Transmission
I absolutely believe the DIY way is much safer than a machine flush on a high mileage tranny. And it's easy and free (except for the fluid). EVERY instance that I have ever heard or read about a flush ruining a tranny was with a machine. The DIY flush still gets as much old fluid out as the machine, but without any detergents or pressure.

I disagree with the statement about synth ATF. I flushed my tranny at 185K with Amsoil Universal Synth ATF and it's been great for 25K miles now and it's still nice and bright red (looked at it yesterday). Amsoil is rated for 100K/60K (normal/severe use). That's some good stuff right there. And yes, it says it's compatible with Dexron II and higher.

Also, the filter gets chunks of ATF in it (they look like little pieces of silicone/jelly). The write-up I linked to shows you how to clean the filter. However, I do recommend replacing the filter for 2 reasons. 1) it's a cheap part, and 2) the cork gaskets on my old filter were already pressed and formed. I didn't want to take the chance of not lining it back up exactly how it was before I took it off. If you don't, it won't make a good seal.

Another option is to leave the pan and filter alone. Drain what you can out of the drain plug on the pan, replace what you drianed with new fluid and then do the flush a quart at a time. This is almost just as effective, but you won't have to mess with taking the pan off or the filter. The downside is you wont get to inspect the magnets in the pan or clean/change the filter. If your fluid doesn't look too dirty now, I would probably just go this route.

 

[BrianSD_42]

I disagree with the statement about synth ATF. I flushed my tranny at 185K with Amsoil Universal Synth ATF and it's been great for 25K miles now and it's still nice and bright red (looked at it yesterday). Amsoil is rated for 100K/60K (normal/severe use). That's some good stuff right there. And yes, it says it's compatible with Dexron II and higher.

:bluejump:

I only say not to make the switch because I have seen postings about the change possibly effecting the seals inside ???
But I don't really know the technical details.

 

[Mauzer]

I had an ATF flush when I first purchased my 4Runner w/ 99k miles. It has been fine ever since, I'm @ 126k now. BUT, I did not know that I shouldn't have flushed it when I purchased the vehicle...I just took it in and had ALL the fluids changed since I bought it from a used car dealership and wasn't sure of the PO's maintenance habits. I probably won't ever have it done again but just wanted to point out that having it flushed is not a certain kiss of death.