What Lubeguard product should I buy?

I have a 2008 PreRunner with about 230,000 miles and the tranny is suffering from torque converter shudder. I've done a few ATF service changes in the driveway but that only seems to fix the issue for a few weeks. Now I'd like to try an additive from Lubeguard but I've got a couple questions.

I've seen people recommend a bottle of platinum to solve the torque converter shudder, or really just for general upkeep, however I noticed they also sell "Instant Shudder Fixx". What's up with this stuff? What should I use?

A bottle of platinum additive is 10oz, do I have to worry about over filling when adding this stuff? Should I drain out a bit of ATF before adding?

FWIW before the additive I plan on having the dealer do a complete ATF flush so I can start fresh.

 

Instant Shudder fix works well. To confirm that it's your torque converter causing the shudder put the trans in 4th gear and drive it like you normally would and try to duplicate it. If no shudder then most likely it's the converter.

 

Welcome to the forum

Older high mileage vehicles and dealers generally aren't a good combination IMO. Usually better off with a trusted independent shop.

 

I used LubeGuard in the ATF at about 160K because I think it shifts like a blind man without a cane. I believe it helped the shifting a bit. That being said, there's nothing technically wrong with the transmission and I would not depend on an additive as a permanent repair for anything.

 

I used this lubeguard atf additive with shudder fix. Came in a 2oz packet which was the right amount when I did an atf flush/fill (no pan drop). Not the best value but nothing wasted nor saved.

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/BK_7652969?impressionRank=8

 

That is the same stuff OP mentioned in his original post. How many miles were on your truck and did it eliminate the shudder?

 

110k on the ATF before flush/fill. I never had the TC studder but i feel the fluid change and/or lubeguard made the trans shift smoother.

@gearcruncher had all the answers. He is sorely missed.

 

I believe Lubgard recommends the red bottle one for high mileage vehicles.

https://www.lubegard.com/products/red/

 

Where did he go?

 

I don't know the specifics. I only found out when trying to find his post(s) that answers everything that the OP had questions on.

And I deducted that there was a disagreement between him and the forum Mods. So he took down his contributions. TW lost another "expert-level" resource. @gearcruncher is/was one of the good guys.

 

That's too bad, he had a good bit of Tacoma knowledge. But I always wondered if he was getting $$ from the mfgs of some of the products he touted, like LubeGuard. I am not a fan of additives in general myself and never have used the stuff.

 

I had shudder and added the 10 oz during a drain and fill, platinum. It seemed to help for a little while, but has come back a little. In summary, it didnt fix it completely for me. I did everything, Full tune up before i tried it. It did help it make more decisive shifting. theres a thought that its most beneficial with a full fluid change, but i wasnt going to do that. I did email lubeguard and they said the platinum was good to add to existing fluid.
I am just going to live with it, its been the same for years

 

He was a proponent of certain products but I based that on his experience versus shilling for a specific product because he was gettting kickbacks.

If he was, I would think he would push people to buy from his storefront or use a promo code that is exclusive to him.

One of his last bit of advice for one of my projects was to stick with Toyota WS ATF even though I had Valvoline Maxlife at my disposal. And his logic and explanation made complete sense that I gave the valvoline away and bought the ATF from the dealer. And my 2oz Lubeguard was purchased from Napa.

 

Now that is really odd, because when I was into diagnosing and repairing my leaking trans cooler line about a year and a half ago and then doing an ATF flush, he was hawking the Maxlife and Lubeguard. Hard.

 

When doing your previous "ATF service changes", did you just drain what was in the pan and then refill (~3qts)? Or did you replace all ~11+ qts?

If it was the former, I would recommend doing the ATF "flush" yourself over getting it flushed at the dealer. It's easy to do and can be done in <1h, especially if you have a helper. People have had issues with transmission flushes in the past and TBH I wouldn't trust a dealership to do any work on my truck whatsoever—some dealership techs are better than others, but it really seems to be a gamble.

I did it myself a little while back and added Lubeguard Platinum at the end of the process. I didn't have any shudder to begin with but the truck does seem to shift a little smoother after the fluid change+Lubeguard (although that could be 100% butt dyno). I have read good things about the Instant Shudder Fix, but I have not tried it myself.

 

I agree, do the flush yourself. I did mine by disconnecting the cooler return line and used remote start to run it out, refill, rinse & repeat 3 times, then topped it up by the temperature method. I did not add Lubeguard. Not saying this stuff in particular is snake oil but if a tranny fluid meets the API and mfg specs you are good to go without any additives. And if the additives were "proven" to be needed and beneficial they'd be in the API and/or mfg spec in the first place. Kind of like health supplements where you have unproven and unapproved stuff being sold on TV by people who swear it worked for them... but somehow the drug companies don't sell this stuff by prescription and make a boatload of $ off it like they always do. You have to wonder why. Or not really wonder.

 

When I did my drain/fill (not flush) I used MaxLife and Lubegard Plat based on his posts.