Transmission Flush ?

[frohbego]

So i just bough the 02 4runner last week. 57k miles on it. The last 3 days its been downshifting into the lower gears real hard. Sometimes knocking into gear or a like thud. Also does this when i accelerate from a stop.

I have been reading alot of helpful things on the Message board. I took it down to the dealer where i bought it and they said it checks out fine. I do have a 3 month warranty. So they just might not wanna pay to do anything on it. Not sure if i trust the dealer

So i wanted to see if its wort getting my fluids changed.
1 - Flush transmission fluid
2 - Front and rear differential fluid
3 - oil change

Most likely 1 and 2 have never been done before... Is this a good idea? I hope it helps!

Thanks everyone.

 

[Lexusbstrdchild]

it cant hurt anything to do it, especially if you dont know if its been done before. i would do it myself, or have a place you trust do it. i say do it yourself, that way you can see what the fluid looks like coming out, and also to get to know your truck better since its new. pick up a manual, and have at it!

 

[pat161]

Sounds like a good plan, if it is 4WD you should probably change the transfer case fluid as well. I just did all this to my new to me 02, also w/ about 57k. The dealer had done the tranny so I skipped it. Doing the diffs and transfer case yourself is the way to go, it will take a few hours but overall is very easy. Some will say you need new washers for all the plugs but you can reuse the old ones, I did on my 00 for 100k and never had a drip, changing the fluid every 30k. The tranny flush requires a machine, so unless you want to get just the pan you will need to go to a shop for a full flush. As for the hard shifting, this is my first auto ever, I have owned 4 manuals before this, my tranny shifts pretty smooth. Shifts are definitely noticeable, but I wouldn't say clunky. Sometimes going uphill it will wait a while then clunk down to 3rd, so I kick off O/D before I get to hills, also on flat ground going 20-30 it will clunk into 3rd occasionally, but not all the time. Was yours not certified, if so you should have a 7 year 100k warranty from the original new purchase date, so the 7 years starts in 02.