Transmission Fluid Change vs Flush?

Does anyone know if you have the Toyota stealership change your ATF fluid do they do a complete flush of the transmission my hooking it up to a machine or do they just remove whole panthe plug and refill method like DIY mod. The reason I ask is you still have allot of ATF left in the lines and else where that can't be drained by the plug method only. Or am I wrong here!

 

You are correct. The drain and fill procedure doesn't remove the entire capacity of the AT.

Not all dealers have the flush equipment so you will have to ask the establishment before you make the appointment.

Some individuals and mechanics recommend against flushing as it stirs up debris and forces it through the system and valve body - especially on vehicles with higher mileage that have never been serviced. This results in damage to the AT and if serious enough, a rebuild. That said however, hundereds of vehicle get flushed everyday across North America and I would think the percentage of vehicle that receive damage is very, very low.

IMHO a drain and fill at recommended intervals is all that's needed. No the entire contents are not drained, but this is taken into account during the engineering of the AT and the establishment of the ATF service intervals.

You'll get varying opinions on this, and the mentality is that we are all right regardless of what side of the fence you sit on.

It's your truck and your money - preventative maintenance is key before you rack up too many miles.

 

Thanks for your reply. I'm at the 56,000 mile range and I don't think the ATF has ever been changed, I'm the second owner. If I do get it flushed through a machine I would like the ATF switched to a synthetic brand. Does anyone have an opinon on that?

 

Redline D6 or Amsoil ATL low viscosity ATFs are about your only two options as far a true synthetics go for this transmission. If you're doing a full flush, the dry fill is 11.5 qts, so you'll probably need at least 13-14 qts.

You can do a full flush yourself relatively easily. I should have a write up done w/ pics this weekend as I'm about to do it myself.

 

Some of these flushes are done with chemicals, I would ask first and stay away from these. Try to change the ATF every 25,000 miles and you won't ever need a flush.
I did this on my 84 Volvo and when I gave the car away it had 265,000 miles and the trans was as smooth as the day I bought it.

 

i drain an fill mine ever 15k

 

^^^yeap^^^

 

Even better

 

I thought our AT's were good till 100k?

 

Cool, I didn't know that.

 

Toyota recently changed the recommended interval to every 60,000 miles.

 

Thanks for the good advice. I just called the Toyota stealership and he quoted me $179.99 to do a full flush of the ATF. They also quoted me $149.99 for a full radiator flush. YIKES!!! I think I'll hold out and wait for the guy in this forum to post a DIY full flush of the ATF.