Need opinions on tranny fluid change

First hi all, i've had my taco for about a year now and this site has been very useful and have diy mods huge thanks to you guys!!!

My question is, i'm hitting my tranny drain/fill service soon at 96000km. None of the 3 dealerships from where i'm from know anything about checking the fluid level via temp. They just put in what they take out whatever the temperature the fluid is at regardless. I could take it to the place where it was brought brand new (i haven't asked them if they know the correct procedure yet) or I could get my mechanic do drain and fill and i'll do the obd2 method but don't want to fuk it up. or just let the dealership do it and if they add +/- fluid they can be on the hook.

So what can go wrong if there is more or less fluid in??? lets just say i drain/fill same temperature fluid?

 

Can't help. But that is a sexy front end

 

I have some info you can read .
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/te...hift-kit-shift-recalibration-kit-2nd-gen.html
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Are they Toyota dealers???? I would insist they contact whoever they need to and get the tech data on out how to do it.

 

What I'd do if you're comfortable you have the correct AT fluid level right now, is just order a case of Toyota AT fluid and do a few drain and fills on your own time. If you let the transmission cool to room temp, then open up the drain plug and measure everything that comes out (I'd guess around 3 qts) and then put that exact same amount back in you should be just fine. Just make sure the old fluid is the same temp coming out as the new fluid is when it's going in or you'll get the wrong amount.

Repeat that process 3 or 4 times and several miles apart and you'll have changed out most of the old fluid. I have 10k on mine and I'm going to just do a drain and fill every 25k miles or so for the life of the truck.

 

Drain and refill is roughly 3 qts. Don't do it when the truck is really hot. These trucks hold about 12-13 qts of tranny oil all together (torque converter included). A drain & refill every so often is good, just don't wait till high mileage to start doing it. As far as a full flush goes, that's when doing it at the right temp and hooking to a flush machine is needed. A dealer SHOULD KNOW how and when to do that. There is a write up on here on how to perform a flush DIY if you don't wanna spend $185 for the Toyota dealer to do it. Be aware that doing a full flush on higher mileage vehicles is highly debatable, so take opinions with a grain of salt! Whatever you do, make sure you use the Toyota WS fluid.

 

Thanks guys for your input. Yes they are all Toyota dealerships and they ONLY do drain/fill NO flush. I've always done the 2 or 3 drain/fills on other cars. The last dealership i haven't asked was where it was bought, the assistant service advisor was the original owner. Some old guy who doesn't know squat but drives. Ietold me to use 0w20 for my synthetic oil)

I'd call them and ask but i need to speak to someone in person because I know whoever answers the phone will be clueless.

Yes that was my initial thought was to just leave the truck overnight and do the drain and fill exact amounts at the same temperature oil (i bought 7 bottles of WS last year, although i noticed now that 1 bottle was ATF D/M or something like wtf dealership?) Same toyota dealership that told me they drain it hot and put in obviously room temp fluid and call it a day.

Anyways I still have to go to the dealership and find out if my truck is still under warranty (91000km and i think it was mid year 09 manufactured) and if they know what they are doing because I can blame them if they fuk up or i'll just get my mechanic to do it for a case of beer and try to check the level via obd although I haven't got temp mode practicing down pat yet. A/T oil light keeps blinking.

On a side note, i just drained half a quart out of my gfs 97 honda accord since 2nd gear was shifting a bit hard, now 1 to 2nd is a smoother transition. So i know having exact fluid makes a difference in a tranny and there are not a lot of used 09 trannys available.

 

just remember most people's experience (including myself) is that they are underfilled from the factory...putting back in exactly what came out you'll still be underfilled...
shifts smoother with correct level, specially that 30-40mpg shift ;p
just do the obd temp instructions in the diy thread you'll get the hang of it fast

 

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/63851-how-drain-refill-automatic-transmission.html

 

I did this on mine at 4k miles and it was less than a quart low so probably not a big deal. It was a huge PITA but totally worth it for the peace of mind alone. Gaining experience on vehicle maintenance was a nice bonus too.

 

There have been some procedures shown about draining/changing your Taco Auto Transnmission. IMO it is a waste of time and resources.

The proper way is to have your Taco Automatic Transmission flushed with the proper equipment and filled with the proper and correct amount of Toyoto Automatic transmission Fluid.

This is because just draining it does not remove or change what is in the torque converter, where most of the transmission fluid is.

So spend the extra money and do it right. This is one area where I will take my Taco to the Toyota Dealership to have that job performed. I do it every 40k miles. So far, so good.

 

Here's the way I see it, somebody please correct me if I'm wrong because I want to drive this thing for the next 20 years.
The higher the AT fluid's operating temperature, the faster it breaks down. Under easy conditions (no hard towing or heavy offroading), you will not achieve this over the lifetime of most vehicles. Under harsh conditions you will still get 60-100k miles out of it before it breaks down enough to warrant replacement. Under severe/abusive conditions, it will only last a few miles before breaking down and causing damage to the transmission components.

Now couple those facts with frequent drain and fills - where's the problem? If my fluid is good for 100k miles and I'm only replacing 25% of it every 25k miles, I don't see a problem with that. Sure there will be a few milliliters of the original/used up fluid 200k miles down the road but I don't see how that can hurt anything. You're definitely not hurting anything with full flushes every 40k but unless you're pulling a trailer full of rocks up the side of a mountain on your way to work every day, it seems a bit wasteful. Like doing an oil change every thousand miles.