To Flush or Not to Flush?

Alright Alright you sexy bitches,

I have a 2013 Tacoma 4wd, V6 A/T with 116K mile on it. I work remote, it is not a daily driver. I have never serviced the transmission (I know that's bad)

Before you all give me shit. I have read all of the threads on the DIY drain and fill & DIY Flush & Drop the pan and drain and fill. My question isn't how-to. It's pro's and cons of a flush vs a drain and fill. I have read all of the horror stories of people doing a drain and fill and there A/T's starting to slip. Which I obviously DON'T want. So if you could help me out and tell me straight up Full Flush vs Drain and Fill. For the record if a flush is the winner, I plan on taking it to a professional. If its a drain and fill. I plan on doing it myself and also dropping the pan and cleaning the magnets & filter as well.

Also in my deep dive of reading all the 2nd gen threads on servicing transmissions. I read that after the warranty expires everyone switches from toyotas WS oil to Redline or something better than the Toyota WS. Anyone with any knowledge or first hand experience I would love to hear your thoughts on that as well.

So....What say you all Drain & Fill (drop the pan and clean the magnets & filter) vs Full Flush (by a professional) on my tacoma that has 116k and has never had the transmission serviced.

Thanks ahead of time & keep on L.I.V.I.N!

 

Lite reading material...

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...e-get-it-out-of-your-transmission-now.331521/

 

A full flush done correctly will not hurt the transmission.

The key word is “correctly”.

Flushes don’t hurt transmission.
If you have issues after a flush, it was either error in service, or the flush brang a preexisting issue to life.

I’d personally flush it.
But a drain and fill at a minimum.

 

I did a full flush on my '09 at 97K miles and went from Toyota WS to Valvoline MaxLife. I am currently at 135K and have had NO ISSUES. The key is to DO THE FLUSH YOURSELF.

"How?" you ask?
Step 1: Open the fil port, then open the drain bolt and drain the fluid from the pan.
Step 2: Drop and clean the pan.
Step 3: Re-install the pan (and use a new gasket?). Re-install and torque drain bolt
Step 4: Add new fluid (WS or MaxLife) to replace what came out when you drained it.
Step 5: disconnect one of the ATF cooling lines that run to the radiator. Attach a 3/8" hose to the fitting where you removed the hose. Put BOTH hoses in a drain pan.
Step 6: Start the engine. ATF will flow out of one hose, but not the other. AS SOON AS BUBBLES COME OUT OF EITHER HOSE, shut the engine off.
Step 7: Add more new fluid to replace what came out.
Step 8: repeat step 6 and 7 until the fluid coming out looks new and clear.
Step 9: Remove the hose that you added in step 5, and re-attach the ATF line to the radiator.
Step 10: Check the fluid level - I will let someone else guide you through that process.

 

I'd recommend a full flush, but DIY with a compatible fluid (Valvoline Maxlife ATF for example), as there have been many issues reported by those that have taken their vehicles to shops that flush the transmission with a machine that forces fluid through. It's an easy process, just need a helper. After the flush, a pan drain and fill as preventive maintenance every 6mo-1y would be my recommendation.

Here is the thread on how to do a DIY flush:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/diy-full-flush-for-automatic-transmission.68462/

 

I had a flush and fill performed by the dealer at approx 115 miles. I'm currently at around 140,000 with no apparent ill-effects from the service: It shifted fine previous, and that's still the case.

This is a pretty good vid discussing pro's and con's of both.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJr30r6RRgw

 

Thanks for posting this. I've been thinking more and more about my trans and WANTING to flush the fluid since it now has ~215k and I want to keep it forever. But, I bought it at 19k and don't have any way to verify if the trans fluid has ever been changed or not. Kinda feeling like I'm between a rock and a hard place. I guess I'll just do a drain and fill and see where that takes me.

Hopefully when these transmissions fail they make it obvious rather than a big catastrophic failure that renders the truck inoperable. My main concern is that I use the truck for camping and trails where a blown trans would be a humongous issue to deal with.

 

To the OP, I did mine first time at 150K, I was getting some torque converter shudder and I noticed harder shifting in and out of OD. I did the full flush, took 12qts by the time I was done. It wasn't hard, you develop a rhythm, pump out 2 qts, refill 2 qts, 6 times. It can be a messy job w/o the right gear, if I was to do it again I'd buy the flush kit with the fluid reservoir, it's well worth that cost it when you consider what they charge for the same full flush if you can find a place that will do one. No sense in going half way, it was getting the pan cleaned and filter changed. Also a simple job. I was no more worried about jacking up the tranny then I would be if I took it somewhere and had someone else do the work.





That work took care of the hard shifting but didn't help the TC shudder. I added some

$8 Lubegard 19610 Instant Shudder Fix

Lubeguard studder fix and it cured the studder issue and the shifts feel more positive, less lazy. I'm extremely happy with the end results. Basically it cost of the ATF $ plus about $25 for the rest, filter, gasket and lube guard.

 

If it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down.

 

Thanks man! Really helpful. So did you buy a new filter from Toyota, or just clean your og tranny filter? Also I’ve experienced hard shifting but what does torque converter shudder feel and sound like?

 

Thanks! I think this is the winner. Gonna just try this myself. Appreciate your reply

 

That's one way. I don't recommend transmission flushes. Drain and fill only, even if it takes a few times to get the fluid exchanged. Valvoline Maxlife ATF is good, supposedly better than WS.

 

Bought my 2013 new and never touched the tranny until 160K. Dropped the pan, cleaned magnets & replaced strainer. Did 2 more drain & fills. (see progression in pic)
I do have the factory tow package and tow a boat quite a bit. Tranny still performs great and just hit 203K.

 

I bought the tranny filter from Rock auto which came with the gasket. Regarding the Torque Converter, just as the vehicle is starting to move there's a subtle shudder for a couple seconds. Reminded me of a crystalized clutch, uneven enguagment, bucks as the clutch is let out but it's far more subtle in an auto tranny and not real noticeable till you realize it's doing it then you feel it all the time. No extra sound that I could hear.

 

I've heard people say over the years that their transmission was just fine, then they changed the fluid, and then it failed.

I personally have never seen that. I've seen a few times when transmissions developed issues and people have tried to change the fluid and filter to fix it, and that hasn't helped. All my stuff gets the transmission fluid changed at 100,000 miles or sooner. It's never caused an issue. I can't prove that it's ever prevented an issue.

My Taco is MT and I bought it with 115K. Changed the fluid in it too...along with the differentials. I plan on keeping this truck a long time.

 

You should keep it simple. Pan dump now. At 15K another pan dump. Keep at this interval until 60k.

 

Interesting that that was how you had the shudder.
When i had a shudder in my 2014 it was always around 90km/h and the only way to describe was as if the trans was trying to downshift without shifting.

Trans fluid drop and fill didn’t make much of a difference but the anti shudder additive fixed it within 100km

 

At 100K miles I'd do the pan removal, clean filter and magnets and perform the flush with Maxlife WS compatible fluid.
At 200K miles I'd do the drain and fill a few times.
Also substitute 1 ounce of Lubegard Red for each 1 ounce of WS fluid.

I've done 2 high mileage Toyota transmission fluid changes.
One was a Camry with 265K miles. The fluid came out like mud. Thick liquid and muddy color. I did 4 drain and fills with Lubegard. That was several years ago and the car is still running today.
The other was an 03 Tacoma with almost 300K miles. The fluid also came out like mud. I also did a few drain and fills and used 10 ounces of Lubegard Red on the last fill. I now own the this truck and the transmission still works good.

 

What flush kit are you referring to?

 

Take your pick