What to do

[Lloyd L.]

I'm new to the 4Runner World and have recently bought a 2005 SR-5 4-wheel drive with 4.0, and 5 speed A.T. It has 178,000 miles and I'm trying to figure out what maintenance is needed. Since it has a sealed transmission and I don't know if it has been serviced before should I have the fluid changed or not? I have been told by some people to get it serviced and others (all mechanics) not to. Same thing with the Xfer case and timing chain. Apparently the timing chain is good for up to 300,000 miles. I have changed spark plugs, oil, and mass air flow sensor.
I'm driving from Tennessee to Arizona next month, so what do I have checked out and serviced?

 

[atalarico]

I'm new to the 4Runner World and have recently bought a 2005 SR-5 4-wheel drive with 4.0, and 5 speed A.T. It has 178,000 miles and I'm trying to figure out what maintenance is needed. Since it has a sealed transmission and I don't know if it has been serviced before should I have the fluid changed or not? I have been told by some people to get it serviced and others (all mechanics) not to. Same thing with the Xfer case and timing chain. Apparently the timing chain is good for up to 300,000 miles. I have changed spark plugs, oil, and mass air flow sensor.
I'm driving from Tennessee to Arizona next month, so what do I have checked out and serviced?

Welcome!

I just bought my second T4R, and it's a 4th gen around that mileage as well. Since I didn't know/trust the maintenance history either, I just did the differentials, transfer case, oil, and will be doing the power steering fluid and ATF. I'm only doing the PS fluid because I can see that it's dark in the reservoir.

I've also read the ATF being "lifetime" on 4th gens, buuuuut I don't know what Toyota considers a "lifetime" since that varies by manufacturer, and I'm guessing it's less than 200k miles. If you're already mucking around down there, can't hurt to take the check plug out on the transmission to see what color comes out.

 

[Folsom4Rnr]

I'm new to the 4Runner World and have recently bought a 2005 SR-5 4-wheel drive with 4.0, and 5 speed A.T. It has 178,000 miles and I'm trying to figure out what maintenance is needed. Since it has a sealed transmission and I don't know if it has been serviced before should I have the fluid changed or not? I have been told by some people to get it serviced and others (all mechanics) not to. Same thing with the Xfer case and timing chain. Apparently the timing chain is good for up to 300,000 miles. I have changed spark plugs, oil, and mass air flow sensor.
I'm driving from Tennessee to Arizona next month, so what do I have checked out and serviced?

Welcome!

I bought my 4Runner used too and wasnt sure what, if any of the major services had been done. After some research, I found the Toyota Owners site (https://www.toyota.com/owners/) and after registering and logging in, was able to see some of my 4Runner's service history. It was not a complete history, but it was better than nothing.

RE: the transmission... its likely due... yes its sealed... but I believe the service manual indicates it should be changed at the first 100k mi and then again every 50k mi thereafter. There are several threads on here about that if you search.

As for the front/rear diff's, t-case, etc. ... they are super easy to change so if in doubt, why not? Cheaper to put some new high quality oil in there than new gears...

Also, consider the other fluids... power steering, brake, etc. Again... easy enough to do and then have definitive knowledge of.

FWIW... if you havent found it yet... you might find the following thread helpful: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/100275-service-manual-download-links.html#post889909

 

[lightfreak]

When in doubt , change it out.

 

[ZebRuaj]

My motto: create your own baseline for maintenance.

Like others have said, the driveline fluids are easy to do. Lube the zerk fittings while you're under there.

Brake fluid was mentioned. It's a good time the check if any of the caliper pistons are seized too.

Change out all your paper filters.

ATF, do a drain and fill if you are scared of causing a problem. "Lifetime" of Toyota's initial warranty, not your ownership.

Do coolant while you're at it. The engine block drains are easy to access. I have a video on YouTube showing them.

 

[AuSeeker]

Were the mechanics "Toyota mechanics"(?), I guessing not, the reason they said not to do it is because many pros feel that a transmission with "high" miles on it will have sludge deposits in various places within the transmission and the new fluid will break these deposits free and clog the various passage ways in the transmission and cause problems which in much older designs using older inferior fluids was indeed an issue, BUT these newer fluids are much better in not forming these sludge deposits, BUT if you take it to a dealer or a shop that has a "Forced Flushing" machine to flush the fluid and passage ways under high pressure while replacing the fluid it could indeed dislodge possible sludge deposits in clumps that could clog the passage ways, what I do and what the tutuorials here on the forum does is simply replace all the old fluid with new fluid only using the pressure created by the transmission itself which will not dislodge any deposit, but the new fluid will over time desolve these possible deposits over time and not in clumps, the new fluid will provide the transmission with the proper lubrication it needs that the old fluid has lost.

Many on here still fear the complete replacement of the fluid and do several "drain and fills" over a couple of years which is better than just leaving the old fluid which has lost most of it's lubricating factor in there, BUT this process only replaces about 3 to 4 quartz of a total of 12 quartz in the transmission, which IMHO opinion is not getting the transmission back to optimum working condition.

I would recommend doing the complete replacement or at the very least do the drain and fill several times (at least 5 to 8 times) over the next two years or at least until the fluid is looking much the same color as the new fluid, and then either way you go do it all over again after 30,000 to 50,000 miles.

 

[OzarkRunner]

I agree with the recommendation for multiple "drain & fill" services. If you do this five times, you'll get to about 87% new fluid (assuming four fresh quarts each time & even dispersion).
I would also highly recommend changing the fluid in the differentials and transfer case. It stinks like crazy, but it's a very easy process. Here's a link to a good thread on that.

 

[Bluesky 07]

Scotty Kilmer addresses “lifetime” transmission fluids in his uniquely enthusiastic style. Worth watching.

 

[bombventure]

I agree with the recommendation for multiple "drain & fill" services. If you do this five times, you'll get to about 87% new fluid (assuming four fresh quarts each time & even dispersion).

I would also highly recommend changing the fluid in the differentials and transfer case. It stinks like crazy, but it's a very easy process. Here's a link to a good thread on that.

Thanks for linking that thread, I had not come across it till just now! I’ve been thinking more recently too of getting down there and at least checking the fluids so I got an idea of what needs to be changed out, etc.

Good info in there, and it’s maintenance I can do myself which is even better! [emoji1303]


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[YetiX]

Were the mechanics "Toyota mechanics"(?), I guessing not, the reason they said not to do it is because many pros feel that a transmission with "high" miles on it will have sludge deposits in various places within the transmission and the new fluid will break these deposits free and clog the various passage ways in the transmission and cause problems which in much older designs using older inferior fluids was indeed an issue, BUT these newer fluids are much better in not forming these sludge deposits, BUT if you take it to a dealer or a shop that has a "Forced Flushing" machine to flush the fluid and passage ways under high pressure while replacing the fluid it could indeed dislodge possible sludge deposits in clumps that could clog the passage ways, what I do and what the tutuorials here on the forum does is simply replace all the old fluid with new fluid only using the pressure created by the transmission itself which will not dislodge any deposit, but the new fluid will over time desolve these possible deposits over time and not in clumps, the new fluid will provide the transmission with the proper lubrication it needs that the old fluid has lost.

Many on here still fear the complete replacement of the fluid and do several "drain and fills" over a couple of years which is better than just leaving the old fluid which has lost most of it's lubricating factor in there, BUT this process only replaces about 3 to 4 quartz of a total of 12 quartz in the transmission, which IMHO opinion is not getting the transmission back to optimum working condition.

I would recommend doing the complete replacement or at the very least do the drain and fill several times (at least 5 to 8 times) over the next two years or at least until the fluid is looking much the same color as the new fluid, and then either way you go do it all over again after 30,000 to 50,000 miles.

I did a ton of research on this very topic when I got my first 4th Gen. and this is exactly what I came up. My mechanic, who is also a former Toyota tech and a good friend, also recommends this. He was adamant that, no matter what, do NOT pressure flush the transmission.

 

[Lloyd L.]

Thank you all for your information, it has been very helpful.

 

[Lloyd L.]

The first mechanic was not certified Toyota, I did call the dealership, the first service tech said not to flush. I took it down to the dealership and the service manager said yes. Lol, so I'm going to look up how to just drain and fill on youtube. However, I had the complete coolant flush done and now the heater doesn't work quite the same! So...