Tranny Question

Have a used 2006 Tacoma v6 with 158400 miles and was able to do transfer case and differentials my self but not the transmission. This year does not have an overflow and fill plug, just one plug. I was told by my local guy that Toyota has a special machine that gets connected then removes and replaces the fluid through the same port. No filter, no pan I guess. Anyway, I bought it used with no records (although maybe that can be looked up thru a Toyota computer?) so at 158 k I spent $250 to get it done. They said the truck was in great shape and are going to replace the rear springs on a recall order. Bye the way I live in a rural part of the south with many outhouses as well as inside plumbing so .... some flush some don't.

 

That's interesting. I wonder what year Toyota added the overfill plug?

 

My last attempt explaining this: in a high mileage tranny, having never replaced any of the ATF, one of the biggest concerns with a full flush is introducing the detergent agents present in new ATF. Therefore, the purpose of multiple drain/refills is not to completely replace the ATF, it's to slowly introduce the cleaning agents of the new ATF into the old ATF. When you get to the 3rd or 4th drain/refill, you then do a full flush.

http://www.aa1car.com/library/2004/bf100456.htm
"But if the transmission on a high mileage vehicle (say over 100,000 miles) has never been flushed, it is probably best to NOT flush the fluid. Here's why: The detergents in new ATF may loosen up accumulated crud inside the transmission, which could cause some problems within a few thousand miles or so after the flush."

 

Can you explain that one more time? I'm not sure what you meant.

 

Why are you putting soap in? Just kidding!

 

Lmao.

 

You can repeat that as many times as you want. And a few might believe you. But not ANYONE that knows anything about things that are mechanical. Introducing detergent agents is a GOOD thing, not a bad thing. The rest is, as I said, pure urban legend. New fluid is not going to wash a ton of stuff out of the transmission fluid passages. As a general rule, most every auto I have ever taken apart, and that is quite a few, NEVER look gross inside. The oil pan might have sediment. But the valve body, etc, are generally as clean as when they left the factory. If you have burned the fluid up through stupidity, it doesn't matter much what you do, problems are coming. If what you say were true, WHY do we completely change the engine oil frequently? Or if someone hasn't changed the oil for 20K miles, why doesn't changing it cause problems?

 

I have an 07. It doesn't have a filter, just a screen you can remove and clean... I have helped flush two other later-year tacos and same thing. I don't think there is a filter option based on the three I have dropped the pan on within the last year.

 

We have one:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/forums/3rd-gen-tacomas-2016.186/

 

Wow, that is bold... Someday when my 2015 is dead I will need all the heartache and pain that these guys are enduring to help decide whether or not I will run a 3rd gen. In a way they are taking one for the team by running these 3rd gens through the wringer. Funny, but kinda harsh dude.

 

Fixed it for you

 

I'm on the same boat here at 150k. I dont know what side to believe so my approach is somewhere in between. Drain and fills every 3k with engine oil (two drains so far) to see how it plays out. Flushing is my end goal but for now I'm playing it one step at a time. Next drain is this week and this time I will be dropping the pan for the first time to get a better idea what im working with here. I've been having shudder problems transitioning to multiple gears and all have been fixed but 2nd to 3rd.

 

I flushed mine at 160k in my 99 Prerunner, and it ran cooler and shifted smoother after. Never had an issue after either.

 

I'll assume you meant to say transmission fluid.

 

I am aligning my transmission drain and fills with my engine oil interval.

 

This process seems rather wasteful, draining out atf that is practically new repeatedly. Would it be outlandish to buy 2x 5qt jugs, do the first fill with one, then everytime I drain it I run it through a 100 micron filter mesh to catch the larger particulates and then reuse it. Finally after a few drain/refills I would then finish with the second jug that is brand new and never been used. Seems like a better idea to dump out 5qts instead of 10 or 15...

 

OP Read the first line busted up laughing... lol

 

I suppose one could do what you've suggested. There are all kinds of ways to skin a cat. Once upon a time car mfgs. were more prone to including a drain plug on the converter. I have an old Mercedes gas car that has this. I can drain everything. Some years back, the mfgs. got lazy/cheap and removed this option. When that happened, I started doing rotation drains. I felt a lot better about it when I read post #15 in this thread. The man who wrote it owns a transmission repair shop.