Trans fluid change

Has anyone done trans fluid change on the 3rd gens? I didnt realize the transmission was sealed. Do I have to take the truck to the dealer to make sure its properly filled after I add fluid?

 

You measure what you take out and put back that amount.

 

There is a YouTube videos of how to

https://youtu.be/ej_6BZpK3gg

 

that’s a good way to have too much or not enough... especially if it wasn’t to spec from the factory which is a common problem

Open the drain plug and drain the fluid. Then you fill it, bring it to check temp, then open the overflow until it comes to a trickle. It’s simple

if it’s a manual, you just drain it, then fill til it finds out the fill hole

 

I heard that the fluid level can be low not sure if that's true

 

It is true. A large majority of the early trucks were a half quart or more low

 

So would the best thing be to just drain and fill exact amount? Or should I do what shellshock said drain fill and bring fluid to operating temp take fill bolt off to see if fluid trickles out of fill hole?

 

Don’t open the drain plug and refill.

First see if any comes out of the overflow when warmed up. If nothing comes out, you won’t know whether it’s filled correctly or under filled, so put a quart or more in it prior to checking the overflow and making sure it’s filled to capacity.

This transmission needs to be overfilled first to check for correct fill level.

After doing the overflow check, you can then do a proper drain and fill with the same amount of fluid that was removed from the drain plug.

 

nice share, i have a MT but i'd let her work on my truck anyday

 

Ok thanks man oregan

 

here’s the procedure - I’ve done this on a few trucks now

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-drain-refill-automatic-transmission.63851/


Also here’s the maintenance thread that has everything else you might want / need to do sometime

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-diy-maintenance-quick-reference.406712/

 

That’s for the 2nd gen but the only difference is the 3rd gen displays a D on the center screen in the gauge cluster instead of a light for the 2nd gen. Also per the service manual your suppose to pull the jumper wire after the D indicator comes on for 2 seconds.