My dad never changed transmission fluid 1st gen 160k miles

I mean, most of us probably wouldn't do that in practice... I know that I was very concerned about it when I d&f'd my ATF for the first time, but after the first one, I did two additional d&fs each after 1000 miles, but stuck with MaxLife each time.

I would avoid mixing new fluid brands as much as possible. The only hypothetical I could imagine doing that myself would be something along the lines of, I damaged my atf pan in a remote location, and after whatever patch was applied all I had access to where a few quarts of various brands. In which case, I would do d&fs to get back to one brand rather quickly...

 

Joe....that is an opinion sort of thing you will have the Yes Party and the No Party fighting to the death bc each is correct in some form or fashion

IMO yes i would- mix(same Dextron III) and save the $12 a qt for what vatozone/oriellys charging nowadays

 

Walmart is the place to buy gallons of anything....
.....and online Walmart prices are as much as $10 cheaper as their shelves ....especially on atf's..

Conventional brake fluid back in 80's / 90's was good for 36 to 48mo...

Prestone synthetic says its good for 5 yr...

PrestoneMax is good for 10yr...



Old brake fluid becomes latten with water and rust all ferric stuff from the inside out...
damage remains hidden for years.....until its too late,
and as mentioned earlier.......oil dirty fluid becomes cutting fluid and rots the seals out...


Bleeding/flushing brakes on non abs is a breeze.......you can make a catch can/anti back-fill can out of a salsa jar....


How To: Make a DIY One-Person Brake Bleeding Bottle – Explorer Platinum

 

With the exception of old mineral oil based systems all glycol-ether brake fluids are synthetic.
And i read all the specs on dot 4 max.. It mentions 75,000 miles. There is no mention of 10 years or any time based interval.
And even at an average of 12,000 miles per year that's only 6.25 years.
No mater what the brand I will still base my changes at 3 years. Brake fluid isn't expensive.

 

Yeah I spring for the Prestone Max ten years stuff, and plan on changing every 5.

It cost like a buck or two extra for a qt......
but cant get at walmart.....has to come from autozone...


still pisses me off it doesn't stay clean very long because of the LSPV recuirculation,
thinking about ripping that and the return line out...
mines a commuter and the bed load rarely ever changes.

 

What is LSPV recuirculation? That term is new to me

Found it

Load Sensing Proportional Valve

If you have ABS I am pretty sure this isnt used anymore.

 

I would not worry about.... at least until it goes bad...

there's threads on how to get rid of it and go to a manual.

ControlCar I think did this.......but its not easy mod......and takes at lot of consideration and pipe bending/flaring.


Eventually that valve will go bad......but depending on where you live....it might last a million miles...

changing that fluid on a regular basis will surely help that valve too...

 

The Prestone Dot 3 max is 2X expensive as the regular Dot 3.
If changing every 3 years the regular DOT 3 is just fine.

Spoke to soon. The DOT 3 max is $13 in 32 ounce bottle
The regular Dot 3 is $6 for 12 ounce.
This makes the DOT 3 max cheaper...

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p...L1*81545|L2*81812|L3*13381&selectedStore=3985


https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p...L1*81545|L2*81812|L3*13381&selectedStore=3985

 

I think the reg prestone was like 8.99.....
and the max was like 10.99 qt...

If you want really cheap......my uncle has 20 yr old stuff he'll give you for free...


10.99 every 5yrs fits my budget...

and a qt is plenty for a non abs.....infact as you get it down patt....you'll have about 8~10 oz left over

 

Yep, so cheap its not worth going to long.

 

Hi , i looked at the brake fluid in the master cylinder case. It's black. I assume black means it has to be changed. No one knows when it was changed as usual. The cover says it needs DOT 3 fluid. I looked in the manual I found online but it doesn't say how much fluid. ‍♂



Thanks for your help

Does anyone know how much a 2002 Tacoma Tacoma SR5 Prerunner 4cyl 2.7L NEEDS of brake fluid?


FYI I changed the ATF fluid and it around used 3.6 quarts. I had emptied 1 quart in transmission. Then i used the old ATF fluid keep refilling the empty bottle to see how much came out. I refilled the bottle 3 full times and a bit over 50% a 4th time. The Manual says 2.1 quarts. Crazy how off the online manual was. The new fluid is ruby red and the old fluid was brown with slight red. Not sure how long it takes to get that way in the truck but can't be good.

 

About 2 qts are in the pan,when runnin.....about 2 in the torque converter...
and little more than 4qts trapped in the rest of the tranny body, lines, and cooler.....

when you change whats in the pan.....your changing about 25% of total volume..


To get rest out......you have to pump fluid in thru AT cooler line.....while pumping out thru the other cooler line into a bucket.
There's a bunch youtubes of how to attack this....

If you do it by yourself.....you'll need that transfer pump......
IF you have a helper.....you can use the tranny pump to do it...
if you screw it up and run it dry.....may not get a second chance...


As far as flushing a 3rz brake system......mine takes about 24oz....
the tough part is not letting the reservoir go dry......if that master gets any air in it......have to get a bleed kit and bleed it before going any farther...

If you did it right you end up with a rock hard pedal......not soft/squeezy...

 

If you want your rack, tranny, diff, and brake cylinders to last as long as possible.....got to take care of em....

To do that correctly........cant mix fluids........when in doubt whats in there, you should always flush old out...

Doing that to a automatic transmission is not an easy or cheap job........most...90% here fore go that and just gamble...

and then we see the 'Boohoo' threads pop up looking for replacements years later, half of which oems have been discontinued...



Something as simple as running dirty old differential fluid could cost you $1200 rear premature rear seal/bearing failure repair....
seems like a big gamble for $20 of fluid...

Its seems 'out of sight, out of mind' prevails in this country....

Most that come here.....just want to get it back on the road as cheap as possible and quick as possible.

 

Same with all your ball joints and universals....
should all be replaced with ones with zerts.....so they can all be greased on a regular basis....

anything else...is just gambling...

 

When I did my 2015 i bought 3 of the normal sized bottles (12 ounce ?)
You will need a helper.
Start from farthest from master cylinder and work to closest (passenger rear , driver rear, passenger front, driver front)
Don't let master run dry.

 

I used about 32oz flushing my brakes. Can be done alone with a vacuum brake bleeder. $25 at harbor freight
I did mine today and every single brake bleeder valve was jammed full of dirt. Just be aware if you crack it open and nothing comes out, its probably clogged and you'll have to fully remove the valve, plug the hole it came out of, and clean it out.

 

Hi, how OFTEN ‍ (i have no impact no idea) does one replace the brake fluid in a 2002 Toyota Tacoma prerunner SR5 4cyl 2.7L with 246k miles?


Thank you for any help you can provide

 

just keep it clean, if it gets dark, replace it

 

Hi, are all DOT 3 brake fluids sold the same? I see crazy price differences for 1quart from super tech $5.98 to around $21. I was checking wally world (Walmart). The truck is only used for basic driving. No hauling or speed racing down streets.

 

All my bleeder screws have a rubber cap that fits over the nipple part and keeps all that crud out. What happened to yours?

https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/bleeder-screw-cap-0138654p.0138654.html