Magnefine In-Line tranny filter

From what I understand, the ATX is a sealed transmission, and that filter in it is not serviceable. This was the case also with my Mazda6. In order to compensate for this, I installed an in-line transmission filter from Magnefine, like many other owners had. While I'm not sure if it gave me more life out of the tranny, I ran 124k miles with no transmission problems in a car that was known for having a crap-ass trans. It's hard to figure out if preventative measures actually work.

Has anyone installed one of these in their Tacoma? Would there be a downside to doing so? For $15 every 15k miles, it certainly isn't expensive, and could provide a lot of protection for the truck.

 

I just got two magnefine filters in the mail Friday. I was considering one for the trans and one for the PS fluid, but I think I may just do the tranny and save the second filter for 15k from now.

One question: Are you installing the filter before or after the tranny cooler? The literature that came with the filter said if the vehicle has less that 15k install before the cooler, more than 15k install after. I wasn't sure of the logic there.

 

I would install it before the tranny cooler, with the thought that pulling debris from the tranny fluid before it entered the cooler would protect the cooler. Not sure why there'd be a difference after 15k miles.

 

That's what I was thinking. Thanks.

 

Looks interesting...
I look forward to read more on this, as people post.

Yuma Taco,

 

I just installed my magnefine this morning. Easy as pie. I ended up placing it just after the oil cooler behind the radiator shroud. I cut the line, then started the engine for a quick second with the end that I believed was the return in a quart container, and it was indeed the return line to the tranny. In 5 seconds it pumped out about 1/4 quart.

For anyone that doing this, the return line to the tranny is the top line off of the oil cooler. The path of the ATF is as follows:

From transmission -> engine radiator -> oil cooler -> magnefine filter -> to transmission

I can't understand why the ATF is routed through the engine radiator, then through the ATF cooler. Does anyone know the reasoning for this?

 

I installed a Hayden aux. transmission cooler, so I had a line that ran just under the battery between it and the cooler in the radiator. I just spliced it in there because it was really easy.

On another board, someone figured out a metal or plastic NAPA fuel filter works great for filtering power steering fluid on the return line. 3033 or something is the part number. Most prefer the metal can, but the plastic seems to work just fine and you can see inside it. I have not tried that, but the filter is only a couple of bucks and probably works just as well for the PS unit instead of the extra Magnefine features.

 

That's a good idea for the P/S filter, thanks IROC. Much better than $16 apiece for the magnefine.

 

This is the "normal" way of plumbing a tranny cooler in hot climates. It provides maximum cooling.

 

Thanks for the info isthatahemi and kilted chicken. This is the first vehicle that I've owned with an A/T so it's all new to me (all M/T sport sedans in the past).

As a side note, I have a hypothesis in my head that the 20% drop in winter fuel economy I'm seeing may be partially caused by overcooling of the ATF. It doesn't appear that there's any type of thermostat built into the ATF cooler loop, so the cooler is cycling fluid regardless of the temp. I think that it's possible that the ATF never gets to full operating temp on those really cold days in the winter, resulting in higher pumping viscosity and wasted energy.

I've seen some pretty cool in-line oil thermostats for relatively short money at racerpartswarehouse.com I'm thinking that it would be really easy to rig this up with a bypass loop to route fluid by the oil-to-air cooler when it's below a certain temp ... but I have no idea what the optimal temp would be for the thermostat to open/close at.

 

I have that exact setup on the added transamission cooler (earls) i have on my 2004 odyssey.
The fluid leave the radiator cooler and then goes to the thermostat. If the temp is below 180 the earls cooler is bypassed.

At temperatures below 180°F the valve is open, with 90% of the oil by-passing the cooler. The remaining 10% of the oil flows through the cooler, maintaining constant system pressure, preventing air pockets and eliminating cold oil shock.


http://www.shop.perma-cool.com/1060-Transmission-Fluid-Thermostat-3-8-FPT-Ports-1060.htm

 

The logic behind putting the trans filter after the cooler on vehicles with more than 15k miles would be to catch dirt particles that have built up inside the cooler and can detach and travel to your trans. If you start filtering before 15k miles, the dirt particles haven't had a chance to build up in the cooler and putting the filter on the cooler intake will prevent dirt particles from entering the cooler and building up there, thus protecting the trans and the cooler. The major purpose of the filter is to protect the trans. The secondary purpose would be to protect the cooler (when installed on the cooler intake). You might consider this to be overkill (depending on the age and value of your vehicle) but, you could run a filter on the input and output of the cooler for up to 15k miles and then afterward you should only need one on the input to the cooler to provide full protection.

 

Can anybody advise me as to whether I need the 5/16" or 3/8" inline transmission filter? I have a 2007 Toyota Tacoma Base 4WD with the 4.0L and towing package.

 

when i installed mine i used the 3/8 inch version. this is because i used 3/8 inch hose when i installed it and the factory hose is also 3/8 inch or 10mm.

As an fyi i installed this behind the grill by using some hose hooked into the output line of the towing package transmission cooler (the air to oil one in front of the rad) and the return line to the transmission. I used some oem spring loaded hose clamps I had left over (not the worm gear style) to secure the hose to the steel lines and magnefine connections.
So when i need to change it i just open the hood, reach behind the grill and then remove and install a new one in the loop.

 

I'm a lil late to the game, good info, thanks guys.

 

this is what the new version of the magnefine looks like.
maybe they changed it since there were rumors of counterfeit versions being produced.
i like the old design myself since you could easily take it apart when you replaced it to see what it had collected.
but it is what it is...

 

Just hit 60,000KM's and was time to check and replace the magnefine. As you can see from the paper towel there was a thin coating on the magnet but still this was caught and wasn't just left to circulate. Filter element looked good with no visible particles. Wont change again till 100,000KM.