Tranny flush at 100k. Should I?

Toyota says that under normal driving conditions that they are maintenance free. Even my 03 dipstick says that right on it. Do i buy it, hell no. I say in your case do it. New fluids of anykind never hurt anything. i did two drain and fill's on mine at 150,000 and it greatly improved shifting. Good luck!

 

I just got through with mine at 120k. It's not hard do it yourself. You can get a discount on the OEM WS fluid from the dealer if you ask them, I got 15%. I got 14 qts for $115 from the dealership. I will be sending a sample to Blackstone for analysis as soon as my kit comes in.

 

@ 95,000 your old fluid didn't look different from your new fluid. I think they were pulling the wool over your eyes. at 120k my old fluid was a dark auburn while the new fluid was cherry red (OEM WS fluid).

 

Toyota advises agianst a flush, since the pressure could damage valves. A drain and fill should be good enough.

 

The DIY flush is not a "pressurized flush" essentially multiple drain and fills.

 

I didnt know the flushing machine increased pressure inside the trans .Always thought the flushing machine used the vehicles transmission pump to get the old stuff out and new in . The guy at Walmart said his flushing machine actually reversed fluid flow inside the transmission for that perfect backflush .
Thought that was strange

 

Reads like you need a change. But It's easier to drain and fill with what came out, periodically. Do it every 30k after all the old is out.

 

we really gonna trust a dealership maintenance rep to do the work he doesnt think needs to be done?

i mean, he already missed the "memo" dismissing that lifetime tranny life thing..

 

With that type of flush they use a "xchange" machine, over in the dodge world those are what they prefer.

Personally I'm not a fan of the reverse flush, if the trans doesn't operate like that normally why should it for this operation?

 

Holy moly.. $300 for a flush!?!?!?!?

Drain and refill doesn't seems like the best choice.

 

The "perfect backflush" is what will cause damage.
But honestly, I'm not sure that is even what the Walmart flush does.
The outlet from the cooler drains back into the pan. If a flushing machine connects to the cooler lines and runs a "backflush", then it would have to significantly overfill the transmission to get the fluid high enough to come back out of that outlet line.

Yes, proper procedure is (either automatic or manual), run the system and replace new fluid in the pan at the same rate it is pumped out of the cooler line.
Whether that means running the engine until you have 3 quarts in the drain pan, shut down, pour 3 quarts into the trans, lather-rinse-repeat until you've run through 5 gallons; or attached to a machine that measures what is coming out and replaces it without having to shut down and restart.

 

Do you happen to know about the exchange process? It's supposed to use the trans pump to remove the old fluid and add the new, so no uncommon pressure.

 

Exactly... that's how it SHOULD work.
When I replaced the Dex-VI with TorqueDrive in my Duramax, I just used a 5 gallon bucket to allow the cooler supply line to drain to.
Took maybe 20 minutes of starting, shutting down, and refilling to get the full 5 gallons of new fluid installed, then reconnected everything and checked final levels.

The machines used by the dealer should work the same way, except they pump in the replacement fluid as the old fluid is extracted, so the process should go more quickly. Of course, a final level check is still needed.

 

I couldnt agree with you more
Truth be told , there is no such thing as backflushing or reverse flushing an auto transmission . All flushing machines use the vehicles transmission pump which only turns one way , the same rotation as the engine .
Funny that a few shops tell me they can reverse flush mind you .
I have flushed well over a thousand vehicles and to this day have never seen an engine and transmission pump rotate in the opposite direction , not to mention how they manage to reverse valve body flow

 

Is this specifically for 2nd gens, or can first gen do a pan drop and filter clean with a flush? I wanted to do it at 180k cause idk when it was done last. Fluid still looks red, and I actually just had a trans shop check it an they thought it was ok. I just want to do it at 180k when I do timing belt for piece of mind. The trans shop I was at said $180 for a flush, plus parts I believe, but they don't use a machine. They know how to do it without one. That a good deal or is the machine worth the extra cash?

 

I would suggest calling the trans shop and asking whats involved . If they are not using a machine , its questionable as to how they get all the old oil out and replenish with all new fluid . Are they removing the transmission pan , cleaning the magnets / filter and making sure all the fluid in the torque converter and transmission cooling system has been changed .
What type of fluid are they using ? What type of pan gasket and filter are they using ...Some shops have good quality parts and some have offshore cheap crappy parts . It can be done without a flushing machine but the question here is what are they doing for $180

 

He said they do a complete drain and flush, including a new pan gasket and filter, they just don't do it with a machine. He will use whatever fluid I want, which I'll probably go with sythetic

 

More time consuming, and there is more risk to the trans if a mistake is made, but it can be done easily without a machine, same way you can do it in your driveway.

The problem is the low capacity of our pans. You're doing the exchange by cycling through 2-3 quarts at a time, since our pans only hold 3-4 quarts, and extracting more will cause the pump to suck air.

Keep in mind, the purpose of this is to exchange all of the fluid in the TC.
Now, there is going to be some mixing, whether done with a machine, or DIY.
One advantage to the machine is that it is just "fire and forget" and extra fluid can be run through for a more complete flush.

Personally, unless the project is to replace the fluid with a different type (like when I replaced the stock Dex-VI with TorqueDrive), I don't see a benefit to flushing as compared to a routine pan drop and refill every 30k or so.
Unless you are towing, rock crawling, or otherwise getting the trans hot on a regular basis, a routine pan drop is going to maintain the fluid just fine for the majority of drivers.

Hell... the MAJORITY of drivers never have their transmission serviced and get 150-200k before they trade in without issue.
I agree... Toyota is pushing it with the claim that ATF is a "lifetime" product, but for normal on-highway use and light towing, a simple drain and change every 30k is more than enough.

Now, if you are not the first owner and just bought a truck with 100k on it? Ya... flush it. You don't know how that truck has been treated.

 

Stay with the Toyota branded ATF, whatever spec your trans requires. The "sealed" trans behind the Tacoma 4.0 takes WS, and I've not seen an aftermarket fluid that I am satisfied meets the specs. I think Amsoil claims to, but the same fluid claims to be compatible with other fluids that are not compatible with WS. Your '99 is going to take either Dex-III or T-IV, probably Dex-III, in which case Mobil-1 is going to be a good product, but I would not spend more for it.

Transmission fluid is a completely different animal from engine oil and gear lube. It is primarily a hydraulic fluid, and contains high levels of detergents.
It is extremely light weight, and the benefits of synthetic engine oil do not apply equally to transmission fluid.

ATF is already primarily synthetic.

I'm a big proponent of synthetic engine and gearbox/diff/bearing lubricants, but I do not mess around with Amsoil or other synthetic products on transmissions other than the Allison 1000 series in the GM Duramax trucks... and that is because GM installs Dexron-VI, which is not the manufacturer-recommended fluid, and the Amsoil TorqueDrive is a fluid specific to the Allison 1000 as a replacement for Allison TransSynd... it does not claim to replace multiple fluids.

 

Now that's a interesting way to do it, If i were more confident I'd do that to my truck.

I've heard some people say flushes put more pressure on the seals, and can blow the seals if they're high mileage or old, is this BS?

Thanks for the info guys.

I have a question, I believe my trans was serviced at 30K and 60K (dealer won't let me access the records, but the PO had it serviced regularly up to 89K miles when she sold it to the guy i bought it from, all dealer work), and it's now at 114K, I'm going to have it serviced this week, shop quoted $45 for drain and fill (I can do this at home easily) and $90 for a flush, they recommended i only do a drain and fill, but I PM'd bamatoy and he recommended a flush.

I'm leaning towards the flush but am going to call the shop tomorrow and see if that includes the filter change (I assume not, but am going to ask), if it doesn't include the filter change I can do a drain and fill with a new filter at home and take it to the shop for the flush, does this sound like a solid plan?